March 24, 2010 - Observation 2

The science lesson I observed today was also integrated with the English lesson. During the English portion of the lesson the teacher was present, but for the second science portion the teacher had to leave the classroom and a substitute taught the lesson. The class discussed dinosaurs and shared what they knew about them. First the class read a fiction (fantasy) story about cavemen and pet dinosaurs then they read a non-fiction exerpt about dinousaurs. The class compared the two pieces of literature and discussed how they knew which was non-fiction and which was fantasy fiction. They discussed "genre" as well as story elements and also completed as "story walk" before reading to brainstorm what the literature would be about. After the students completed their English portion of the lesson, they popcorn read a list of facts about dinosaurs and then discussed what they think happened to cause the extinction of the dinosaurs.
During a portion of the science lesson, I was able to work with three students to complete a "science conversation" about recycling. The conversation was excellent. The students were more than happy to talk about recycling, pollution, and the environment and had a number of thoughts and ideas on the topics. It was surprising to find just how much these students knew about recycling and how passionate they were at such a young age about the importance of recycling. I will be teaching a lesson on the environment and recycling on the week of Earth Day, so now I feel I am better prepared to create a lesson that will inspire the class in opposition to teaching a lesson at a level they are already familiar with. The teacher had me talk with one student above target level, one at target level, and one below target level. By doing this, I feel the teacher helped to give me a better idea of what the class as a whole will understand because I was able to get the ideas and opinions of students from each learning level.
Unfortunately, as interesting as my conversation was, the recorder did not tape any of the conversation. Thankfully, we completed a "mind map" while were discussing recycling and pollution so I was able to record the statements of the students. I am planning to refer to this "mind map" when creating my lesson for the class.