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In chapter 4 of “Science for the Next Generation'', the 5Es are discussed. The 5Es discussed are engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. These five factors are essential for designing a series of lessons that are conceptually linked and developmentally sequenced to support student understanding as it develops over time. As a teacher, I am able to engage the students by asking them questions and or defining problems to activate their natural curiosity and focus their attention. The students are able to explore by engineering and using problem solving strategies to better their understanding. Investigations that ask students to predict, observe, and explain help emotionally engage minds, mentally engage cognitive processing, and develop students’ understanding. I can use the explain part of the 5Es in my classroom by having students make sense of their data collected. “During the explain phase, teachers can introduce age-appropriate mathematics; individual and group readings and related writing activities from textbooks, trade books, science magazines.” In the elaboration phase, teachers introduce activities where students are challenged to apply and extend what they’ve learned in different examples from the real world. By applying real world situations, students’ are able to better understand what they’ve learned. During this phase, all the lessons learned from the previous activities should be combined. This phase also allows the teacher to see if the students truly understand the concept being taught. The last part is evaluate and in this phase students show their learning and understanding of the topic being taught. Different ways to test for understanding can include paper tests, constructing models, displays, graphic organizers, or artwork/projects. There are many different ways a teacher can test for understanding.
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