Establishing a Culture of Inquiry during the First Days of School

I am trying to reinvent my class for next year – especially the first week of school. Here is an outline of what I did last year on the first five days of school: Day 1 – Classroom expectations, basic overview of what is covered in the course Day 2 – Lesson on observations, inferences,… Continue reading Establishing a Culture of Inquiry during the First Days of School

Twitter #Scichat – Discussing Science Education

If you are a science teacher and use Twitter at all, you really need to see if you can find time to join a #scichat discussion. #Scichat is similar to #edchat – a discussion about education related topics for one hour every Tuesday evening at 7 pm EDT. However, #scichat focuses on science education. The… Continue reading Twitter #Scichat – Discussing Science Education

Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors: A Reading for Meaning Lesson

Two days before spring break, and the next lesson style in my solar system unit was a reading for meaning lesson on comets, asteroids, and meteors. If you are not familiar with the the reading for meaning strategy, students are given an organizer with statements on it. Students decide whether they agree or or disagree… Continue reading Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors: A Reading for Meaning Lesson

After the Jigsaw

I spent five days on my jigsaw lesson doing the following activities on each day: Explain concept and work in expert groups Work in expert groups Work in jigsaw groups Work in jigsaw groups and class discussion Assessment (test) In most of my classes, the expert groups and jigsaw groups worked well together. However, there… Continue reading After the Jigsaw

Reflections on my first New American Lecture lesson

As I think I’ve mentioned before, I am currently working on my gifted endorsement. I am also teaching three sixth grade gifted science classes this year. It is my first time teaching gifted science. As part of my endorsement class, we are writing a unit using several different lesson styles. The lessons are based around… Continue reading Reflections on my first New American Lecture lesson