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!