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.