| Author |
Post |
|
|
|
|
I am a first year science teacher (5th grade) and was looking for suggestions on how to begin the school year during the first days of science class. Other than discussing rules, expectations etc. I am looking to do some type of activity or simple experiment or something to get students minds engaged and interested in science. I was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions!?
I was also thinking of discussing Lab Safety and was trying to figure out how to not make the topics so dry- I wondered if there were any activities as well that could go with that?
Any suggestions are very much appreciated :)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hi Mary! How exciting!!! Congratulations on the beginning of what I hope will be a thrilling year and career for you. There was another thread a while back with a similar request that had some excellent ideas. I have linked it to this thread for you:
First Day/Week ....
I think there is another one that might be helpful, too. I will try to find it and link it here for you.
Carolyn
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mary,
Grade 5/6 is my area also. I love the age. I was thinking about how important 'science talk' is and thinking about how you could incorporate science norms into yor expectations? You want to develop classroom culture that allows for and encourages science discourse'
One resource for this is Chapter 5 of Ready, Set, Science , Making Thinking Visible:Talk and Argument. This book is available free at Ready, Set, Science. I am going to attach the chapter for you.
I also have a couple of thoughts about your first activity but I wanted to ask you what science unit are you beginning with?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Awesome, thanks!
The first unit to be discussed is Life Science-- topics of food chain, food web, producer, consumer, etc. and ecosystems. I will probably be beginning with ecosystems because it will be a bit of a review from 4th grade.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mary,
Here is a link to a really neat article about a teacher creating an imaginary ecosystem for their class. It made teaching ecosystems a little easier. http://learningcenter.nsta.org/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/4/ss07_30_05_16 Enjoy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mary,
I got this information from another discussion forum, so I have to give credit to Carolyn Mohr. However, usually during the first days of science classes, you have discussions about what science is, students’ perceptions of science, what scientists do, etc.
Carolyn said:
Today I learned, among other things, about the new heavy relative of the neutron and how will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas is making science rock! That linked me to this cool website:
Dipdive. So CoooooL!
Take a look at the video on Dipdive. I am going to use the video in my first pre-service science methods classes to incite a similar discussion. I think kids will relate really well to the video.
iamfirst.dipdive.com
Kathy
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mary...I have attached what seems to be a great first week science activity. I found it in an NSTA journal. I am going to try it myself this year. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Lisa
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hi Mary,
Congratulations on your new job!!! How exciting! Since you are a first year teacher, be sure to read Harry and Rosemary Wong's book [i]The First Days of School[/i] (ISBN: 978-0-9629360-6-7). It's a fantastic tool for honing your classroom management style.
I think it's a great idea to start the year off with a simple experiment to get your students "thinking science". One of my favorite first week activities to introduce my students to inquiry is to divide students into pairs and have them evaluate which one of two alike things works better (for instance bouncy balls that are made by different manufactures). The teams must identify what they are testing, define what it means to "be better", develop a testable experiment to determine which item is better, record their results, and explain their findings to the class. While this is a simple "experiment" it helps my students develop the skills they will need to perform more complex inquiry problems as the year goes on.
I also always start the year by reminding my students that they are all scientists because they use their five senses to learn about the world around them. [url=http://www.nsta.org/publications/press/picture.aspx]Picture Perfect Science Lessons[/url] is an NSTA Press book that has inquiry based lessons that tie literacy and science. One of the lessons uses [url=http://www.amazon.com/Xargles-Book-Earthlets-Jeanne-Willis/dp/1849392927/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344533800&sr=8-1&keywords=dr+xargles+book+of+earthlets]Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets[/url] to teach the difference between inference and observations. I've attached my lesson plan that I've used during the first week of school with this book.
Also, this chapter about [url=http://learningcenter.nsta.org/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9780873552257.4]Lab Safety[/url] from the book [i]Help I'm Teaching Middle School Science[/i] is an excellent reference for setting up your classroom lab and establishing safety rules.
Best of Luck in your first days!
Maureen
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
How exciting to be starting a new adventure in teaching!
Mary, I am attaching a collection of resources on first day science activities available from the Learning Center. Perhaps you will find ideas that interest you and which you may adapt to your classroom.
Good Luck and warmest wishes for a great adventure with your students.
Patty
Enliven First Days with Science Collection
(11 items)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hi all. Won't even begin to cry here about my situation. Let's just say this really great Math teacher pissed off a not so good but senior Math teacher (who slept in class) and now I am punished. I'm assigned to a subject I not only have never taught, Science, I am teaching K-4! Needless to say, this once nominated Teacher of the Year who adores Math, children, parents, and dedicated teachers, is now being set up to fail. I WILL NOT. I'm blessed to have what I think is a genuinely, honest and support Science team. But, they too have a hard load.
Question- help me access the first week activities. I can't open them. Please. Best of luck to all. Trying not to get discouraged.... as I am in my fifth year as a 'return' teacher from private sector.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marie,
I would love to help you. I sent you a private message with a couple of thoughts about the collection but I am also wondering if I could be more help if you had some ideas about what curriculum topics you were instructing which grades.
Are you familiar with the book the First Six Weeks of School which is not science specific but you could integrate science easily into some of the formats offered.
First Six Weeks of School
This just one of many resources.
Tell us more and maybe we will be able to provide mre direct asistance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you Patty for sharing your library with us! This website has such a plethora of different types of resources, it's difficult to know where to start and what to add to my library. At first I wanted to add everything, but then realized that too many resources makes its hard to weed through to get what you really want.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Congratulations Mary! I'm a 5th grade teacher too and I absolutely love it. I've taught 3rd and 4th grades too. 5th is my favorite. In the beginning of the year, I always start science with the Think Tube and Ob-Scertainer Lab Aids. This starts the questioning process & peaks their interest into thinking critically and outside of the box. The Think Tube draws my students in every year. I do the Think Tube first and then the Ob-Scertainer's to get them to start thinking like scientist. The first lab of the year is always the Coke and Mentos lab. We go over the scientific inquiry process and safety with that lab. Believe it or not, I have many students every year who have never seen it or done it. It never gets old. We run through the entire inquiry process; question, hypothesis, variables, materials, procedures, observations, data table, data graph, conclusion, and reflection. http://www.sciencebuddies.org/ this site is AWESOME!! If you're going to do the Engineering Design Process with your students too, this website is a great guide. We use this site a lot for Science Fair. It even has a survey each student can do which gives them ideas for experiments that would interest them. Have a great year!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
As we get near the end of the first week of school or second week for some, I was wondering, what has happened so far in science in your classroom? Please share.
Kathy
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tasha Kaai, Fri Aug 31, 2012 8:50 PM wrote:
'it's difficult to know where to start and what to add to my library. At first I wanted to add everything, but then realized that too many resources makes its hard to weed through to get what you really want.'
Hi Tasha,
I agree! There are so many fantastic resources available out there, but it is hard to weed through them to find exactly what you want. One trick that I've discovered is creating collections in my NSTA Learning Center library. You can add NSTA resources, personal resources (like lesson plans, reproducibles, etc), and other websites to the collection. To create a collection, you select the 'Add to collection' option to the right of any NSTA resource and then type to name of your collection into the provided box (to add an uploaded website or document, do the same thing from the 'upload resources' area of your library). I really like the collection option because it enables me to organize my resources into groups and I can even share my collections with colleagues! It's a great way to keep track of all those great ideas in one convenient place!
Maureen
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you so much for the great information in this thread!!!
Would you be able to provide more details about Think Tube
and Ob-Scertainer Lab Aids? I really appreciate any information
you can provide. Thank you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I created mystery boxes for my classroom. I used old film canisters, and inside each one I place a unique item. I taped the lids shut, so there could be no peeking. :-) I used a small piece of sponge (cube shaped), a marble, a plastic cubic centimeter, and a cotton ball. I labeled the canisters with A, B, C, and D based upon the item in the container. For example, all containers with a cotton ball are D.
I first have the students explore the containers, and I have them predict what they think might be in each. Then the students complete a formal activity, where they make observations on each mystery container, noting things like motion of the object, the sound, the mass etc... Once all students have completed their observations, I show them the available items and ask them to predict, based upon their observations, what is in each container. The are required to use claims, evidence and reasoning in their explanations. :-)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Would anyone have any secondary level first day/week of school activities and suggestions for new teachers other than science safety and the scientific method taught in isolation? Thanks. Thanks for all the great links already posted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The first day(s) of school was the topic of a recent NSTA MsMentor blog:
http://nstacommunities.org/blog/2013/07/17/what-to-do-on-the-first-day-of-school/
More ideas here!
|
|