al-mofhariz

Ah...the dredded prep work.... What makes a science lesson run smoothly or go over like a lead balloon? Whether or not the teacher has her/his materials prepped and ready for the lesson. I know some teachers complain about the time it takes to get materials ready. I know we are all fried at the end of the day...But if you simply spend 15 minutes making sure you are good to go the next day, the lesson will run 100% smoother. And if the lesson runs smoothly, the kids will learn more. So let me share a few of my tips and what works for me! First , I make sure that I have a consistent materials spot. I have two desks pushed together and covered with a vinyl tablecloth (to hide the crap educational materials underneath.) Second, you need each group to have materials easily accessible. As you see with this unit, I put each groups materials on a tray. Then when I ask the Getters to go get the materials, they simply get their trays and any additional materials. Sometimes you need t...

Ah...the dredded prep work.... What makes a science lesson run smoothly or go over like a lead balloon? Whether or not the teacher has her/his materials prepped and ready for the lesson.  I know some teachers  complain about the time it takes to get materials ready.  I know we are all fried at the end of the day...But if you simply spend 15 minutes making sure you are good to go the next day, the lesson will run 100% smoother.  And if the lesson runs smoothly, the kids will learn more.  So let me share a few of my tips and what works for me! First , I make sure that I have a consistent materials spot.  I have two desks pushed together and covered with a vinyl tablecloth (to hide the crap    educational materials underneath.)   Second, you need each group to have materials easily accessible. As you see with this unit, I put each groups materials on a tray.  Then when I ask the Getters to go get the materials, they simply get th...

Science Groups  It is time for a repost...I can not stress enough how important it is to have science groups set up for hands-on exploration.  Each child NEEDS a job and a responsibility.  It makes the lesson run so smoothly....  Take a peek into my Science jobs the FOSS way! For more information about the curriculum I use, check out www.fossweb.com   1.  GROUPING:   FOSS recommends you have your students into groups of 4.  I usually group them this way - one high student, one lower student and two average students.  I also pay special mind to personalities as well - sensitive, high energy, etc... Laura Candler has a really good resource for cooperative learning where you make cards to help you keep record of who is grouped with who.  I recommend you go to her website: www.lauracandler.com and search for more resources under cooperative learning. 2. POSTER WITH NAMES:   Once I determine who is in the group, I make a post...

What   can we learn about force and motion by creating our own roller coasters? Today, students will work in their science groups.   Getter one will get the materials – tube, a cup, tape and a marble. The cup is important because it catches the marble at the end of the run.   The starter will begin  to explore with the tubes for a while to see what the group can do… Can they make a loop? A curve? A drop?              Extend :   Pass out a challenge sheet (from  More Picture Perfect Science lessons )  with several challenges to attempt to try in their exploration. Can you move a marble to the cup using one loop? a twist? etc???  Getter two will clean up when the time is over and the Reporter will share what the group was able to do.  The science jobs is an extremely important part of any cooperative group activity because roles are defined and arguing over who does what is no...