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Some of the students in the Science have limited background on electricity and the necessary vocabulary words to understand electricity. I started with a mini lesson on the simple and more detailed vocabulary words that deal with electricity. Throughout the lesson, I encouraged the students to think and study the words. At the end of the lesson, I was going to have the students take a mini fast pass which would required them to write four out the six main vocabulary words definition and they needed to draw a picture to represent the word.
Some of the students were able to do it. But other students had a hard time trying to recall the words definition. I think I need to modify and provide some alternative means for the students to have more background before we start into our experiments with electricity. Any ideas?
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I have attached a book chapter that gives some activities to try before starting an electricity unit. It deals with static electricity. Have fun.
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Amy, have you done any demonstrations of electricity or shown the class a brief introductory video? Giving them a visual or even hands-on introduction may help the students in their process of recall. Memorizing definitions without any context can be difficult! I agree that the students need to have the vocabulary and background knowledge before they do experiments of their own,but the more substance you give them to root their vocabulary in, I think the easier it will be for them to recall.
Here is a link to a electric vocabulary video I found a YouTube. I am not sure what grade level you are teaching or if this will be age-appropriate but it serves the purpose of introducing vocabulary in an interesting way that may help students' recall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMQcc95xko0
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Hi Amy, some units and concepts in Science are easier for students to visualize and write about than others. It seems this varies from year to year depending on what students have been exposed to or found an interest in. Unfortunately, there is no one right way to teach vocabulary. What I have found is that I cherry pick ideas from articles, using a little of this and a little of that until I find something that works with my current group of middle schoolers.
I am attaching a couple of collections of articles I have on Science Vocabulary and Writing in Science. They are all easy reads and allows you the opportunity to do some cherry picking of your own. I hope they are helpful, and look forward to hearing what you have incorporated.
Science Vocabulary Collection
(6 items)
Writing in Science Collection
(32 items)
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I use this video as a hook when I introduce the concept of electricity to my students. Hope you all find it useful!
http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_giler_demos_wireless_electricity.html
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Amy,
HECO (the electric company here in Hawaii) has a whole Education section on their website that is very useful. There are great video links and some interactive games that students can explore about completing circuits. Check it out.
http://www.heco.com/portal/site/heco/menuitem.508576f78baa14340b4c0610c510b1ca/?vgnextoid=946d5e658e0fc010VgnVCM1000008119fea9RCRD&cpsextcurrchannel=1
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Flip cams are really cheap and kids can make a video to present, great for you visual learners. Also very empowering, they are making their own flash cards.
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The CASTLE curriculum develops vocabulary through simple lab activities and discourse.
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Yes, building an understanding of the concepts in electricity can be very difficult. This is especially true when it comes to the vocabulary words. Most student can understand that electricity is used everywhere, therefore it would be a good idea to get students to associate the new vocabulary with things they already know. Maybe it will take a while before they can take your mini- quiz, but if they can find connections with the words and there lives, recalling might not be such a big task.
Another strategy you could use is to writing the words on flash cards and placing them on a words wall. Vocabulary words for teaching electricity are not very easy to decode, and this makes it difficult to recall them from memory. When words are places on a word wall, student will see them frequently, and you can also make reference to them while teaching. This will help students to create a memory in their minds until these new words can become regular words for them to use in class.
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