My Groups Inquiry Lesson Plan

It was time for my group to conduct our inquiry based learning lesson plan. For our inquiry lesson plan we wanted the students to create leprechaun traps using simple machines. We chose leprechauns because St. Patrick's Day was that weekend, and we thought it would be a fun theme.

Before we started the lesson we reviewed the Vocabulary words simple machine, complex machine, inclined plane, wedge, and screw. After we reviewed our Vocabulary, we showed the kids the simple machines song again. The students all began dancing and singing along to the song. Part of the challenge we gave the students was they could use as many simple machines as they want, however they had to include screws, wedges, and inclined planes in their leprechaun traps.

Before we let the students begin working on their leprechaun traps we went over the steps of inquiry.

Steps of Inquiry

1) Identify the problem and formulate a question

2) Form a hypothesis

3) Collect Data

4) Study Data

5) Draw Conclusion

We put up a timer of 20 minutes and let the students start working in their groups. My group members and I walked around the class and tried to guide the groups into making a successful leprechaun trap. The students came up with many impressive ideas. 20 minutes was not enough time for all the groups to finish so we let them have 5 more minutes.

Once all the groups had finished it was time to present. Before the students came up and presented we went over what we expected from each group when they presented as well as what we expected from the audience. We asked the groups to tell us the name of their leprechaun trap, their hypothesis, and to explain their trap. We also wanted each group to show the rest of their class the picture of their trap. I was very excited when all the groups did an excellent job of presenting their ideas. They were all very creative.

For our independent practice we asked the students to write a postcard to the principal of Bishop Dunn. They each had to write 2-3 sentences naming all the simple machines they used and the object from the classroom they used. 

My time teaching was finished for Science Methods and I was happy about how it went. This experience helped me become a better teacher, and I am looking forward to student teaching.

My Groups Direct Instruction Lesson Plan

After weeks of planning and going over what we wanted to do the day was finally here. It was my groups turn to teach the fourth grade students about simple machines. Our first lesson was a direct lesson plan meaning that it was teacher oriented. The three simple machines my group had to teach about were the inclined plane, screw, and wedge. I was really excited. I did not like the way my direct lesson plan went in Social Studies Methods and I was glad to have a chance to redeem myself.

We began the lesson by reviewing the classroom rules, and the check for understanding. After we reviewed these we had to test the students' prior knowledge. We showed them pictures of simple machines and asked them what were some things that came to mind. We used choral responses to teach the students the Vocabulary words simple machine, complex machine, force, and friction. After we went over these key terms we showed the students an extremely catchy song that will be stuck in my head forever about simple machines. The students seemed to really enjoy this song, and wanted to hear it again.

We went over our note sheet before we started teaching about our simple machines. After we went over the note sheet I had to teach the class all about inclined planes. I began by going over the definition using choral responses. I demonstrated to the class that if the incline is more steep there were will be less distance to travel, but it will take more effort to reach the top, and if there is a less steep incline there will be more distance to travel but less effort will be needed.

   

I then showed the students a video on inclined planes. I asked them to write down 2 examples of inclined planes that they see in their everyday life. After I showed them the video I asked them to share some of their examples. The students gave great examples and I was excited they understood what I was teaching.

I then showed them four examples of inclined planes which were a wheelchair ramp, stairs, a hill, and a slide. The students then had to draw an example in the space provided in their note sheet. 

The last thing I did to teach about about inclined planes was a choral response rap. 

Inclined Plane Rap

When moving an object from low to high

The inclined plane is your guide

Although the distance does increase 

It takes less effort to move the beast.

After I reviewed inclined planes my group members did an excellent job teaching about screws and wedges.

When we finished going over our three simple machines, it was time for the guided practice. For our guided practice we had questions on the smart board with a word bank. One question at a time the students had to give us the correct answer from the word bank. I was happy when the students got all the answers correct. 

For our independent practice we asked the students to take either a pink, yellow, or blue index card. If the student had a Think question they had to write it on a pink index card. If the student had a Thin question they needed to write it on a yellow index card. If the student had a Wonder question they were supposed to write it on a blue index card. When the students were finished we asked them to tape their index cards on a poster board under their category.

I was happy the way our Direct Instruction lesson plan went. I felt like the students understood the material, and we were set up great for our Inquiry lesson plan. 

Group 1 Inquiry Lesson Plan

Group 1 began their lesson by telling the students they were going to be engineers today. They then reviewed the Vocabulary from their direct lesson plan on simple machines. 

The teachers came up with a really interesting problem for the students to solve using the inquiry method. They started by saying the Circus is coming to Newburgh. The train the circus was taking fell off the track and the elephant is off the track. The students had to figure out a way to get the elephants back on the train using 2 simple machines. Before the students began working in groups one of the teachers went over the steps of inquiry with the students. The teachers walked group to group making sure the students stayed on track. I thought all the teachers did an excellent job of guiding the students towards solutions without actually giving them the answer. This helps them become better problem solvers.

When the timer the teachers set went off, that meant it was time to present for the students. The students presented their solutions to the problem answering one question at a time. They had to tell the class what simple machines they used, how they used the, their hypothesis, conclusion, and had to draw a picture of their simple machine. All of the presentations were interesting. It was great to see how creative all the students were.

For the independent practice the students had to write a letter. In the letter they had to include several different things. They had to explain to the class how their complex machine worked, what simple machines they used, and if it affected the environment. They used a rubric to explain exactly what they wanted from the students. This was an excellent inquiry lesson plan. The students all seemed to enjoy using the inquiry method, and did a great job with their presentations.

Group 1 Direct Instruction Lesson Plan

It was the first day of teaching for group 1, and I was a little nervous for them, but I knew they would do a great job. They began the class by reviewing the class rules. This was so the students knew exactly what was expected of them. They also went over the check for understanding. If they understood what was being taught to them they were supposed to hold up a thumbs up, if they didn't they had to put up a thumbs down, if they were a little confused they should put their thumbs sideways. 

The Vocabulary words were introduced to the students using word art which I thought was fun. The teachers also handed out a note sheet to every student. The teachers taught the vocabulary words and would stop at certain times to tell the students where to write the word on their note sheets. After teaching the words the teachers did a stop and think to test if the students understood what was being taught to them. The students all seemed engaged in the lesson. I felt the teachers did a great job of not only explaining what each simple machine was, but also explained how they worked, and gave examples of each one. At one point a student didn't know an answer so the teacher picked a name written on a Popsicle stick. This was a good way to keep the student's attention, and all the students thought it was fun.

For the guided practice the teachers played a matching game where the students had to match the simple machine term with it's definition. The teachers also asked the students true or false questions on simple machines.

For the closure the students worked on a simple machines learning page. The teachers allowed the students to use their note sheets and walked around the class to help anyone who needed it. For group 1's independent practice they had the students write comments on different color post it notes. They then had the students put their post its on a poster board. My mine takeaway from the lesson was how good all the teachers' class management skills were, and how engaged all the students were in learning simple machines.

First Day of Fieldwork

After all the preparing my group did the wait was finally over. It was the first day of fieldwork and I was excited and a little nervous to meet the fourth grade students we would teach all about simple machines. It was the first day so we didn't have to teach yet. All we had to do was conduct our Getting to Know You Activity with the groups. For our activity we chose to play a Jenga game with the students. This however, was not an ordinary game of Jenga. Each Jenga piece had a number written on it from 1-30. Every member of our group had a question sheet on the side that contained both getting to know you questions as well as questions on the 3 simple machines we had to teach about which were the screw, wedge, and inclined plane. These questions were numbered and we asked the questions based on what number was on the Jenga piece selected. This was a fun way to get to know a little about the students while at the same time assess their prior knowledge on simple machines. I feel like the activity went very well. The students were all excited to play a game in class, and they even knew more about the simple machines than I thought they would. The class seemed very excited to learn new things, and I couldn't wait to have the opportunity to teach them in a couple of weeks.