Why Science is AMAZING!

Science is amazing because you get to view things like you’ve never seen them before! In the first picture, I got the opportunity to study bacteria and how it reacts to different fruit. Next, science one of the only subjects were you get to make art such a big part of your daily activities. This was a page of notes I had taken where I got to make a collage of different tissues in the human body. The next picture is a male moss. We got to look at the moss with a microscope and see it in a way that very few people get an opportunity to see. Lastly, Science is everywhere all around us and with the help of a trained eye we can see everything as being very unique and cool.

 

Science Lesson

 

EC-6 ESL Lesson Plan Format – Science

  1. Background Information
  2. Name: Amanda Miller
  3. Content Area: Science
  4. Topic:Flow of electricity in closed circuits
  5. Grade: fifth grade
  6. Goals and Objectives

TEKS

Specific Content TEK– Fifth grade (b) (6) Force, motion, and energy. The student knows that energy occurs in many forms and can be observed in cycles, patterns, and systems. The student is expected to: (B) demonstrate that the flow of electricity in closed circuits can produce light, heat, or sound;

Scientific Investigation and reasoning skills–Fifth grade (b)(2) Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses scientific practices during laboratory and outdoor investigations. The student is expected to: (C) collect and record information using detailed observations and accurate measuring;

Content Objective:

The student will learn how open and closed circuits function through understanding the use of conductors and insulators.

ELPS:

  • 74.4. English Language Proficiency Standards. (c)(3)(D)  speak using grade-level content area vocabulary in context to internalize new English words and build academic language proficiency;

Language Objective:

The student will use the terms in the vocabulary section that are associated with circuits and electricity when communicating as a class.

Materials Needed:

Energy Sheet Checklist

Interactive notebook entry

Water

Cups

pencils

yarn pieces

empty water bottles

desks

nails

glass marbles

plastic spoon

Pencil

Technology Needed:

Energy Sticks

Projector

YouTube video

Smart board

 

Pre-Assessment related to TEKS and Objectives

The teacher will be using the strategy Think – Ink – Pair – Share for the students Pre-Assessment. First, the students will be thinking about what a circuit is and see if they can determine an example, if the students have a difficult time with this the teacher will introduce the topic by saying, “Circuits are a line that carries electricity, for other things to use. For example, the lights are getting electricity from a circuit. What controls that electricity is the light switch.” I will then have them right something rather it’s the definition of circuit or an example of a circuit. They will then partner up with their shoulder partners and discuss what they wrote. Lastly, we will discuss as a class. This will help the teacher determine if they were able to expand on the topic based on previous knowledge or if this seems like a new topic to them.

Key Vocabulary:

  1. Open circuit- A path which electricity doesn’t flow to another direct source since it’s not connected.
  2. Closed Circuit- A path which electricity flows to another direct source since it’s not connected.
  3. Electricity- Energy that flows through a path that allows for things to operate and turn on.
  4. Conductor- Flows through a material that allows heat and electricity to flow through
  5. Insulator- Stops the flow of heat and electricity.

 

Instructional Procedures

This section must include the instructional procedures. Below is an example of what this would look like for an inquiry-based, 5E learning cycle.

  • Engage

During the engagement of the lesson, the teacher will ask the student to open/close the door.. once the door is closed they will then ask another student to open/close the door. The teacher should keep doing this until the class beings questioning what is going on. The teacher will then discuss that when the door is closed, it keeps everyone in and when the door is open it allows people to flow out of the room just like a circuit.

Explore

Before the Explore the teacher will first model how to use the energy sticks showing examples of closed and open circuits with their arms. The teacher will also show an example of a conductor and an insulator by showing how the sticks light up when there is a conductor.  Before the students are given their own sticks, the teacher will have them all stand up in a circle and we will all then be creating closed and open circuits as a group. The students will then be given energy sticks to test different circuits around the room. They will determine whether or not objects are conductor or insulators and they will be learning to close the circuit by properly placing the objects. In partners they will be testing circuits with humans, water, pencils, yarn, water bottles, the leg of the desk, nails, glass marbles and a plastic spoon. At each table the teacher will place the items on their desks, and they will fill out the energy stick checklist.

Questions:

  1. Can you create an open circuit when testing the items?
  2. “What type of circuit is created when everyone in the group makes the energy stick light up?” (worksheet)
  3. “What type of circuit is created when one person breaks the circle and the energy stick no longer lights up?” (worksheet)
  4. “If the stick isn’t lighting up, is this automatically an insulator or could something else be preventing it?”
  5. “Can you think of something in real life that may be a conductor?”

 

Explain

Once the investigation is complete the teacher should bring the class come together as a group and discuss the findings together. To ensure that are findings are all the same with each item, so that there is no misunderstandings on the answers. The teacher will then also go over the vocabulary for the lesson and re illiterate open circuit, closed circuit, electricity, conductor and insulator.

 

  1. “For question one, we got conductor is this true?”
  2. “Do you think that some things can still work in an open circuit?”
  3. “Can electricity only flow in a path?”
  4. “If you have both an insulator and a conductor will that creating a open or closed circuit?”

 

Elaborate

The teacher will then show the video of a person connecting two battery’s and a wire to a lightbulb and the student can see how the light bulbs turns on. By showing this video we are able to see a circuit in a real-world scenario. This will also help them connect the ideas of how energy works with different objects that they see every day.

 

Re-Teaching

For the reteaching/review the teacher will find the materials to allow the students to make their own circuits. The teacher would them combine the use of insulators and conductors from this lesson to help emphasize the importance of the two. The students would have wires, light bulbs and batteries, in small groups they would create their own circuits and add conductors and insulators to test the differences with the electricity.

Modifications

For students with special needs/IEPfirstly you should follow any accommodations in their IEP’s. I would also have vocabulary print outs with pictures available. Depending on the student, matching the conductors and insulators for their Interactive notebook entry at the same time may be helpful.

 

English language Learners

Beginners— The teacher should allow the students to complete their interactive notebooks while doing the activities at the same time. The teacher should also put pictures of the different items on the worksheet so that the students know what item each one is.

Intermediate- The teacher should use sentence stems for the two questions on the work sheet, for question one it should say, “When the class made a circle and the stick lit up this would be a _____” You could also have conversation stems, “This is a conductor because ___”

Advanced- For advanced learners the teacher would provide a list of the vocabulary words with their definitions. That way if the student had any questions he could reference, ask a partner or the teacher. 

Extensions

During the explore section of the lesson plan the students are testing out objects found that are given to them. For an extension for students of more advanced abilities I would provide a list where they have to fill in items that they found. They would have to find at least a certain number of insulators and conductors to make sure they still understand the differences.

Assessment

Evaluate

The students will be putting the interactive notebook entry into their notebooks, and then filling out the difference between conductor and insulators. As a class. For the formal assessment the student will be matching up rather or not the items are conductors or insulators. For an informal assessment the teacher will be asking groups what the definition of a conductor or insulator is without looking at their books to see if they can describe it. Behaviorally students met the lesson by staying focused and were using the energy stick to test items. The teacher will know if the students have met the objective by their answers of the questions during the interactive notebook section. How will students be assessed?

Summary for the Students of What Has Been Learned

  • Closure – The teacher should do a quick recall of information using cold call. The questions that will be asked are:
  1. “When my arms are closed and wrapped, is this a open or closed circuit?”
  2. “When my arms are open and, is this a open or closed circuit?”
  3. “Is metal a conductor or insulator?” (Use this with multiple materials from the lesson)
  4. “Does electricity only flow in a path?”

The teacher will then ask the students to tell their shoulder partners what they have learned today for two minutes and then will clean up their area.

 

References

Chapter 74. Curriculum Requirements Subchapter A. Required Curriculum. (2016, April 6). Retrieved from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074a.html

Chapter 113. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science. Elementary. (2010, August 23). Retrieved October 8, 2018, from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter113/ch113a.html

Chapter 117. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Fine Arts Subchapter A. Elementary, Adopted 2013. (2013, July 28). Retrieved from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter117/ch117a.html

Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hebisd.edu/page.cfm?p=1963

(The pictures of what will be used for the lesson came from Elizabeth Manning, the teacher that will also be observing the lesson on October 18th, 2018.)

 

 

Science Education Article

The problem mentioned in the article is that students do not see themselves as scientists. The students are not feeling positive about their skills in a science classroom. The author of the article had a hypothesis that wearing lab coats would change students opinions about the science field. In the article the students are put into two classrooms where the teacher has one class wear a lab coat ten times within two months. The group that wore the lab coat forty-seven percent of the students changed their minds from the pre to post survey that “ they feel like others see them as someone who likes science.” In addition, “45 percent changed their responses on the post-test to positive responses.” The purpose of this study was to find a way to influence students to eventually enter into the STEM fields. In conclusion, The article was well written and I felt that it made me to want to purchase lab coats for my students, even if it’s just a cheap bulk package. I want my students to see themselves as scientists.

I feel that it is important to provide all the materials to allow my students to feel that they are a part of something. Even providing things like googles, gloves and coats will help them feel that they are a part of something bigger than them. It also helps them feel more confident and cool when they are trying something new.

References:

Ennes, M. (2018, May 29). Lab coats help students see themselves as future scientists. Retrieved October 9, 2018, from https://theconversation.com/lab-coats-help-students-see-themselves-as-future-scientists-96333