Observation of Science Lesson- Where do lakes form?
This lesson was an exploratory lesson for the students. The essential question was where do lakes form? The first thing that the teacher did was lead a discussion about the lakes near Charlotte. She walked over to the map of NC and pointed out Lake Wylie and Lake Norman. She asked questions such as, "How the these lakes were made?" and "What is the purpose of these lakes?". With each question the teacher had them turn and talk to a neighbor about their ideas and then share to the class. This seemed to cut down on the number of hands raised and same answers because they had already agreed upon and answer. I also like how they did that because it brought in the working in groups portion of education.
After that, the students were sent back to their desk and take out the explore activity page in their student textbook. The teacher broke the students into groups and she had stations set up around the room for the different groups to go to. Each station was the same but it just made it easier for the groups to work together and see what they were doing. At each station their was a plastic bin, modeling clay, and water. The students were asked to follow the directions on the worksheet and answer the questions provided. What the sheet told them to do was first just lay the clay down in the box as flat as possible and pour the water in. Then wait a little while and record what they saw, where the water settled, etc. Then it asked the students to press on the clay and make "mountains and valleys" then pour water on it. Now they had to record what they saw and finish up the worksheet and answer the questions.
As the students were working the teacher walked around the room guiding discussions and asking questions to check for understanding. She walked around with a note pad and took notes about the students that were not understanding the material. As the students finished they were asked to go look at different groups and see what their "lakes" looked like. As all the groups were finishing up the teacher asked them to clean up their materials and to come to the rug with their science journals. In their science journals they had to write what they felt made lakes form and where in their own words. After all the students were done they discussed the answers as a class.
Science at this school is not a priority and has only a short amount of time. I could tell there really wasn't enough time to get through the whole lesson. There also wasn't a lot of time that the teacher was actually "teaching" the topics, it was more of just a class discussion. I liked how the teacher was really there as a facilitator and she let the students get to the answers themselves and almost teach themselves. I did not like, however, was there didn't seem to be a true wrap up of the lesson. I didn't feel like there was a tie into why it was important to learn this information or a definite end and understanding of students learning. I liked the activity and would definitely use it in my future classroom with a few minor modifications.
After that, the students were sent back to their desk and take out the explore activity page in their student textbook. The teacher broke the students into groups and she had stations set up around the room for the different groups to go to. Each station was the same but it just made it easier for the groups to work together and see what they were doing. At each station their was a plastic bin, modeling clay, and water. The students were asked to follow the directions on the worksheet and answer the questions provided. What the sheet told them to do was first just lay the clay down in the box as flat as possible and pour the water in. Then wait a little while and record what they saw, where the water settled, etc. Then it asked the students to press on the clay and make "mountains and valleys" then pour water on it. Now they had to record what they saw and finish up the worksheet and answer the questions.
As the students were working the teacher walked around the room guiding discussions and asking questions to check for understanding. She walked around with a note pad and took notes about the students that were not understanding the material. As the students finished they were asked to go look at different groups and see what their "lakes" looked like. As all the groups were finishing up the teacher asked them to clean up their materials and to come to the rug with their science journals. In their science journals they had to write what they felt made lakes form and where in their own words. After all the students were done they discussed the answers as a class.
Science at this school is not a priority and has only a short amount of time. I could tell there really wasn't enough time to get through the whole lesson. There also wasn't a lot of time that the teacher was actually "teaching" the topics, it was more of just a class discussion. I liked how the teacher was really there as a facilitator and she let the students get to the answers themselves and almost teach themselves. I did not like, however, was there didn't seem to be a true wrap up of the lesson. I didn't feel like there was a tie into why it was important to learn this information or a definite end and understanding of students learning. I liked the activity and would definitely use it in my future classroom with a few minor modifications.