Picture-Perfect Science Lessons, Expanded 2nd Edition: Using Children's Books to Guide Inquiry, 3-6
Sun, Jun 05, 2016 11:50 AM
Picture-Perfect Science Lessons: 3-6
The book, Picture-Perfect Science Lessons: Using Children's Books to Guide Inquiry: Grades 3-6, was a great purchase. I would recommend this book to any teacher who teaches science within grades three through six. The Picture-Perfect Science program originated from Emily Morgan’s and Karen Ansberry’s (authors) shared interest in using children’s literature to make science more engaging. Emily and Karen were both convinced picture books engage students in inquiry science and increase the understanding of science. They went to a school in Ohio and trained the science teachers, grade three through six, with inquiry based science lessons. The book provides the teacher with twenty lesson plans that are ready to use. The lesson plans are designed using the BSCS 5E Instructional Model. The model is a learning cycle based on the constructivist view of learning. Constructivism embraces the idea that learners bring with them preconceived ideas about how the world works. The information in the book is present through chapters; chapters one through twenty-five. Before the chapters begin, there is information on about the authors, the picture-perfect program, the acknowledgment, the preface, and the foreword. The first five chapters explain why reading picture books aloud benefits students and the models are presented through the different lesson plans. Chapters six through twenty-five are different science lessons for the students. Within the first five chapters, there are bolded headings to organize the information. Chapters six through twenty-five included the different lessons; in each chapter there are objectives, lists of materials, hand-outs, and the schedule for the lesson plans. An example lesson plan would be “Sheep in a Jeep.” The lesson plan is designed for grades 3-5. The students will investigate forces and motions using ramps, toy cars, and small plastic farm animals and share their findings in a poster session. The students will also design and evaluate a device to slow the motion of a falling object. The objectives for the lesson plan include planning and carrying out investigations, and analyzing and interpreting data. The core ideas are forces and motions and types of interactions. The crosscutting concept is cause and effect. The picture book that goes along with this lesson plan is “Sheep in a Jeep.” The planned schedule included: Day 1: Engage with read aloud of Sheep in a Jeep, and Explore with Checkpoint Lab, Part A and Part B, Day 2: Explore with Checkpoint Lab Part C and Part D, and Explain with Poster Session (from Checkpoint Lab, Part E), Day 3: Explore and Explain with Motion and Forces Sentence Cards, Day 4: Elaborate with Sheep Leap, and Explain with Sheep Leap diagram, and Day 5: Evaluate with Review and Motion Quiz. An example of an inquiry based question that will be provided in the lesson plan is “Will the jeep travel farther on rough or fine sandpaper?” Other lesson plans include: Earth Hound, Name that Shell, and Turtle Hurdles.