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.

Simple Machines

The class was assigned a project all about simple machines. This project was broken up using the 5 E's of inquiry.

5 E's of Inquiry
1) Engage
2) Explore
3) Explain
4) Elaborate
5) Evaluate

The Engage part of the lesson was an example sheet of all different kinds of simple machines. The simple machines that were used as an example were an inclined plane, wedge, screw, lever, wheel and axel, and pulley. The paper talked about how each example was a simple machine and explained what they did.

inclined plane

The explore part of the lesson was a 3-2-1 activity based a video from Bill Nye the Science Guy. I had to think of 3 things I discovered, 2 interesting facts, and 1 question I still have. This was thought-provoking and kept me more engaged in the video as I was watching it. 

The explain part had me draw a picture using google drawings of a simple machine. I chose to draw a lever. I drew two people on a see-saw. Google drawing was a useful tool I had never used before this project. 

Here is the link to my drawing.

The elaborate part of the lesson was a simple machines robot game online. This game was entertaining and made me think about how simple machines play a large role in how everything works.

For evaluate, we had to fill out a form stating how we felt about the project. I thought it was engaging and educational, and thought-provoking. 

Flipgrid and Presentations

In class each group went in front of the class, and introduced themselves using a cool website called Flipgrid. Flipgrid allowed everyone to record themselves in a video. In the video everyone was supposed to introduce themselves by saying their major and concentration, a talent they have, a cool memory they had of science class, and a question they will ask their future students. After we presented our About Me slides, and Flipgrids we had to present our results for the scavenger hunt.

I started my About Me slide by talking about My Scientist. I explained how I named my scientist Dr. Hawkstein by combining Hawkins and Einstein because Stephen Hawkins and Albert Einstein are the two people I think about when I think of science. I also went into detail about how I drew things around him that come to my mind when I think of science such as goggles, plants, and a magnifying glass. In my Flipgrid I talked about how my talent was basketball, and I have enjoyed playing it my whole life as well as watching it. I enjoyed having the opportunity to reminisce on memories from past science classes. I decided on when I got to plant a seed, and watched it grow into a plant. For the question I want to ask my science class I went with why is the sky blue.

It was very interesting to hear all about the talents and opinions of my peers. I enjoyed watching everyone's videos and their scavenger hunt results. One thing I noticed was many of the groups had similar rules and concerns about the class.

Flipgrid was a useful tool that I would enjoy using in the classroom. It is a creative way to introduce yourself in front of the class and give presentations. I also believe it could be useful when students are nervous about presenting in front of the class. Overall this was a helpful experience that I hope I can utilize in my future lessons.

Scavenger Hunt

The day had come for us to choose our fieldwork groups we would be teaching in. I was very excited to get work in the same group as Emma and Kristie. We had to come with a group name before we could do anything. We decided on the group name The Mighty-Chondria. We all agreed that this was a funny name for our group and we even found a logo for our group.

After deciding on a group name we had to do a scavenger hunt together as a group. The scavenger hunt consisted of 6 tasks. For the first task we had to go to the Division of Education office and take a picture with Theresa Egger who is the administrative assistant, and then go to the student teaching office and take a picture with Evelyn Calviccio. Unfortunately they did not want to take pictures but were nice enough to let us take pictures with their name plates.


For our second task we were asked to put a a picture of all the assignments and resources we had in the class from eclass and give 3 reasons why they were important. The 3 reasons we came up with were they keep us updated on new techniques and information, reading classmates blogs helps us see different perspectives, and the KA 6 helps us reflect on our teaching experiences. 

For task 3 we were asked to come up with a list of class rules. We came up with 5 rules which we thought were essential to the class. 

Class Rules:
1) Attendance is mandatory for all classes and fieldwork even if your group is not teaching

2) Students must show up on time

3) Students must dress professionally to fieldwork

4) Students are not permitted to use cellphones in class or fieldwork

5) Students are not allowed to cheat on assignments.

For task 4 we were asked to come up with three questions we still have

1) Are we only doing direct instruction and inquiry-based lessons?

2) When will we find out what topics we are teaching about?

3) How many students are in the class?

For task 5 we had to list 3 things we were surprised about from the syllabus

1) “Scientific Me”. It is your story. You are being asked to reflect on your school science experiences from your earliest memory to the present.

2) You can not wear overpowering scents

3) We start field work the last week of February / first week of March

For task 6 we were asked to share some things we noticed or stood out from the syllabus

1) We have a learning to teach science tab

2) Tab for science teachers to discuss school

3) Inquiry is a theme in this class

Group logo

My Scientist

It was the first day of Science Methods class and I didn't what to expect since it was the first day. We were given a fun and interesting assignment. We were asked to draw a scientist or at least what we thought a scientist looked like. I didn't realize until we spoke about it as a class how impactful this assignment would end up being.

For my scientist I drew a man who was wearing goggles. I tried to draw as many things I associate with science as I could. I drew a lab coat on my scientist because whenever I think of scientists I think of lab coats. I also had my scientist holding a test tube and a magnifying glass. I also drew a plant because I knew we would be working with plants at fieldwork. I drew a whiteboard behind my scientist where I wrote as many words I could associate with science as I could think of. After the whole class finished their pictures we were asked to name our scientists. After thinking long and hard for about 15 seconds I came up with the name Hubert Hawkstein. I chose Hubert because I associate that name with smart people for some reason. I chose Hawkstein as the last name by combining Stephen Hawkins and Albert Einstein because they are the two people I associate most with science.

We then walked around the class and had the opportunity to look at some of our classmates scientists. Some of them were really impressive and showed great artistic ability. One thing that stood out to me was many of the scientists had crazy hair which I thought was really funny. After looking around the room we had a class discussion. Dr. Smirnova asked what were some things that stood out to us. Many of the pictures had similarities such as the scientist wearing goggles. One of my peers drew almost a stick figure and named him John Doe. The point he was trying to make was that anyone who has curiosity can be a scientist. I thought this was a really interesting and true concept. As someone who did not grow up enjoying science, I was nervous to be teaching it since I never thrived during that class. This class made me realize that as long as I stay optimistic and instill a sense of curiosity within my students I could be a successful science teacher, and enjoy this class.

Hubert Hawkstein- My Scientist