I have been posting blogs in the past about why it is important to keep students engaged in the classroom. I wanted to explore some activities that can keep elementary students engaged in the science classroom, but also allows them to learn.
I found this website and program that follows inquiry based cirriculum. The program is called MAIS K-6 Science Inquiry, Investigation, and Design Technology. MAIS stands for Mediterranean Association of International Schools. I thought the activities and the way the teachers taught the material really reflected what we have been talking about in class. I think this is what good teaching is all about and it's really neat that this teaching style is not only happening in America. All the activities are hands-on and most of the activities were based on some type of literature so you could do a cross-cirricular activity. The activities also used simple, inexpensive materials that anyone could use.
One of the activities that I liked was a seed and garden activity, the students learned about seed germination and growth. The students got to use their own microscopes to view and study the seeds. Students also created their own bag garden. The teacher read a book to introduce the topic. The students were in 3rd grade so I think this was age appropriate, although I don't know how she introduced the vocab, like germination, I doubt 3rd graders know what that is. This website also gave several ideas and other activites. website
Alisa, Currently in my science practicum, the teacher had the students plant seeds in a variety of ways. Some of the seeds were planted in dirt, water, sand. Some of the plants were given sunlight others were put in a closet. Some plants got water others got no water. While the different plants were growing or barely growing, the teacher asked questions to the students about how and why the plants were either thriving or dying. The students seemed really engaged in this activity. I agree with you, the garden idea is great to teach the students about sunlight and nurishment.
ReplyDeleteAlisa,
ReplyDeleteI thought our discussion in class the other day was really beneficial about the traps that teachers get into like activity mania, too much content, etc. We also talked about how activity mania is the "least evil" of the traps because the students are engaged and interested in the topic.
I like how you also touched on developmental theory with keeping activities and vocabulary developmentally appropriate. I agree that the activity is developmentally appropriate, but I hope she altered her explanation of germination so that the students would understand!
The website you found seems like it would be very helpful. I spent a few minutes skimming through it. One thing I really like is that pictures are provided of students actually doing these activities. It is helpful when trying to plan how the activity would play out in the classroom. I also like that such a wide variety of science activities are found on the same site. The garden activity you mention sounds like a great way to get students interested!
ReplyDeleteIt's always nice to see what other classes and schools are doing around the U.S. and internationally. Inquiry based learning is nice because it is authentic and holds the students accountable for their learning. Most inquiry based lessons take time to develop and work through, which means over time students re-visit their work, data, and experiments. This allows them to build on background knowledge, prior experiences, work together and learn from each other. I like the idea of taking pictures along the way. Students can look back at their efforts with excitement, reflect on each stage and use that motivation to continue learning about science.
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