Research Article Review

Research Article Review 

"Science Class: A Place Where Children Should Be Seen and Heard"

By Kimber Hershberger

http://nstacommunities.org/blog/2018/11/15/science-class-a-place-where-children-should-be-seen-and-heard/ 

Teaching science in any school setting, but especially elementary school, is difficult. It is difficult because science needs to not only be detailed when taught, but also hands on. Also, most schools aren't leaving much time for science anymore. In your classroom, you need to manage your time perfectly to be able to fit in science as well as everything else. Teaching science should include you speaking, as well as the students speaking, as much as possible. Hershberger writes, "The careful structuring of time for analyzing data in small- and whole-group discussions gave students confidence as they shared." Giving students the chance to talk and discuss, in science and every other subject, gives them confidence and inspiration. Talking makes students curious, in turn making them curious about science.

Science is a tricky subject, how to teach it and how to give students what they need. You must teach science in all different ways, direct and inquiry, It is also helpful to break your class into small groups. This gives all your students a better chance on engaging themselves more into the lesson. In the article, the teacher breaks up her class into small groups and her results were great. More students were able to share their thoughts and were more confident in sharing. The teacher was able to get more involved in the conversation with her students and everyone was seen and heard.

Book Trailer

Book Trailer: "Oh Say Can You Seed? by Bonnie Worth

Making a book trailer was a very eye opening experience. I had a lot of trouble making it and it took me many tries. Although I do think I could have done better, given more time, I am happy with my result. Making a book trailer is an excellent way to show off your digital/technological skills while sharing a book with your students. Making a book trailer allows you to share a book with anyone without giving away the entire book. The video is supposed to entice them to want to read it and learn more about the topic. Overall, the experience of making this book trailer was a challenging but rewarding time. If I can, I will definitely use it in my future classroom, wether it be me making one or having my students make one!

Science-in-the-News

Science-in-the-News

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/08/science/lonesome-george-tortoise.html 

In this article there was many cool facts and interesting statements. George was the lonesome turtle who has lived more than a century from the Galapagos! I chose to read about and research this article because I loved tortoises! All turtles are so cute and festinating to me, so learning more about them is fun! The science behind this article is that George lived the normal life expectancy of a tortoise, dying in 2012. But scientists wanted to know how and why they lived so long but other animals did not. The researchers then compared the tortoise genomes with those of mammals, fish, birds and other reptiles, looking for discrepancies that could affect aging. The scientists found evidence that a mutation in a gene called IGF1R, which has been linked with longevity in humans and mice, might contribute to the tortoises’ exceptional life span. 

This topic can relate to my unit plan on plant classification because tortoises are solely vegetarian. As a teacher, I can connect what kind of plants this animal eats and why they live so long. I can use all news articles in teaching science because it will show my students how science is all around us in our everyday life. Science is something that is discussed and looked at every day, even if we aren't shown it. Also, science articles can be super fun and interesting for students to research! They can find an article on just about anything, which will personally connect their interests with learning about science!

Science when I was in school vs now

Science When I Was In School VS Now!

When I think of science when I was in elementary school 13 or so years ago, I can't really tell you what I learned about. I specifically remember this one experiment with a teabag and fire, which made something fly into the air. I also remember using different tools to create circuits to get a lightbulb to light up. But, I could honestly not tell you a fact or a topic that I learned. I remember science not even being in the curriculum until at-least late elementary school. It was starting in middle school that we had separate required science classes, but again, I honestly could not tell you about things I learned. I think part of this is because we never really did experiments or interesting, hands on activities. We just listening to the teacher speak, read the textbook, and took notes. 

Going back to my elementary school days, I really wished we focused more on science because it is fun and interesting, if taught right. That is why I think it is important that we, as future teachers, learn how to teach science now! As a teacher I want to be able to interest my students and hold their attention. I want to be able to do fun experiments and do things that my students will remember forever. Science is a hard subject to teach because if you have too much fun, you loose the class, but if you don't have any fun, they won't fully understand a topic and learn what you are trying to present. During a science lesson you need to find the perfect balance of direct teaching and hands on learning. Science is hard, so if your students don't get their hands on physical aspects, they will not fully understand. Especially if you are teaching something that no one has ever even heard of. How are your students supposed to picture something that you are talking about in their head if they don't know what it is? That is why pictures, videos, activities, and physical objects are so important! Based off of my own experience with science in elementary school, I think it is so important that future children get to learn and focus on science because it gets them thinking about the world around them!

Physical Science

Physical Science!

Technically, physical science is the study of non-living things including: chemistry, geology, astronomy and physics. But obviously when it comes to elementary school students, you wouldn't be doing major chemistry or physics with them. Physical science is the study of all inanimate object, so of course you could do many cool and exciting experiments involving this. One thing that falls under physical science is energy and gravity. So, as a teacher, you could tie physical science into the end of a space science lesson so that your students don't feel too confused. Even a light bulb in a lamp is considered physical science. As a teacher you could do many things with light bulbs and electricity. You could have your students make an electric circuit to light up the lightbulb or do an experiment to find out what is inside of a lightbulb. 

When I think of physical science I think of energy and thing I as a human might not be able to see. There are four phases of matter - solid, liquid, gas and plasma. If teaching the younger grades, you may leave out the plasma but for older, you could find a simple way to include it. Out of these four phases, solids have the lowest energy phase of matter, and plasma has the highest. You could discuss with your students how vaporization is when a liquid turns into a gas or sublimation is when a solid turns into a gas. As a teacher you could find and do so many awesome experiments with your students just thinking about these facts! Out of all the categories of science, physical science is my favorite because I find it the most interesting. Once I have my own classroom and teach these topics of science, and do many experiments, I'm sure my students will agree!

Life Science

Life Science!

Life science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the other being physical science. From the smallest microbe to the largest mammal, life science explores the origins, evolution and expansion of life in all its forms. Biology is one of the main components of life science, explaining how our bodies work and why life is the way it is. Studying cells and microscopic organisms can be very interesting to your students because they are essentially learning about their own bodies and how they work, what is going on inside them. Most elementary students don't know exactly what is underneath their skin and once they realize what is really going on, they are amazed. Life science can focus in on a specific organism, but overall, life science is about cells and how life is the way it is. Though most things are clearly alive, sometimes alive things don't actually seem so living. When teaching life science to your students, you can use this as a starting point. This will spark and interest and make them wonder, "How can something that looks like that be alive?" 

To start teaching life science you should begin with explaining what is means to be alive, what is life?  Distinguish the differences between things that are living and things that are nonliving, such as a rock vs a dog. No single characteristic is enough to define what is meant by "life." After this, you can begin to classify the living things. Explain to your students that are are so, so many different living organisms that you must classify them to be able to keep track of all of them. Talk about how plants and animals, although obviously different, are also kind of the same.  Explain how energy flows through not only our bodies, but all living organisms. Your students will love to learn about their own bodies, discuss how many cells each human has, the way your DNA works, and how germs effect your immune system. When teaching life science you must get your students involved, make it as much about themselves as possible, because this is what will keep them interested!

Space Science

Space Science!

Space science is something that goes beyond what we already know, in fact, most of space has not even been discovered yet. But if most of it has never been seen, how are we as teachers supposed to educate our students on it? Well, most children are interesting in the different planets and aliens naturally, so you start with your students thoughts. You start with what they already know or think about space and move forward from there. Technically, space science encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that involve space exploration and study natural phenomena and physical bodies occurring in outer space, such as space medicine and astrobiology. But, if you were to say those words to even a fourth or fifth grader, they would immediately loose interest and not want to learn. Therefore, if you start with just the simple plants, it is more likely your students will want to keep learning about what life would be like in a place other than earth. 

When teaching space science you can talk about different space expeditions and NASA. If your cards are right, you could even go on a field trip to a space museum or exhibit, this will make it more real for your students. They will most likely have a hard time picturing space, because it is somewhere they have never been and probably never will go. So, using as many visuals and physical objects as you can find is the best way to go about teaching space science. The sheer vastness of it, along with the trillions upon trillions of objects in the many billion galaxies of the universe is almost incomprehensible to the human brain. So when trying to explain all of it to elementary school children, you must make sure to make it as basic, yet informational as possible. To start with a few important facts for the students to visual what space is is helpful, such as, space is silent, there may be life on mars, nobody knows how many stars are in space, there is floating water in space, etc. These starting facts will helps your students create a point where they at least understand what space is and why it is so undiscovered. To also talk about the moon is very important because a lot of children are already interested in the moon. Building off what your students already know or are interested in helps you to teach topics that are so broad, such as space science!

Earth Science

Earth Science!

Earth Science is a very broad and interesting topic. When teaching earth science to elementary school students, it is important to know what to mention and what to leave out. The study of Earth involves both tactile exploration and abstract concepts. Earth science contains four main branches, geology, oceanography, astronomy, and metrology and climatology. All of these branches are things that we don't necessarily notice in our everyday lives, but most definitely do effect them, therefore, making it important, for even young students, to learn about. The physical constitution of the earth and its atmosphere is something that everyone should learn about because it explains why things on earth are the way they are. Earth science helps us better understand how and why things happen on this planet, such as hurricanes or earthquakes. 

In todays world, our planet faces many challenges that we haven't had in the past - climate change. To education our students on that is extremely important because they are the future and they should understand why it is important to change our ways and how to change them for the better. Our changing climate is cause by human activity so to not education the future human race on how to treat our planet earth, is a big mistake. Earth science also teaches us about energy and where we as humans get it and what we use it for. Energy is something we always will need, but by educating children on earth science, maybe in the future they will discover new ways to get out energy or make our energy more resourceful. Natural science is something that will always be relevant because we will always be on and effecting this planet. 

Getting your students engaged

Getting your students engaged!

Something that I've noticed, and even noticed when I myself was a student, is that the more engaged and hands on the lesson was, the more likely I was so remember and learn from it. During this course, every group that has taught science has done something hands on. Wether it be the students moving their bodies in a particular motion, having a physical object in front of them or doing an experiment, learning needs to have a hands on aspect. Not only does this make the lesson more worth remembering, the students have more fun in their learning. Not only in science, but in every topic/lesson you as the teacher should fine a way to get the students engaged and in charge of their own learning. But when it comes to science, it is extra important. 

Science is a hard subject, it has many aspects to you and it is factual, just like math. Some students just can not learn from taking notes and watching the teacher do something. They need the be the ones physically doing something to be able to retain the information. While teaching science I noticed that the students want to learn what you have to say, but some just have a hard time staying focused when they realize how difficult it may be. So when you get your class moving and involved, you catch their interest and attention again. One group of teachers even had the students all stand up mid note packet and act out how a plant would act during a process. Some students found it funny and others were just bored, but ethier way, everyone participated. Just participating is going to help these bored students remember this new information. In the end, as the teacher I think you should make it a priority to find a way for students to get hands on in everything you do, especially when it comes to science. It way seem silly useless at the time, but remember that in the end you are helping your students to learn better! 

About me

About me as a person!

My name is Marley Chefalo and I am 20 years old, attending Mount St. Marys College taking classes learning about how to be a future teacher! Ever since I was little I always dreamed about becoming a teacher. My grandfather was a teacher at the high school I attended and my mom always told me that she regretted not becoming one. To me, being a teacher means giving students the information and encouragement they need to follow their dreams. When I think about teachers I have had growing up, I think of the enthusiastic and happy ones that were always there helping me and going out of their way to make sure I was getting what I needed. I hope to be one of these teachers, the one that sticks out in my students minds years after I have had them because I effected them in a positive way. 

I grew up in Cold Spring, New York where our community is very small and all the teachers are involved in something outside of school. If it was just going to the sporting events or starting clubs, the teachers were everywhere. They were more than just our teachers, they were mentors, someone we could talk to and most importantly someone we could have fun learning with. I hope that when I am a future teacher I can be this for my students, wether I'm in a suburban neighborhood or the inner city, I want to involve myself in the community around the school so the students can see me as more than their teacher. I am overly excited and thankful to be following my dreams and have the opportunity to teach future generations!

Getting to know you activty

Getting to know you activity!

On our first day of field work we did an activity to get to know our students. As a future teacher I think that it is extremely important to get to know your students personally and know their interests and dislikes. Know personal things about your students makes it easier for you as the teacher and more fun for them, the students. You can use this information to gear your lesson and also, it shows your students that you actually care about them and their needs. The "Getting to Know You" activity should be fun and the students shouldn't be concerned about doing anything right or wrong. 

For our "Getting to Know You" activity, our group made a big flower, since we are focusing on science and plants, and on each petal was a different, personal question. The students went around taking turns and picked a petal. The teacher would read aloud the question and that one student would answer. Having something hands on and fun looking for the first day is important because it gets your students attention and excited to move forward in their learning with you. Our first day as science teachers getting to know our students was fun and exciting! The students were highly engaged and had a fun time getting to know us and their fellow classmates!

Plant Classification Day 2

Plant Classification Day 2!

Working on the indirect instruction lesson was very different than how we worked on the direct lesson. This wasn't as straight forward as the indirect and harder to come up with an activity to do. We knew we wanted to bring in the actual plants because that worked very well for a pervious group and the kids were more enthusiastic to learn about the plant that was physically in front of them. In the end we ended up doing a "What am I?"packet with questions for each plant. We also incorporated articles on every plant for the students to look at and use their own thinking to find new information about the plants that we didn't necessarily teach. We had more then enough time at each station for every plant and this gave the groups a chance to really think and read through the articles and discuss it. 

Overall, I think our indirect lesson very well, despite what some people said. I think we had good ideas and spent a lot of time working on it. When I have my own classroom I definitely will do a lot of lessons in this group like method where you have stations that all the groups go to. If I was the actual teacher in this room I would have taken the time to make sure all the groups had member that's worked well together yet also encouraged one another to stay on task. That is one thing I noticed, some groups worked extremely well and got the assignment done quickly. While others didn't do any work and just fooled around the entire time. But, in the end, I am really happy with how our lesson turned out and I am proud of our ideas and ability to present it to a fourth grade class!

Plant Classification Day 1

Plant Classification Day 1

Our groups first day of presenting plant classification went well overall, even though teaching this topic can easily get confusing, especially for fourth graders. When I was presenting my information I thought that I was clear and loud when speaking. I also think that all my peer group members did a good job aside from some nervous jitters. We used the method of a slideshow with a note packet following along with the information on each slide, then we did a word bank independent practice. At first, it was confusing for the students to follow along with the information because it wasn't classified that they needed to be taking notes. But once it was established what exactly they needed to be doing, the students did a great job of correctly filling out their packet and following along. 

When it comes to teaching plant classification it is important that you clarify the four different groups within the plantae (plant) category. If these four groups aren't clearly distinguished then the students will have a hard time understand each plant. My group taught about the four groups: ferns, flowering plants, coniferous trees, and mosses and liverworts. We set up a separate slide for each one and talked about the characteristics of each group. The students had a hard time remembering certain words that pertained to each plant group but once we asked them to repeat it multiple times, they caught on. There were certain moments in our presentation where it seemed like we were off track or talking about something that was completely different, but the group always made sure to relate it back to the topic of plant classification. In the end, I think our direct instruction lesson went very well and we explained the information very clearly. Our students learned a lot of new information!

Science experiments in a classroom

Science Experiments in a classroom!

Doing engaging and fun things in an elementary school classroom is always a bit crazy but definitely rewarding. Doing experiments in any topic but especially science is essential to your students learning. Hands on experiments are things that students remember for a long time and reminisce on when thinking about what they did in school. At 20 years old I still remember multiple experiments I did in school, but couldn't tell you one thing I read from a textbook. Making the experiments the perfect balance of crazy but educational is the tricky part. The second students see that they will be doing an experiment they obviously get excited. But as the teacher you need to be able to keep control of your class and make it clear that they can only do these fun things if they listen and act professional. Some experiments can be solely done by you the teacher, but it is definitely more fun when every student can do it individually, or at least in small groups.

Group 3 did an experiment with our fourth grade class and overall it went pretty well. When they first were handing out the materials and explaining what they would be doing, the class got crazy, but that is expected. The class was excited to do something hands on and work with actual plants instead of pictures. Throughout the experiment all the students seemed on task and more focused than if they were just doing a worksheet. They all seemed eager to figure out what would happen in the end. In the process of doing the experiment, the students also experiences the steps a real scientists take, such as a hypothesis, questions, and conclusion. In the end, doing experiments with your students is very beneficial and they definitely learn more than a worksheet if done the correct way!

Teaching in a Group

Teaching in a Group

Throughout all of my education I have always worked in groups. Sometimes I enjoyed this and other times I would have preferred to work by myself. But, working on this project in my group has been more then difficult if I'm being honest. Everyone has different ideas of how to teacher our topic, plant classification, and some members are doing things on their own without consulting the others. Although we got everything done in the end and I am happy with our results, I don't know if I would want to teach in a group again. When working in a group on a project it is easier than working with multiple people on something you all have to teach. 

When working in this group I experienced a member of the group significantly changing and taking over work that I had already done, and the other group members had agreed on. I also dealt with someone with no regard for what the group as a whole had to say. They went off and did things on their own without consulting anyone else, and when they did consult in someone, didn't even listen to the response given. Although this was very difficult to work on, it was a lesson. In the teaching community you are not going to agree with everyone and everything. As a teacher you have to learn to adapt and change things, even if you don't want to, to make other happy. This project has showed me the realties of teaching and made me even more excited to have my own classroom and teach certain things the way I want to teach, without worrying about another teacher going through my work and changing it. 

Plant Reproductive Parts

Plant Reproductive Parts

Today we watched group three do their lesson on the reproductive parts of plants. It was the direct instruction day and they did a very good job of presenting the information. They stuck to the basic yet went into detail of what every part did, which is perfect for 4th grade. They mentioned the stigma, ovary, pistil, receptacle and stamen. These are the main parts for plant reproduction and are used by plants to procreate. Teaching a topic like this to 11-12 year olds is very difficult because they are at that awkward stage where any talk about reproduction is something they don't want to involve themselves in. But, group three did a great job of staying professional and sticking to the lesson they had planned.

When talking about plants reproducing, most just assume pollination is the main source. Although this is true, there are many different parts to this process. Every part of the plant is involved, down to the roots, stems, and leaves. Seeds are a very important part to the plant reproductive process. When seeds spread, more and more plants grow. The seeds are extremely important because they are what causes the plant to spread. The seeds must be protected and be in a potion to easily detach from the flower and make it into the ground of the surrounding areas. Overall, group three did a very good job teaching this subject, This topic is not only difficult to teach to fourth graders because of their age, but it is also hard to teach because of the information that needs to be presented. The fourth grade definitely got a lot out of this lesson and, not only them, but myself learned a lot as swell!

Vegetative Organs and Plant Tissue Part 2!!

Vegetative Organs and Plant Tissue Part 2!!

Days two of this lesson was focused on indirect instruction, meaning the students were more engaged in this lesson. This day was the chance for the students to ask any questions they have, put use to what they learned in day one and gets hands on. From the very beginning, the lesson was engaging. It started off by the students answering questions on what was taught last class. Then a video was shown and an activity on the iPad was presented. Although they ran into the problem of the iPads being dead, they proceeded with confidence and a plan. This is the down side of working with technology, you have to expect the unexpected and always have a backup plan. As a teacher, you should always have a few ideas in mind when it comes to teaching any lesson.

One thing the teachers of group 2 did was incorporate a funny/fun, but on task, aspect to the lesson. At the beginning as part of the pre-assesment, they showed a funny video of a horse speaking about what exactly the students would be working on today. Although some of the students were more focused on laughing, most students were paying attention and intrigued to what was going to happen. They also made sure to have the three questions the students were answering on the board upfront throughout the whole lesson, which is great because then the students don't need to waste time trying to remember what the next step is. Overall, group 2 had many good ideas and activities for the students this week. You could tell the students really enjoyed the lesson and learned a lot of new information. For my group, I could use a bunch of the ideas that group 2 presented!

Vegetative Organs and Plant Tissue!

Vegetative Organs and Plant Tissue!

Today group 2 started their lesson plan on vegetative organs and plant tissue! Since day one is supposed to be direct instruction, this group focused mostly on a note packet. This packet was very short, colorful and fun looking so that the students didn't feel intimidated or shut down and not want to do it. Every page of the packet was a different part of the plant and they focused on one at a time. The transition between each page and each part made sense and was smooth because it all came together in the end. The parts of a plant are a very important part of science because we see plants everywhere. Teaching this topic in a 4th grade class is perfect because they are aware of that and know how important plants are. 

Aside from the note packet, there was a lot of hands out with diagrams on them. Although some of the students were complaining of them being a little difficult, if they were focused throughout the lesson it would have been easier. The teachers all gave every student a personal plant to look at throughout the whole lesson, which was very helpful. The students were able to actually look at and touch a plant while learning about the many parts of it. This was very cool because as a teacher, especially science, you want it to be as hands on and engaging as possible and this plant made the information from the lesson real. Although it is a lot work, as a teacher, if it is possible, you should find real like examples that apply to your lesson so students understand better. Overall, this lesson was very interesting! 

Botany as a science!

Botany as a science!

Watching group 1 deliver their lesson plans on botany as a science was very interesting. They did a ton of hands on activities and got the students extremely involved. Although at some times it felt a little out of control, they did a very good job teaching these 4th grade students science! To start the lesson, the group of teachers went over all the parts of the plants. This was a good start because it introduced the students to what they would be talking about throughout the next two days. To learn the names of the plant cell, the teacher had the student say and repeat them multiple times. This helped them remember what exactly they were talking about and what words they would be using later on during activities. 

On the second day the teaching group had a fun, hands on, riddle activity for the students to work on. Using riddles to figure out parts of a plant cell was a very interesting, cool way to get the students thinking. Every teacher went around with their riddle to every table and read it aloud. I liked this because it gave the students a opportunity to stop and just listen. This method of teaching kept the students interested because they were excited to hear the next riddle and try to figure it out. It also turned into a little competition because some students wanted to figure out the riddle before everyone else. Botany as a science is a very interesting subject and I think group 1 of teachers did a very good job presenting and teaching the information to our 4th grade students! 

Rap about parts of the plant cell that they used - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfvbEeunnp4 

Direct Instruction vs Indirect Instruction

Direct vs Indirect Instruction

When doing our two day lesson plans for our 4th grade class in Bishop Dunn Memorial School we are suppose to focus the first day on direct instruction and the second day on indirect. This means that the first day should be just direct teaching. The teachers should not be asking the students any questions or giving them any hands on activities yet, just an independent practice, but nothing more. This direct instruction means you are teaching, you are giving your students new information and expecting them to listen and focus on the lesson. This first say should be teacher centered, meaning the students aren't doing much work, just listening and taking notes if possible. Direct instruction is straight forward, the teacher is standing at the front and presenting the information. This is a good method to use in the beginning stages of a lesson because its a starting point where the students don't have to worry too much, you are just introducing what you will be working on in the upcoming days.

For the second day of our lesson plans, it should be the opposite, indirect instruction. This method is student based, they are engaging in the conversation, asking questions and doing hands on activities related to the topic. The students are taking the information they learned from the direct instruction and applying it to the activities the teacher has planned. This is where the students have the opportunity to get highly involved in their learning and ask as many questions as possible. This is also the time where the teacher asks the students questions and starts to assess what the students have learned and what you further need to work on and discuss. Indirect instruction takes advantage of the student interests and their curiosity on the topic. Both direct and indirect instruction is very important because all students learn differently. Some will learn better on the first day and some will learn better on the second day. Although, it is important you save time to implement direct instruction into your lessons because you cannot always just jump right into activities and student involvement, first you need to subtly introduce the topic you will be working on to not overwhelm the students. 

                                                              

Parts of a Plant

                 
Parts of a Plant Cell!

Group one presented on the different parts of a plant cell today, botany as a science. The presentation was very high energy and loud, which I enjoyed. The students were all taught the different parts of a plant cell in a unique and engaging way. All of the members of the group did a great job of speaking loud and clear and asking students various questions throughout the lesson. I myself even learned about the parts of a plant cell, which I haven't learned about in years. This lesson was geared towards fourth-grade students so they stuck to the basics but also went more in-depth than one would with 2nd graders. The group stuck to the basic parts of a plant cell such as chloroplast, cell membrane, mitochondria, ribosomes, etc. 
The activities that the teachers I were watching were very hands on and helped the students learn the parts of a plant cell in a unique way. They handed out construction paper and riddles, the students had to guess the part of the plant cell from the riddle and then make the structure with the construction paper. In my future teaching I will definitely use this activity to teach this subject and many other ones because it is hands on and different than other instruction. Teaching science is hard because it has to be hands on to some extent, but you have to find the perfect medium between hands on and direct instruction. Overall, I enjoyed watching this lesson and it made me think about how I could teach parts of a plant cell in the future!

FlipGrid Activity

FlipGrid                 Activity!! 

During our class time today we discussed our "FlipGrids" that everyone created to introduce themselves. Everyone took a turn presenting their videos and talked about their previous experiences and knowledge in science. These presentations were very enjoyable because they were personal and interactive. When teaching science, or anything for that matter, it is best to be as personal and fun as possible. This will get your students more interested and engaged. Obviously, science is the easiest subject to be interactive with because there are millions of different projects you can do, but you can make a flip grid video for any subject!
Our Flip Grids were about us and we answered some icebreaker questions, but you could really answer any question or say anything you want. You could make a Flip Grid for your students showing and explaining how to do an experiment or you could make one of you reading a book aloud for them to listen to. Watching all these videos everyone made during our class time really gave me ideas about different ways I could teach all types of lessons. Not only can I use them for learning, but I can use them to get to know my students, just like our class did! Especially with a larger class, it is hard to know all of your students interests and experiences, but using Flip Grid I am able to go back and watch the videos as many times as I want. Before this in class activity, I had never even thought about using something like this in my classroom, but now I am positive I will use it many times for many different things!

The Climate Reality Project- Dr. Michael Edelstein - Ramapo College, NJ

Climate is a reality, there is no reason for it to be a political debate. Climate change has hard facts associated with it, there is no question to "if climate change is actually happening." The first major program dedicated to climate changed was called The Kyoto Protocol but, unfortunately, the United States Congress shut down this project and did not sign it into coming into operation. Today, the atmosphere is 405 ppm (parts per million) of carbon dioxide, which is way past the tipping point. Once we pollute the air, there is no going back, there is no reversing or taking back.

Once a year there is a 24-hour telecast all around the world focusing on climate change. Al Gore is the main lecturer who talks about this issue. He discusses how using education to promote and take action against this issue is the best route to go. Teachers need to educate their students about what is happening and what any and everyone can do about it. They need to explain to their students just how habitable the earth really is, for us and other species. The less habitable the earth becomes, the more problems and challenges arise. The less habitable places become, the more people and animals are relocating and finding new places to live.

The Apollo mission was the first time we ever saw an actual picture of the planet we live on. It was the first time climate change was put into perspective. We were able to see everything that was on earth, all the water and land we were supplied. As humans, we don't act like we actually live on earth, a place where our main resources are in a constant cycle. Humans never really paid attention to the fact we live on earth. How are we going to live in the future if we don't focus on our limited resources now? If we act quickly, we can't fix it, but we can make it less of a problem.

Earth is primarily a water planet, although we are a land species. All life depends on water, which is constantly going through phases on earth. Water continually cycles, it is always moving, changing forms. To understand the land, you must understand water because water is what shapes the land. Although water is limited, it is finite. All of the water we have is here now and has been on earth since the beginning of time. If we change a supply of water, such as contaminated it, that is it, the earth doesn't get any more.

The earth is full of systems, closed and open. Systems begin with an input, progress through a throughout and end with an output. In the end, bacteria eat the output and the cycle continues, it is constant. Systems can be used to track back and find out everything that the input involved, literally everything. We can change the world's climate just by our diet and what we eat, our input. We can even trace back the energy we use to make our meals through a system. System theory can uncover thousands of details about simple everyday things such as eating a bagel. Earth is both open and closed system. Earth is a closed system in regard to matter but an open system in regards to energy. So, what are the consequences of having a system that has to import energy from fossil fuels? Contamination, run out of them, greenhouse gases, etc. How do we and all our students survive the future? By changing the way we live now.