We started the lesson by asking what the most important idea we discussed last week and all the students knew and raised their hands saying rocks are made up of different minerals and minerals are just one (pure). Kelly and I were very excited about this since we had a difficult time getting this across to them last week. We also discussed some content vocabulary words we learned this semester and the students were very receptive to this.
The students had a blast observing the 12 minerals and recording the texture and drawing a picture. The students especially liked observing the smell of the minerals because they got to use new materials. They had a cup of water and a dropper and poured water onto the mineral. They realized it helped the smell and color of the mineral become more distinct. We were very nervous at first to allow 23 students to use droppers, but overall they did really well. 
Kelly and I really enjoyed the reflection the students did at the end. We gave them each a piece of paper and told them to write a reflection on what they discovered today. We discussed this at the end of the lesson and asked them what the most important idea they learned today. One student was very excited and wanted to read his reflection to the class. He said "Today I learned that minerals are not all the same. They are different shapes, sizes, colors and textures", and continued with his reflection. :) It was a great way to end the lesson. We plan to use the reflections more often at the end of the lessons.
The students really seemed to enjoy this lesson, because they did a lot of hands on observations and used new exciting materials. Overall, I believe we had a great flow of the class. We finished on time, YAYY! and the students enjoyed observing the minerals and using their senses to record the properties. I really need to work on not saying "you guys" to the students, because I catch myself saying it right away, but I need to think before I call attention to the class.
Sounds like your lesson went great! Sarah and I spent most of the time allowing the students to observe and record the 12 minerals because it really is a lot to do in 45 minutes. Somehow, they did complete it! That is great that you had time for the students to write a reflection too! I thought this was a fun lesson and I would have had just as much fun doing it myself as they did! We also say "you guys" and it is definitely a bad habit to get into, so it is good we are catching ourselves now! Great jobbbbb :o)
ReplyDeleteHi Laura,
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see how you are reflecting not only on this past lesson, but on the comparisons to prior lessons and the unit as a whole. It sounds like the students had some quality observing time with the minerals! You can tell you are doing something right when all the students know the answer to the science question from last week! And it's great that the reflection was a success! If you give students an opportunity to express themselves without so much structure, they may surprise you! Awesome job and keep it up!!
~Becky
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you and Kelly had such a successful lesson! Ben and I feel we did too. We finally got it just right so they had a full 30 minutes to do the activity and the students loved it! I would love to have our students write a reflection after the activity. How cute that one student wanted to read his. That must have made you and Kelly feel really good. What a difference you made! I bet your students ran right home that day to tell their parents what they did in class. Yay for you girls! Keep up the great work! :)