With this being my first year teaching first grade, I was somewhat anxious to see how a science class would be tolerated by my students. I am happy to report that my class responded better that I thought they would.
At the beginning of the lesson, when I was talking to them about some of the tools scientist use, they seemed uninterested. When I further mentioned that they would become scientists, and would be using a scientific tool, they all perked up.
The tool they were going to use was a magnifying glass. To keep them from bursting out of their seats, I handed out the lenses and turned the class loose. There were the safety rules and expected behavior rules but they were so ingrossed in discovering how the magnifying glass worked I had no issue of safety or behavior to deal with.
A handful of my students held the lenses up to their eye and boisterously proclaimed, "hey, this thing is broken"! I had all I could do to contain my laughter as i showed them the proper way to use the lens.
Retrospectively, I should have instructed them on the proper use of the lens prior to turning them out to discover the world of magnification but it worked out fine as it did.
I also will adjust the time allowed for discovery as they were most engrossed with this activity.
I am still committed to teaching my young students the value of observation and the other simple techniques of discovery. Sometime later on I will introduce the wonders of technology
in such a way that it serves to enhance their primal findings.
-JP
Joyce,
ReplyDeleteYou will love teaching science to your students. When I taught kindergarten my students loved and were engrossed with science. The one school I was at had this thing where teachers taught specialized classes, well as the kinder teachers we kept our classes and I did my class with some advanced science demonstrations and they loved it. At that age students are sponges and will soak in everything you say. Heres to inspiring young minds!
Hi Joyce,
ReplyDeleteOther than an introduction to using the lens, was there anything else that you would have changed about the lesson? Did the students tend to be more interested in magnifying the world around them, or each other (ie. skin, fingerprints)? Amy
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteSince this lesson was only used to introduce the lens, I wouldn't change anything about it. I loved the student's enthusiasm and didn't want to stunt their motivation to explore each other and the objects in the room. Later on we looked at a slice of orange and drew two views of the orange; with magnification and without.
-Joyce
Hey Joyce!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the email! I can tell through your writings, and noe reading your blog (finally!) that you indeed have a love for instruction. I myself wanted to grab that magnifying lens and get to work!!! I love the way you set up the blog - you obviouslly know your way around the keyboard. Keep up the good work and will continue to FOLLOW you here!!:)
Dave
Hi Joyce!!! I would love teaching the little ones. I loved my first grade teacher. i called her up a couple of years ago and told her what she meant to me. We hatched praying mantis and chicken eggs, the class guinea pig had babies and I took one home- my first grade teacher is why I became a science teacher.
ReplyDeleteHi Joyce,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your lesson about lens. It seems like an excellent way to introduce scientific tools to students. Very often we forget to demonstrate the basics about scientific tools to our students and they go on to higher levels never learning how to appropriately use them.
I absolutely love the teachings! In my heart I will always be a primary teacher, and I think that you teachers at the younger ages are the foundation of all students. What wonderful selections you have shown on your blog...and just today in 6th grade one of my students yelled out t"this thing is broken!!".....keep up the wonderful work....and keep showing the scientists of the future the concrete!!:)
ReplyDeleteDave