The First Class The First Class Sign will be posted on door so students know they are in the right room Welcome to Grade 9 Science Will greet students at the door with a Hello, welcome to Grade 9 Science Seating plan to be posted on Smartboard Arrangements will be determined using past knowledge of the students, or info from other teachers Desks will be arranged in groups of 4 if possible For use in opening class group activities The First Class (contd) Will open the class with attendance, a bit about myself (attached My Life ppt) and an ice-breaker (fun) activity Followed by an introduction to science video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpBAmzQ_pUE Video used to link science to our every day understanding of the world around us Following this we will move into chart paper group opening activity *See next slide* The First Class (contd) Each group will have a piece of chart paper with a question at the top of it at their desk, including a coloured marker to write answers LEARNING GOAL: By the end of the class students will have shown their prior scientific knowledge, and will have an idea of what science is and how it helps our everyday lives Questions will pertain to science in our lives Each group will have a different coloured marker The First Class (contd) Each group will have 3-5 minutes to answer the question on their chart paper, after which all groups will rotate to the next group table, with their marker in hand Chart paper remains at the table, this way each group will have had a chance to answer all questions by the end of the activity The First Class (contd) Chart paper questions 1) What does science mean to you? 2) Name a past scientific discovery, what did it teach us about the world/universe? 3) Give examples of how scientific understanding is used in our everyday lives 4) Name some famous scientists 5) Name some jobs that require science knowledge to perform well The Second Class The Second Class During this class we will be talking about how to make scientific observations LEARNING GOAL: By the end of this lesson, students will understand what makes a good observation, and how to go about making scientific observations in general First we will perform a simple scientific experiment (similar to the fake snow one, or lighting a conical tissue paper on fire and watching it rise) Before beginning the experiment, the teacher will explain how to perform the experiment, and leave instructions on Smartboard during class Students will then (as a group) write down some of their hypotheses as to what might happen The Second Class (contd) Students will perform the simple experiment After students will make observations as to what happened during the experiment We will then re-group as a class and discuss some of their observations After that we will again break into their groups, and students will discuss and record WHY they think experiment proceeded the way it did As in they will try to describe their observations scientifically The Second Class (contd) Again we will re-group as a class and discuss their explanations Each group will have to present at least one possible explanation Teacher will then explain the correct reasoning behind what happened As a class we will finish by talking about what makes a good observation, comparing to their examples, and discussing any elements that were missing The Third Class The Third Class In this lesson we will begin looking at how to plan a scientific experiment LEARNING GOAL: By the end of the lesson students will be beginning to understand how to plan an experiment to test a research question The Third Class (contd) We will begin again by performing a simple scientific experiment (maybe parallel and series circuits) Instructions will be provided for this part of the lesson (should take about 20 minutes to perform) Students will again work in their groups The Third Class (contd) After the experiment has been completed, we will discuss the format of the method given to perform the experiment How do we go from having a research question, to testing that questions appropriately
Now the teacher will ask the students to perform
an experiment similar to the one just performed, only with a twist/difference explained by the teacher Students will now have to write their own experimental method for the similar experiment The Fourth Class The Fourth Class Today we will start with a review of what we did last class, focusing on how we went about planning an experimental method
Todays lesson will focus on how to gather
data and analyze that data after performing an experiment LEARNING GOAL: By the end of todays lesson students will have an idea of how to record data during an experiment, and how to begin analyzing that data for significance The Fourth Class (contd) Students will perform the experiment they planned yesterday (parallel vs series circuits) During the experiment they will record any observations and data, mostly about light bulb strength and number lit After as a class we will look at how each group went about recording data Then we will talk about what was done well, what didnt work so well, and how we can improve our data recording We will then talk about statistical analyses briefly, just to explain how they are used to test for significance in our data, using a few examples The Fifth Lesson The Fifth Lesson Today we will start by reviewing last class, how we collect and analyze data
Todays lesson will focus on how we now
draw conclusions and communicate our experimental results LEARNING GOAL: By the end of todays lesson I will have an idea of how to translate my results into meaningful conclusions, and have an idea of a few ways we might visually show and present our findings The Fifth Lesson (contd) Using the data collected in the previous lab, students will work on converting those results into figures, tables, diagrams, etc..
Then students will convert those
figures and results into meaningful conclusions Next Week We will start to look at how, after an experiment has been completed, we may go about communicating our findings Behavioural Considerations I will keep paper and pencils in the classroom for those who forget to bring Write name on board if borrowing pencil
Early on I would have a class
discussion about what I expect the classroom attitude to be Positive, respectful, accepting of differences, etc Behavioural Considerations Use of deck of cards Each card with a student name on it, used when no one will answer (one pass allowed), used to pick groups (might be fixed) Set up an active classroom Room to move about Pictures/poster/demonstrations on wall Science quotes, discoveries, etc Lots of different reading materials to encourage reading in general, try to have more scientific readings Behavioural Considerations Teacher-student relationship Build some personal relationships early on Gain students trust by showing you care about them as more than just a student Student-student relationship Respect for all Teacher-parent relationship Open environment where discussion is encouraged Cognitive Practices When posing a question to the class as a whole, I like to use wait-time as a way of allowing each student a chance to think about the answer before an answer is given In situations where no one answers, this is when I would have them discuss the question as a group After discussion, we will come back together as a class and discuss the correct answer Cognitive Practices Mistakes are encouraged! In my classroom mistakes are encouraged, as I feel that we often learn best through the mistakes we have made and have corrected I want an environment where people are not afraid that they will be ridiculed for making an incorrect response Collaborative environment I like using group activities, as I feel it allows students the chance to show other side of their skills (leadership, teamwork, etc.) If groups are not working well (getting off task, arguing, goofing around, etc) then I will move towards more independent work, hopefully teaching them the privilege of group work Cognitive Practices Student-centered learning
Try to use various activities to build
teamwork, independence, and also a fun-learning environment Routines For the group activities, I would like to try and keep the students in the same groups throughout the first activity To allow them to work together to complete the entire process Groups will be changed often throughout the year, as I would like to create a classroom environment where all have a chance to work with each other at some point
I would like to start each class with a video or news
article about a current issue to do with science Used to show relevance and relationship of science to our everyday lives Routines Students will hand in their work before they leave the classroom each day This will either be in the form of exit card questions, or just what they had been working on (as in this case) Seating arrangements will be changed depending on class behaviour I would like to have students sitting in groups, as I like to have them discuss questions that no one has answered in groups If groups are leading to too much talking during teaching, etc. then I will re-arrange the class as necessary I would also like to try and incorporate a 2-3 minute movement break into all my lessons around the midway point Used to prevent students from getting to antsy Allow students a chance to reset their brains