Science Fair

We went to Elk Point and judge their science fair. Our class was divided up into groups and I judged the seventh grade physical science portion. It was interesting to see the students projects and to see how much work and time they put into them. There were so many interesting topics and one of the topics was a lesson plan other classmates presented in our class. There were some interesting questions that students investigated. One of the projects investigated why people do not fall out of rollercoasters. Another group investigated why mountain dew does glow when and their findings proved that it does not glow. I think this was a good project because it proved they took their time and tried to come up with a solution and sometimes that does not work.

In class work day

Today we had another work day on our third lesson plan. I think it is important to have work days so students can work together to figure out their project. I like how the lessons were going to connect and relate across content. This could be like a unit plan but for different grade levels. Our group decided to do a lab activity with water in its different forms and then measure its density. I think we have found a good lesson plan and am very excitied about presenting this lesson.

The 5E's

I think the 5Es are important for students and teachers to know. I think the 5Es are important in the classroom because it really helps students make connections to science. I think it is important to engage the students about the activity because if they are not excitied about the activity they will not want to do it. It is important for students to explore and provide them with opportunities for students to test their hypothesis. Students also need to be able to explain why they got thier conclusion and also what they learned from the experiement. Elaborating is also important because it provides opportunties for students to develop deeper and broader understanding. The final E is to evaluate and from a teacher perspective this is important because it shows what students are learning from the lab and and how they solve their science problems. This is important because teachers also need to find what assessment can work for the students. Assessment is also important for the five Es because it makes sure that students are understanding the concepts.

In class Work Day

Today we worked on our lesson plan 2 that our group will be presenting next Tuesday or Thursday. We decided on using color mixes and read them a story about a bunny who dips himself into different types of paint and changes color. Our lesson plan is to teach students about when you mix different colors you get a color. I think students would enjoy this activity because they can actually mix the colors in their groups and make pictures with each of the color mixtures. I think it is a great activity and I am looking forward to presenting our lesson plans and hearing what the other groups are presenting.

Veternans Day

There was no school this day to observe Veternan's Day.

Our Groups Presentations

Today we presented our groups presentations. I liked the idea of the season's book and I think it went well. I presented the introduction about how we would ask students about the four seasons, how to dress during each of the seasons. We showed the video of how a tree changes during each season. I think children would enjoy the video because it has music that went with it and is very colorful. I think if we actually did this activity in class students would enjoy it especially when they presented their coloring books to the class. I think was a good lesson plan for students because they have a chance to present their books and create them and that needs to happen for students to develop and learn.

Presentation 3

Today's presentations were very good. I enjoyed making tornadoes I think this would be a great activity and I liked the safety procedures that go with it. I also liked the tastebuds lesson I think students would enjoy tasting different types of jellybeans. Most students at a young age would enjoy getting food to taste. I also enjoyed the balloon activity because students would enjoy the sound effects the balloon made. These groups did a good job today I think their topics were age appropriate.

Presentations 2

On Tuesday, we did more lesson plans these lesson plans were really helpful. One of the activities that I liked was the making oblack. I think students would have enjoyed this activity because it is making a playdoughlike substance. Another interested idea is making rockcets. This lesson would be great to because students would actually doing hands on activity especially things that will be launched. I think all the presenters did a good job and havd quality lesson plans.

Presentations 1

Today in class it we did our midterm presentations. I think these presentations were very good and I think the topics were important to discuss in science. I liked the jello activity because it is a good lab for students to do at home but also it is fun because you can eat your activity. The habitat presentation was very good and students can really be creative with making their own habitat. I also enjoyed the oil and water experiement it was a really neat idea to add food coloring to mixture. Students would enjoy this because it looks cool and it would keep their interest.

In class work day

In our on class we worked on our project ideas and figuring out what we were going to talk about for our class presentation. We decided to have the students create a book about each season and what happens during each season. It is important that students know what happens during each season because one of our safety topics is to discuss the type of clothing being worn for each season. This is important becasue in the summer you dont want to suffer from heat exhaustion or in the winter get frostbite.

Outline

This day there was no class so we had a in class assignment. For our assignment we needed to create an outline. Our group decided to make a book about each of the four seasons. I think doing the four seasons is a good project because it is something that each student would enjoy especially in the younger grades. I am very excitied about our midterm project.

Ping Pong Ball Activity

The ping pong ball activity is important to know because it was a good activity to use with teaching students about air and air resistance. The force of air pushes the ball into the other cup how hard you blow the ball depends if it lands in the cup or not. This lab would be great for students because they would get a chance to see if they could move the ball over to the other side. They would enjoy this lab because they would think it would be a game and a challenge.

Safety Game

In class on Thursday, we did a safety game lab excerise were we found different websites and evaulated on safe they were. I think this is extremely important in lab especially with younger children. Children need to know the safety rules and be able not to break things. They also need to be able to use equipment properly. There were also other safety tips that students need to know there were safety tips on water, bike, and emergency. These would all relate to children and they need these tips in life. I think science can be life skills and not always science based it is important for students to know safety in and outside the classroom.

Chapters 3 and 4

We had an out of class assignment on Tues. We had to read chapters 3 and 4 and answer questions. I thought the chapters were very good about explaining how children think about science and how some of them have ideas about how science works even from a very early age. I thought it was interesting how the chapter encouraged students to investigate science by asking questions and coming up with new ideas from their own learnings. I think science should be very hands on and let students listen to a lecture about how this is the right way to do science.

Mystery Box

This activity would be great with students. They would make a good amount of observations and love trying to guess what is in that box. I think doing this activity in a group works great for students because they can share ideas and come up with observations together. Students can make learning connections with why different shapes and different size marbles can make different sounds.

Astronomy Seminar

I think this seminar was a very interactive way to teach teachers about the stars. I learned a lot of new information about stars. I learned that stars are made up of hydrogen and how stars are classified into lower and higher groups. People have asked questions good questions about how long stars live and can a star fall into a middle class grouping. The seminar is a really neat way of interacting and using it online. I have never done something like this and I would love to do it again. I think the inteactive buttons such as thed stamps and the applause are great ways for people to interact in the discussion.

Citric Acid Activity

This activity was a good way for students to test the level of baking soda with different citric acids. The lime juice had the most acid in it as well as the grapefruit. I think this is an important activity to show about how different fruits have different citric levels. I think this lab worked out great I liked the fact that the directions were easy to follow except when we did the actual fruit extractions. I this activity would be great for students because they are learning about nutrition and a great hands on activity.

Nutrition

This activity taught me how to plan nutrish meals and to pay attenttion to what foods are fatty. I think this was an interested use of technology with an activity. I think students would love learning this activity because it is hands on and they are actual learning about calories, fats, and proteins. I think students need hands on activities to learn from. I think they learn much better if the activity is hands on and they can figure it on their own. I enjoyed figuring this activity out and I think students will too.

The Safety Game

I think this activity is a really good way to teach science safety. I think they will rememeber what they have learned and enjoy playing the game over and over to make sure they remember their science safety. I think they can also enjoy making the safety board so they can personalize their board and make it their own. I thought this activity was a great way to interact with their peers while learning science at the same time.

Temperature Repsonse Time

In this lab activity, our group experienced some technical diffculty with our calculator. My group did not get a chance to do a graph because we struggled with working the temperature calculations. I think the lab was a good excerise in showing how fast water can cool or heat up. I think this lab is a great way to use technology with science. I will keep on using technology even though sometimes it is frustrating to figure out or when it is not working properly.