Science Methods Blog 2

Hello everyone!  Welcome to my blog.  This semester is flying by.  I have really enjoyed my clinical placement this semester.  I feel like kindergarten is a good fit for me.  We are now able to start assessing the students to see where they are in their understandings and what they need more practice with.  I was able to watch my CE assess a few students while I was there this week.  The classroom I am in has a social studies/science block each day.  The students have not started going to their groups or taking part in this yet.  The teacher is still doing whole group instruction and activities at this point in the school year.  I look forward to seeing the social studies/science block in effect in the near future.  The themes my CE uses are aligned to either a social studies standard or a science standard.  The students seem to really respond well to the themes being used each week.  This past weeks theme was my community.  I was shocked to learn the kindergarteners do not learn about being community helpers anymore, they do this part in first grade now.  I am most proud of my work on the project science through your lens.  I have really had fun looking for science in the world around me.  I take pictures everywhere I go, so that I can use them for this project.  I went hiking this past weekend and was able to gather a few more really cool pictures.  It is amazing the amount of science taking place all around us, when you stop and observe.   I encountered some struggle with our experiment for our science fair project.  I was trying the experiment two different ways to see which one would be best.  I believe I have chosen the better way to do the experiment.  I determined this through trial and error.  I am going to try one more time before finalizing.  Over the next week I would like to get my unit done.  I would like to continue working on the other learning experiences as well.  My goal is to complete my learning task early so that I can receive feedback before turning them in to Dr. Parker as a final draft.  I can contribute to the class more by responding to their findings on twitter.  

       The outside research I was able to find this week is an article from edutopia, "Using Science to bring Literature to Life."  I found this article to be so intriguing and inspiring.  This takes using science themes to guide the literature to a whole new level.  Students are not only engaged in reading they are hands on in the reading and theme.  The students are able to conduct experiments together throughout the book, relating to the book.  For example, the students were able to create a moving monster to fight a character from the story.  I would really encourage you to read this article when you have a chance. https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-science-bring-literature-life 

I would use this idea in my future classroom by having students to conduct experiments and create products that connect them to the story.  I also want my students to grow a deeper understanding on the story through these activities.  

        The current event I found is about a sea otter who uses her senses to find food after being blindfolded.  I could use this current event to teach students about their five senses.  The students could be blindfolded to and use their other senses to find objects in the room.  https://www.popsci.com/sea-otter-blindfold-touch This week I have learned how the teacher needs to be the leader by leading her students in their learning.  I was able to lead the students in their learning this week when I taught a literacy lesson about setting in the story.  I was also able to demonstrate the NCTCS standard 2, Establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students, by making sure every student felt comfortable to answer questions and have a chance to speak.   

Resources: 

Eschner, K. (2018, September 17). A blindfolded sea otter named Selka shows how the critters find food in murky water. Retrieved 2018, from https://www.popsci.com/sea-otter-blindfold-touch

Schwartzbach-Kang, A. (2018, February 22). Using Science to Bring Literature to Life. Retrieved 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-science-bring-literature-life     

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/effectiveness-model/ncees/standards/prof-teach-standards.pdf