Curriculum Project:

The curriculum project is designed to apply your learning about science teaching and learning that is inquiry based into your classroom practice. It is broken down into 5 parts and each part will be evaluated separately. It is based on the idea that science is both a process of inquiry (the 5 E’s and the 8 practices) and a body of knowledge; it is an integrated discipline. The development of scientific skills is inextricably linked to the development of ideas in science. Similarly, as students’ ideas evolve, they should be acquiring an understanding of the nature of science and its relationship to technology, mathematics and engineering.

Part A: Find a Lesson

Find an appropriate lesson. This cannot be a lesson your mentor teacher developed. It must be a professionally written curricular lesson. It must be something your mentor teacher will let you teach in the classroom, either to the whole class, or a small group of 5 or 6 students.

I have linked below the PDF of the lesson that I completed from ScienceNetLinks.com. I completed this lesson with forth grade students in a small group setting.

Fourth Grade Standards Used in this Lesson

I-B.3a. - Understand how data are used to explain how a simple system functions (e.g., a thermometer to measure heat loss as water cools).

I-C.3a. - Identify simple mathematical relationships in a scientific investigation (e.g., the relationship of the density of materials that will or will not float in water to the density of water).

I-A.3a. - Conduct multiple trials to test a prediction, draw logical conclusions, and construct and interpret graphs from measurements.

I-B.2a. - Describe how scientific investigations may differ from one another (e.g., observations of nature, measurements of things changing over time).

I-C.3a. - Identify simple mathematical relationships in a scientific investigation (e.g., the relationship of the density of materials that will or will not float in water to the density of water).

I-A.4a. - Collect data in an investigation using multiple techniques, including control groups, and analyze those data to determine what other investigations could be conducted to validate findings.

I-B.3a. - Understand how data are used to explain how a simple system functions (e.g., a thermometer to measure heat loss as water cools).

I-A.1a. - Use instruments to perform investigations (e.g., timers, balances) and communicate findings.

I-A.3a. - Conduct multiple trials to test a prediction, draw logical conclusions, and construct and interpret graphs from measurements.

I-A.1a. - Use instruments to perform investigations (e.g., timers, balances) and communicate findings.

I-A.2a. - Differentiate observation from interpretation and understand that a scientific explanation comes in part from what is observed and in part from how the observation is interpreted.

I-A.4a. - Collect data in an investigation using multiple techniques, including control groups, and analyze those data to determine what other investigations could be conducted to validate findings.

I-B.2a. - Describe how scientific investigations may differ from one another (e.g., observations of nature, measurements of things changing over time).

I-A.2a. - Differentiate observation from interpretation and understand that a scientific explanation comes in part from what is observed and in part from how the observation is interpreted.

Part B: Analyze

For this part of the project you will read your lesson and analyze it using the framework provided. The purpose of the framework is to help you think about the lesson.

For my lesson I will be doing a lesson with fourth or fifth grade students on classification of animals. When I first looked at this lesson, I liked that it was more of a beginning and easy for the students to understand. It gives the students multiple opportunities to understand the material, and then transfer it to the science lesson. I think that the students would enjoy the group discussion that they get to brainstorm ways to sort different options. I would use two or three examples of household objects that we could brainstorm for sorting. I think that brainstorming and working with the button, tools and keys would be the part that they like the most. I think transfer their knowledge that animals could fall into two different categories. For example, penguins are birds, but they can also swim. I plan on bringing up that pants can be short and pink, falling into two categories. I will be assessing their understanding by asking questions. There are sample questions that are listed into the lesson plan. There isn’t too much of the real-world aspect for students, as we are just beginning on the subject. It would fall into the beginning of the unit of study, as we would be just starting to study classification of animals. There is a component that could include technology, but due to the fact we don’t have computers in our classroom, so we will not be doing that part of the lesson.

This lesson uses reading as part of the lesson for them to read about the various animals. I might use some books are a precursor to the lesson. They also have to prior knowledge of some of the animals. If they don’t know what a tiger is, they can’t group it by its characteristics.

Part C: Rewrite

For this part of the project you will be rewriting the lesson to be taught in an inquiry based way. You will use the 5 E format, include all of the NGSS standards, including the 8 practices.

Lesson Title: Classification Scheme

Grade Level: Fourth Grade

Materials Needed: assorted keys, assorted buttons, assorted tools, animal cards to classify. student notebooks, student folders.

Approximate Time: 40 Minutes.

Other content areas: language arts, science, higher level thinking.

ENGAGE:

NGSS Practices: 2,4,7,8

Start the lesson by having the student participate in a brainstorming activity. Have them discuss different ways that living organisms can be identified. Ask them questions such as ‘what are different ways that different objects in our homes can be classified?’ Could your clothes be divided into different groups? How would you divide them? What about the dishes in your kitchen? How would you group those? As the students come up with ideas of how to group each set you give them as an example, write them up on the board to give the students a visual.

EXPLORE:

NGSS Practices: 1,2,3,4,5,6

Split the students into groups and give each group a box of buttons, tools, or keys. Have each group practice classifying objects according to physical structure and features. Challenge them to come up with different ways to sort the materials. For example, sort the buttons by size or color. Walk around and observe what the students are doing and encourage them to continue to work hard. Each group should keep a written record of how they divide the objects. Then have students share their classifications with the rest of the class.

EXPLAIN:

NGSS Practices: 1,4,7

Direct students to the student animal card. Ask the students to spread them out on the table and study them. Start to ask them questions such as ‘are there any features that are shared by all of the animals?’, ‘what features vary from animal to animal?’ ‘What features did you use to divide the animals?’ ‘Are there other features did you notice were similar with the animals?’

**This part of the lesson would be discussion only. They would actually start to group the animals in the next step.**

**For this part of the lesson, I opted to have students use paper cards, as opposed to looking at them on their computer.**

EVALUATE:

NGSS Practices: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7

Allow the student a chance to work in small groups to two to three students and group the animals based on their classification system. When you ask younger students to group animals, they may have a tendency to place each animal into its own group. Continue the activity by asking them to search for common features between at least two animals, then three animals.

Once the students have had time to sort their animals begin to ask questions: ‘How did you group these animals?’, ‘Did thinking about these animals help you to group them?’ ‘Did the information that you knew about these animals, help you to group them?’

ELABORATE

NGSS Practices: 1,3,6,8

I would provide my students with a wide range of books and articles to further their knowledge in different animals and how they are classified. Encouraging them to continue to read and follow up with an activity that each group is given a class, and they have to explain to the class what an animal has to have to be in that class.

**The original lesson plans gives further resources online. I chose to provide the students with books and article to further their understanding of the animals. **

Part D: Teach

This is when you teach and video record your newly designed lesson. You will also have a peer observer (of your choice). You will write a detailed reflection of your experience, using the video, and the comments from your observer.

I taught this lesson to a group of five fourth graders. Overall, I feel that the lesson went very well. I feel that the students were engaged in the lesson and enjoying it. I wish I could have done it with a larger group of students. I feel that they would have been able to produce more discussion. I had to rethink my lesson plan on the spot. Instead of having the students split into groups and sort three different items, I had them work as one group to group the items. I wanted them to really have that discussion on how to group them and bounce ideas off of each other. I sat back and let the students do the talking. I feel this part of the lesson was a success. The students were really talking to each other arguing why their idea to group was the best, then would come back and say, ‘well what do you think of this one?’. It was great experience for them. They also did this during the button sorting. If I would have done this lesson whole group, I would have split them into groups and had each group do this, then allowed the groups to discuss, to produce more discussion between the groups. The single group I did have though produced a great dialogue.

When watching the video, I noticed that one of kids was not as involved as the others. I think I was so focused on what the other students were saying, I didn’t notice my one little girl that was quiet and just agreed with the other students. When watching this on the video, I wished I would have encouraged her to be more involved, maybe given her one card to sort herself and explain why she thought that.

Overall, I think the lesson went very well. The next day, the students came in and asked me about it, asking if we could do more. One girl came in and told me that she sorted her clothes last night, using ideas that we had come up with at the beginning of the lesson. This was such an amazing thing for me, that she took what we had learned the day before and applied to real life situations.

After talking with my peer at the school that watched my lesson, she suggested stretching the lesson over a few days. She thought that it felt rushed, which I agree with. I only was able to take the kids for forty-five minutes. If I was able to do it over, I would do it over two days. Have them have the discussion and sort the buttons one day, then move into the animal cards the next day.

From teaching this lesson, I learned to really sit back and let the kids do the talking. I have a tendency that I never noticed before to micromanage the situation. I wanted to jump into the conversation when the kids were grouping both the buttons and the animals. I need to learn to sit back and let them work through their thought process more, and to come to their own conclusions.

I taught a small group of five fourth graders. These students scored the lowest on their i-station scores for reading, so they come to the title I room for intervention. I currently work as a title I aid, and with the teacher’s permission I did a day of science for this lesson. These students need extra help in the classroom, and are behind their grade level, but do not qualify for special education serves or an IEP.

In conclusion, I feel the lesson went well overall. I did feel rushed and was not able to spend as much time on certain parts of the lesson as I would have liked to, but I feel the students got a lot of the lesson. If I were teaching it again, there are several things that I would change. If possible, I would like to allow the students to use some of the resources that are on the computer. I looked at some of the follow up activities that were offered and would like to use those to solidify the idea of classification schemes.

Part E: Reflect

As teachers, we always make changes to lessons after we have taught them. Having seen the video, talked with your observer, and written a reflection, you will take the lesson from part c, and note any additional modifications you would make if you taught this lesson again.

ENGAGE:

NGSS Practices: 2,4,7,8

I would have the students brainstorm quietly to themselves and write in their journals, then share as a group. This allows the students time to think about what they are doing, and plan what they want to say.

EXPLORE:

NGSS Practices: 1,2,3,4,5,6

If I were to teach this to a small group again, I would only have one item, such as the buttons, and have them work together for this. I planned this for a whole group, and only worked with five students. This is what I did to make up for their smaller numbers.

EXPLAIN:

NGSS Practices: 1,4,7

With the small amount of time that I got to work with the students, I would start here on day two. This would allow the students more time to think about what they are doing and allow more time for discussion.

EVALUATE:

NGSS Practices: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7

With the small amount of time that I got to work with the students, I would continue here on day two. This would allow the students more time to think about what they are doing and allow more time for discussion.

ELABORATE

NGSS Practices: 1,3,6,8

We are still working on this part and the students are really enjoying it. Each student picked an animal and are working on researching their animal using nonfiction text and short articles.