Science Grades

One of the hardest things about teaching Science is having enough documentation of student learning to justify a fair and accurate grade. Acquiring enough grades can be very difficult, especially if you are using Inquiry based learning. The following articles are very informative and are packed with ideas on assessment.
http://www.serve.org/uploads/publications/HowtoAssess.pdf
http://www.exemplars.com/assets/files/toolkit.pdf

This is the link to the rubric on "teachers pay teachers" that I handed out in class. It is $1.50 to purchase, but is a fabulous rubric to assess process skills.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Science-Process-Skills-Rubric-for-Elementary-Grades-299274

A Science Journal is also a great way to document learning. This is site where I found a rubric for Science journals that I am excited to use next year. I passed this one out in class as well.
frogsandcupcakes.blogspot.com

Happy Inquiry based teaching and assessing:)!

Inquiry Based Teaching

Inquiry literally means “inward questioning”. We must first learn ourselves and then learn how to create opportunities for our students to learn the process of inquiry. This isn’t easy as it requires both the teacher and the student to get out of their comfort zone of the known and stretch their “bubbles” (like bubble gum:). Stretching is never easy. Like muscles, we have to be stretched to grow and become stronger. It is important for students to recognize what they know and yet more important for them to recognize what they do not know, for only then can they become fearless in going into the boundaries of the unknown. A safe classroom environment should be nurtured in order for students to own their lack of knowledge. Some students have a hard time owning the fact that they don't know. It should be taught and modeled by the teacher. Good scientists are always looking for the point where what they observe and what they know don’t match up. This is where the questions begin and real inquiry learning happens.

Teaching Science

We have learned that children bring with them a foundation of prior knowledge about our world. As teachers, it is our job to build on that foundation. Our Science instruction should continually build the knowledge base of our students, challenge them to think differently, draw on the 4 strands of Science proficiency, and ultimately provide a healthy environment that promotes the best Science learning. Typical classrooms, standards, curriculum, etc. at this time aren’t  consistent with what research is proving to be the best way for students to learn Science. We need much revision in our systems. However, teachers can begin now to adapt to research and learn the best ways to teach Science.

In order to teach Science effectively, teachers need to always be learning and growing themselves as learners, have a strong knowledge base of the content, and have a strong knowledge of the best methods of how students learn. Teachers need opportunities to learn how to create Science learning opportunities in the classroom. In order to develop these skills, teachers need to collaborate together, be provided with quality curriculum and supplemental materials, have a means to answer their questions collaboratively, and have time and support within the school day to actually “do Science” themselves and think about the prior knowledge or misconceptions that students might bring with them into the classroom. They also need time in the school day to assess student work, refine and design units, and observe and reflect on colleague’s lessons. Administration plays a key role in creating communities that encourage these opportunities during the school day and the school year.

I have learned so much in this class about what effective teaching of Science looks like and I am so excited to put these methods into practice. I am thankful to work in an environment that encourages collaboration and professional development.

Bubble Gum Inquiry

We investigated Bubble Gum today in class and it was so fun! It was a great way to model HOW to set up a Science Investigation. I remember so many times when I was in school teachers telling me to do something without showing me how. I want to always remember to model, model, model what I expect in the classroom. A friend of mine recently said that there is a reason we are called "teachers" rather than "professors" in elementary school. Teaching means we show our students how to do things and make sure they learn it. I walked away this evening with a great activity to teach how to do Science.... and it was so much FUN!

Documenting formative assessment

We have to have at least 10 grades every grading period per subject. It is very difficult to have enough Science grades, because a lot of what we do is more investigating and involves formative assessment. I don't have a lot of summative  grades. It continues to be a challenge to have true assessment of student knowledge. I was very excited to find a rubric today for documenting student performance in Science Process skills. I was also excited to find a Science Journal Rubric that I plan to glue to the front of student Science journals as a guide for student responses. Hopefully these tools will help me next year. I also need to get into a habit of grading journals on a rotating basis because looking through and commenting on class journals also require a lot of time. Any ideas would be welcomed:)

The Theory of Evolution

When I read in Ready, Set, Science that the Evolutionary Theory should be taught as a key concept of Science, I immediately thought, "What does that mean?". As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, I believe that the Word of God is the Truth. I believe that God masterfully created a complex world, and scientists continue to uncover more amazing discoveries about this world. I believe He was very specific and yet general in His explanation of  Creation and I don't believe that scientific discoveries should always be seen as contradictory to the Bible. I am an adamant proponent of the existence of God because I have seen evidence of Him at work over and over in my own life (through inquiry based learning:), Heard Him guide me and seen affirmation of His guidance, and over and over experienced Him in my life. When the topic of Evolutionary theory comes up, I immediately question what that means. I am not ignorant to the concept of natural selection and adaptation of species. I don't believe this is necessarily contradictory to the Word unless we get into the discussion of humans evolving from Apes. I am convinced that Science proves there can be no "spontaneous generation" of life. Therefore, the idea that life just began from nothing in my opinion has been proved false. When teaching evolution, I believe you must teach it as one theory of many and not the only theory of how the world began.

Poet-Tree

So I suppose I am a little O.C.D... because the first thing I had to do this evening was finish my poem about my tree:). I really enjoy writing! I finally finished it and wanted to share. Thanks Project Learning Tree and Holly, Kim, and Allison for sharing this fun activity.

The Tree

Your tiny leaves 

and wispy branches blow in the wind, 

quietening my soul, beckoning me in. 

You provide shade from the sun and 

food for animals many.

Lovely Tree, 

you are so generous 

for we use you 

quite plenty!

You stand

 tall 

and 

slender 

and 

though 

you seem 

tender,

You 

withstand 

mighty 

storms 

and for 

years

declare 

your 

splendor.

Adopt a Tree activity

One of my favorite activities from this evening's class was the adopt a tree idea. We picked a tree to adopt and then observed the tree. We made a journal about the tree with bark and leaf rubbings, tree sketches, and just basic observations to get to know our tree. It was fun. I can see the children really getting excited about adopting their very own tree. I can see it inspiring a desire to keep the area around the tree clean and treat the tree with respect. I can see it providing a sense of pride as they see their tree grow and change throughout the year. I can even see an extension where they might want to plant their own tree. Sitting by the tree and completing observations was so therapeutic. I wonder how many children really get outside and sit in the quiet. What a great idea to inspire quiet reflections. It excites me to think of all the possibilities this activity could inspire:)

My Veggie Plate activity from PLT

One of my favorite activities that we did this evening in class was the "Veggie Plate" activity. In the activity, we were shown a plate full of various veggies and were asked to tell which part of the plant each vegetable came from. It was a thought provoking activity, especially when trying to decide about certain nuts. Are nuts a seed or a fruit? That was the question. An extension activity was to then observe various foods placed before us on the table and decide what part of the plant they came from. This was fun as we discussed what part of the plant that  nutmeg, coffee beans, and lentils come from. It was interesting and I was challenged to really think about the parts of a plant.

I can see many ways to utilize this activity in the classroom. We study Medieval history and we do a Medieval feast as a culminating event. All the students dress up and so do the teachers:). I can see using this activity to introduce the idea that a King's plate would look very different than a peasants plate. We could also discuss the origin of each food and how in the Middle Ages, it was very difficult to get foods from other parts of the world and therefore these foods were more expensive. I can see emphasizing how blessed we are to have such a wide variety of food choices. I am excited to utilize this activity next year.

Concept Mapping in the classroom

We discussed concept mapping in our Teaching Science class and I decided to give it a whirl in my own classroom. I didn't use it for Science, but for Math. My students are getting confused with the words SUM(answer to addition problem), DIFFERENCE(answer to a subtraction problem), PRODUCT(answer to a multiplication problem), and QUOTIENT(answer to a division problem), so I decided to do a color coded concept map on the board to try and help them see what each word means and what it doesn't mean. We worked on it together as different students gave ideas about what each word means, what it doesn't mean, the symbols we use for each word, and key words in a word problem that tell us to do this operation. It was a great activity that I believe helped the students understand each word. After, students were correcting a test where many had missed a problem asking them to Estimate the product of two numbers. They were each able to successfully correct their mistakes. I am excited to use concept mapping more next year as we dive into many concepts in Math and Science.

"Rain, Rain Go Away" come again another Low pressure day

So I am curious about Air pressure's affect on weather. How does High pressure and Low pressure affect the weather?

In researching, I found out that rain is most usual on a Low pressure day because the low pressure gives room for rising air to condense and form storm clouds. High pressure allows less room for rising air because it creates a sort of barrier in the sky and therefore results in fairer weather. If High and Low pressure air are nearby each other, it can create extremely windy weather.  This short video was very informative:

youtube video on High and Low pressure

As I sit and watch the rain finally fall on my plants this morning, I am thankful for a Low pressure day. However, I am hoping for more High pressure this week as we attempt to have a lot of fun for our last week of school. End of the Year parties and field day are much more fun on a fair weather, high pressure day:)!

Here is an interesting activity you could do in the classroom to help students understand High and Low pressure:
activity for the 3-6 classroom

Well Hello:)
Welcome to my blog. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the wife of an amazing man and have been blessed with 19 years of marriage. I have 3 daughters, a son in law, and a new granddaughter, Macy Gayle:) She is pretty awesome. This is my 5th year teaching 4th grade at Providence Christian Academy in Murfreesboro, TN. PCA is a phenomenal school that my husband and myself chose for our children when they began kindergarten long before I became a faculty member.  PCA is a Classical, Christian school that is built on the following three pillars: Classical Education, The Christian Worldview, and parental involvement. It is a fantastic work environment and I love my job! That being said, I have to be completely honest. We spent a great deal of time in the classroom this evening discussing common misconceptions. An extremely common misconception among most people is that teaching is easy. Unless you have been a teacher, or lived with a teacher, you probably have this misconception. Most people have no idea what all a teacher deals with throughout the day. A teacher wears many hats! It is an extremely hard profession with many different plates that are being balanced all at one time; however, it is all worth it! It is a very rewarding career and I wouldn't change what I do for anything.  The end of the school year can be extra weary and, like the children, I am ready for a break.  I must share the following picture to give a more realistic idea of what a teacher feels like at the end of the year. The good news is.... by the end of summer, I will be revived and renewed and super excited to get back into the classroom!