Online Quizes

I like that we can take the quizzes online and that we have a whole day to do them. I also think it is a great idea to allow us to enter the quiz two differnt times. I feel that the quiz covers the most imperative information and like the length of the quiz. I feel that they are beneficial to learning the material but think that some of the questions should be more straight forward on what they are looking for. I feel there are a lot going on in each question, most of the questions contain numerous mini questions in them and it is easy to not cover all of the aspects of the questions without writing a book for an answer! I think the questions should be simplified more and it would be a more well rounded quiz that will be easier to answer and also check because they will be clearer to both the student taking the quiz and the grader as well.

Lesson Plans

I have really enjoyed participating and seeing all of the different lesson plans that have been presented by my classmates. I feel that they are all very good lesson plans that can be used in future classrooms. I like the variety of grade levels and different areas of science that are covered. It is also interesting to see how safety was incorporated into each lesson plan. Safety is important and I like how they are fun hands on lesson plans but they are also stressing the importance of safety when using the materials. Safety First! :)

Lesson Plan

Our lesson plan is going to be very fun! I am getting excited to find fun activities and videos that can be incorporated into the plan. I think that students would really like our lesson plan and I feel that it will not only be a fun, hands-on adventure for the students, but it will also be a learning experience they will be able to refer to when they are out of the classroom and into the real world. Discussing shadows and the sun is something that every child will be able to refer to and have probably experienced some time in their lives so it will be a great time to refer to those times. I hope our lesson plan will be successful and that the students will enjoy and learn from our teaching!

Science Fair

I also wanted to blog about the Science fair that is coming up in the near future. I will have to admit when I first heard about this I was not too excited, I was more on the scared side because I really wasn't sure if I should be qualified to be a JUDGE! As the time is coming near I am actually looking forward to spending time, out of the classroom, with my classmates. I am also looking forward to getting bright new t shirts that will allow us to look sharp and as a judging team! Go USD science judges! :) Although I am still a little nervous I think it will be a great experience and I am looking forward to it!

Safety Websites

I found todays web surfing in class to be a very exciting hands on project that my partner Erika and I enjoyed. We found some of the websites to have a lot of suitable information for kids to learn from, along with fun activities to engage in. The scavenger hunt was also a cute exercise that did a great job with providing kids with information and safety in a variety of important issues and topics that would pertain to kids of all ages. I liked how the websites had a lot of colorful animations and attention grabbing activities for kids! :) I found myself wanting to engage in many of the games and activities myself! With the technology today it is amazing how advanced and amazing they can make these websites!

Midterm Project

I am excited to start working with Erika and developing a great lesson plan for our midterm project. I also think it is a good idea to use the webcam in order to show bits of the lesson plan. I feel that it is also very important that we stress how students MUST incorporate the use of safety when participating in the lesson plan. Safety is a very important element that must not be overlooked and I feel students take it lightly. Making sure students use safety materails and that they fully understand the correct uses of each instrument is also very important. I think it will be interesting to finally put together an interactive lesson plan that we will have the opportunity to demonstrate and interact in ourselves.

Mystery Box

The Mystery Box lab was definitely a "mystery" activity that is for sure. I found the directions of this lab to be a little unclear because a lot of classmates, along with myself, had a misunderstanding on what exactly was being asked for us to find in the mystery boxes. I assumed that we were simply trying to find out what objects were inside of the boxes, instead the idea was to find out what type of barriers were inside the boxes and where and how they were positioned. This was frusterating because with us misunderstanding the directions, we completely dismissed the whole idea of the lab. Although we caught on quickly, I still felt that the whole lab was a waste of time because I really didn't get much out of this. This taught me something about the importance of explaining what you want students to do and make sure they are all on the same page on what is being asked otherwise your activity is worthless.

No Class Module

Although it was nice not to have to attend class on Tuesday, I felt that I would have rather participated in an in class activity that I could have engaged in as apose to the reading quide questions. I found the questions to be boring and the ordinary type of assignment that most teachers assign; one thing I like about science is that you have soo many more options for experiments and activities! Science has always been considered such a hand on class that it is difficult to have to sit down on a computer and type about it soo much. Although I know assignments like that are necessary for learning materials also, I would rather engage in more hands on activities. I will keep this in mind when I become a future teacher, I feel like science is the subject that can break of the norm of writing so much and completing pencil/paper, question/answer assigments that most of the other classes portray. Science should be fun and engaging and allow students to dig in a variety of labs and hands-on activities.

The Amazing Food Detective

I found the Amazing Food Detective website to be a very educational site that I believe children will enjoy. I loved how the site was very interactive and allowed the students to feel as if they were actual detectives. They were numerous activities that they students could engage in and the educational activities were fun and allowed students to understand and learn about choosing healthy food and maintaining a good diet. They will learn how to change their eating habits and how it will effect their bodies! This website will allow students to have a better idea about their nutrition and realize its importance, while also allowing them to have fun while learning! Great website that I will definitely recommend to others!