“Four elements have just earned a permanent spot in the periodic table. The seventh row is now officially complete” (Crew, 2016).
“FEWER U’S The official discovery of elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 means that all 118 elements in the periodic table’s first seven rows have been found on Earth or produced in the lab. The four new elements will soon get names replacing the temporary “Uu” placeholder names” (Grant, 2015).
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At my current school we rotate our Year 10 science classes so students have a term with each of the senior subject specialists (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) and we all teach Earth Sciences in Term 1. I’m on the Biology rotation and am about to start teaching Genetics for the second time this year to a new group of students. Last term I was happy with the content and we did a few experiments (Extracting DNA, finch beak simulation, and creating a dog using genetic codes) but I wanted to add more practical activities this term.
So imagine my joy when I discovered the hash tag #scitlap (Science Teach Like a Pirate) which lead me to this amazing page: Project Based Learning Science – Lesson Plans by Heidi Reina. This one of the most comprehensive science resources I’ve seen online. It’s pages and pages of links to hands on science lesson plans.
One of which the Genetics Box ties in perfectly with my Year 10 Genetics unit. It includes the following experiments and hands on activities:
My Science Box – hands-on science curriculum for the adventurous teacher, is a must visit resource for teachers. I know I will be going back I spotted some other “Boxes” that will work really well with my other junior and senior science classes.
“The guiding mission behind MyScienceBox is that teachers should have free access to the best hands-on, classroom tested, science lessons. At MyScienceBox you will curriculum units that I have developed and tested in my own middle school classroom as well as teaching boxes and individual lessons created by other teachers. A flyer describing MyScienceBox in more detail can be” downloaded here.
There are moments as a teacher when a student says something that makes you think “Yes, I did teach that well”.
For example when student gives a correct answer and gives an excellent explanation using correct subject specific terminology of how they came to their answer with confidence in front of their peers. I had one of those moments this week in my classroom and was able to respond with genuine task specific positive feedback. The audible “Yes” and fist pump that came from across the room as the student took pride in their achievement makes me remember why I love this job.
But there are also times when students say things that make you reflect on how you can make things better, more efficient and fairer in the classroom.
One of my mathematics classes is full of very eager learners and I love teaching them, but it can be very demanding when we get into independent practice phases of our lessons. Many students often need assistance at the same time and can become frustrated when you have to help several others before them.
One of my students at the end of last term said “Miss it’s not fair you don’t always go to the person who had their hand up first”. I agreed with this student. I knew my husband (also a teacher) uses a help column as a procedure to deal with this issue. I explained to this student how a help column worked and said we would give it a go and see if it helped make things fairer.
It can be hard to keep track of lots of hands and its often easier to help a student on your way across the room rather than walking straight past them and coming back again. The way I use the help column addresses both these issues.
A help column works by writing help column on the board then instructing students to write their name on the board as they need help. The teacher then assists the students in the order the names are written and students or the teacher remove names when help has been received. I added an additional step that really made my teaching efficient. I asked the students to write the question number they were stuck on next to their name. E.g.
(3) Melissa
(2) David
(5) Barb
(3) John
(4) Tiarna
(2) Simon
Using this addition of the question number next to the name I was able to increase my efficiency because I can help several students at once. In the example above Melissa is first and stuck on question 3 John is also stuck on this question and is fourth in the queue. I call John to Melissa’s desk and we all work on this question together. John gets help sooner, both students see that they aren’t the only one who is having trouble boosting their confidence, and I can help more students faster and use my time more efficiently. In the above example Simon could also be helped at the same time as David. The other advantage is if many students are stuck on the same question I can instantly see something needs to be retaught or explained to the whole class and address it right away.
I used this method for the first time yesterday and I will definitely use it again and in my other subject areas as well. It was so much calmer, I was happier, the students were happier. The students got help in more timely and most importantly to teenagers fairer manner and I didn’t have to work as hard to achieve this. I was able to work smart rather than harder to achieve better outcomes for my students.
I would encourage other teachers to give this strategy a go.
Spelling is an important literacy skill for all subjects at every year in school. PowerPoint presentation animations can be a useful tool for getting students to practice saying and spelling new words when they are starting a new topic. Here is an example of an automated spelling PowerPoint presentation I’m using with my Year 9 Science class. List 1_Spelling_Practice_Sound
We have just started a unit on sound and light. This presentation contains our first ten spelling words and I like using this style of automated spelling presentation at the beginning of a lesson to help familiarise students with new terms and how to spell them.
If you like this presentation and would like to use your own word list you could download it and change the words the animation will still work. If you’re interested in how to create the animation this page is helpful.
We are working through a unit on ecosystems in Year 9 Science at the moment. I found this great video resource page by ABC TV Catalyst. There are a whole series of short videos showing natural and man-made impacts on ecosystems on the site ABC Learn. Here is one of the videos explain how traditional indigenous practices are being reintroduced to manage ecosystems.
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/education/science/science13_carboncountry.mp4
Here is a copy of a newspaper clipping I kept from earlier in the year. I’m looking forward to seeing more developments in science and technology that can assist our farmers. After all our food bowl is one of our most valuable assets.
melissayoungteachlearn 