Kendra's Elementary Science Methods 1 Blog

  The first thing we did this week in lab was check on our plants. Ours grew very nicely and had several different flowers coming from it. We then pollinated our flowers with bees in hopes of reproducing more flowers. I am excited to come back to class next week and see how much our plant has changed.  In lab this week, we also talked about the 6 different kinds of biomes and food chains that take place in each biome. My group and I looked at the grassland biome and looked at different food chains that happened there. It was really cool to take a closer look at a particular biome and look at its food chains. I think this was helpful and made us also look at what would happen if a natural disaster were to occur in that biome.  I could relate what we learned to previous information that I have learned in earlier science classes and also in lecture last week. I like how we got time to dive deeper into biomes in lab this week. I thought every part of this week's lab was clear...

  Above is a picture of a table we made in lab while we reviewed the 5E model we learned about last week. We had the chance to work in a group and create a PowerPoint presentation about each step in the 5E model and the students' and teachers' roles in each step. This was a very helpful refresher course on what each step entails and how it can benefit students. We then talked for a bit about habitats, biomes, and ecosystems.  I thought this week's lab was helpful. I liked the review of the 5E model and the deeper dive into the role of the students and teachers in each step. I also liked that we still got to work in small groups, even though we were on Zoom. At the end of lab, we briefly discussed food webs and food chains, but I am excited to get more information on these topics in lecture and lab next week.  In my future classroom, I would love to implement the 5E model. I think it would be beneficial for students' learning. It is a way for students to be in charge of ...

 This week, I learned about the 5E model of science instruction. I had never heard of this before, so I found the activity we did this week to be very informative and helpful. There are 5 different teaching phases included in this model: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. This kind of model is used all over, and it is inquiry-based instruction.  I could not relate what I learned this week to any prior knowledge because I had never heard of the 5E model before. Growing up, I always thought learning science was hard. I feel that if I learned with this kind of model, I would have enjoyed it more and retained more information.  I am glad that I learned about this model because I think it can be very helpful and beneficial when teaching science to my future students. I think learning about this 5E model now was helpful because when we have to create a lesson plan in the future, this will be a good model to try and implement.  I like how the 5E model is set...

  The first thing we did in lab this week was look at our germinated seeds from last week. My group's seeds did not sprout very much, but it was still cool to the little sprouts in ours and then the taller sprouts in other groups. We then learned about life cycles and the difference between incomplete and complete metamorphosis.  I do remember learning about metamorphosis in a previous science class, but I had forgotten what it was. I like how we used play dough to create life cycles. I feel like it made the learning more engaging and easier to stay focused. I am curious to know what other kinds of hands-on activities you can do to help students learn about life cycles.  I can use this lesson in my future classroom since it is so engaging and hands-on. Doing this activity will help my students grasp the concept of life cycles while also having fun. I would have loved doing this activity in school as it would have allowed me to "play" while also learning.