COMMUNICATION: Fifth Grade
- Speaks fluently and clearly; avoids vagueness and adjusts for learners' levels.
- Explains clearly: step-by-step; logical; understandable; makes connections; uses visual as well as verbal cues.
- Uses specific, clear, and relevant details when teaching; provides clear examples.
- Uses active listening skills.
- Displays writing samples that are grammatically correct, that convey information effectively, and that are appropriately constructed for the intended purposes and audiences.
Description & Rationale
In this science unit, each student had his/her own science notebook, which I provided. To foster a sense of personal ownership, I instructed the students to design the front of their notebooks however they wanted. If they did not want to decorate their notebooks, that was fine as well. The only caveat was the design had to be school appropriate. At every lesson, I distributed that day's notes. I created these notes based upon the content in the Scott Foresman textbook and other supplemental materials. While I required the students to read the textbook in advance of each lesson, my primary objective for having science notebooks was to help the students comprehend the content and to relate to the content in ways beyond simply reading it. I took great care to create notes that would effectively assist in comprehension, while accurately communicating the concepts, facts, and skills the students needed to master. All of the notes were copied and hole-punched prior to each lesson. I provided a pocketed-tabbed insert for BrainPop quizzes, workbook pages, and any other loose paperwork. The students stored the tickets they earned in a pocket located just inside the front cover of the notebook.
The results of the Learning Styles Inventory informed me that I had a classroom of visual learners. Accordingly, I added lots of clipart, photographs, diagrams, tables, graphic organizers, and flow charts to these notes and notebooks. I allowed students space to write their own notes or draw their own diagrams if this aided their understanding and engagement. This is, of course, something that they would not be allowed to do with the text book. I emphasized key concepts and vocabulary terms in bolded, colored, or artistically manipulated fonts; and I told the students that was my purpose for the varying styles. I included critical thinking questions in the notes and, again, was explicit with the students that these were critical thinking questions.
I distributed notes, at times, that required the students to fill in blanks with pertinent information. This necessitated their active engagement during the lesson and promoted active listening skills. Even when notes did not have fill-in-the-blank sections, I distributed yellow highlighters and encouraged the students to use them. As we covered the notes through direct instruction or class discussion, I displayed the notes using an ELMO and ActiveBoard. We filled in blanks together, highlighted together, and discussed & debated possible responses. It was very interactive. My purpose throughout this process was to communicate information and model critical thinking by having students hear, discuss, write, read, and see the information simultaneously.
For experiments, I composed, distributed, posted, and verbally reviewed meticulous instructions on procedure, purpose, groupings, expectations, and data recording. I used technology when appropriate to assist in communicating, such as BrainPop and the Scott Foresman Audio text CD. I also engaged in lots of non-verbal communication that would have made my college drama professor proud. I modeled, demonstrated, illustrated, and performed concepts whenever I could; and I brought in props such as a guitar, slinky, and lava lamp to facilitate communication.
The results of the Learning Styles Inventory informed me that I had a classroom of visual learners. Accordingly, I added lots of clipart, photographs, diagrams, tables, graphic organizers, and flow charts to these notes and notebooks. I allowed students space to write their own notes or draw their own diagrams if this aided their understanding and engagement. This is, of course, something that they would not be allowed to do with the text book. I emphasized key concepts and vocabulary terms in bolded, colored, or artistically manipulated fonts; and I told the students that was my purpose for the varying styles. I included critical thinking questions in the notes and, again, was explicit with the students that these were critical thinking questions.
I distributed notes, at times, that required the students to fill in blanks with pertinent information. This necessitated their active engagement during the lesson and promoted active listening skills. Even when notes did not have fill-in-the-blank sections, I distributed yellow highlighters and encouraged the students to use them. As we covered the notes through direct instruction or class discussion, I displayed the notes using an ELMO and ActiveBoard. We filled in blanks together, highlighted together, and discussed & debated possible responses. It was very interactive. My purpose throughout this process was to communicate information and model critical thinking by having students hear, discuss, write, read, and see the information simultaneously.
For experiments, I composed, distributed, posted, and verbally reviewed meticulous instructions on procedure, purpose, groupings, expectations, and data recording. I used technology when appropriate to assist in communicating, such as BrainPop and the Scott Foresman Audio text CD. I also engaged in lots of non-verbal communication that would have made my college drama professor proud. I modeled, demonstrated, illustrated, and performed concepts whenever I could; and I brought in props such as a guitar, slinky, and lava lamp to facilitate communication.
Science Notebook Components(Click on the pdf version in blue. To return to this webpage, close the pdf document or click on the back arrow. This list of contents is not exhaustive. There were other components, such as materials from BrainPop and other sources that cannot be displayed here for technical reasons or infringement of copyright laws.)
Title Page I CAN Page Unit Graphic Organizer What is Energy? Fireworks Energy Flowchart Kinetic Energy Lab #1 Groupings Lab #1 Notes (Shaking Sand Experiment) Lab #1 Data Sheet Kinetic vs. Potential Energy Lab #2 The Ball Drop Investigation Lab #2 Graphing Results Sound Energy What is Light Energy? The Electromagnetic Spectrum Sheet (NASA) Wavestown Diagram How Does Light Move & Behave? Lab #3 The Herschel Experiment Thermal Energy Heat Transfer Study Guide Homework from Scott Foresman Workbook Unit Vocabulary What is energy? What is sound energy? What is light energy? What is thermal energy? Math in Science Science in Pictures Pre-Test Unit Exam |
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Reflection
I am quite pleased with my decision to use science notebooks in this unit. I think it helped the students more easily digest the content, some of which was rather difficult. I know it motivated many of them to be more engaged in the lessons. As the unit drew to a close, several students inquired if they could keep using the notebooks for future science lessons. I gathered from their many expressions that the students really liked their notebooks, and they appreciated the freedom I gave them to be creative and personalize their notebooks. From my perspective, it had its advantages and disadvantages. First, it forced me to really be on top of things and prepared since every lesson required that I distribute a new set of notes. It also gave me an additional avenue for assessing student understanding and progress. It also pushed me to think about composition, creative graphics, and critical thinking questions. Yet, it was a time-consuming and expensive project. About three times over the unit, I packed up the notebooks and took them home to review. That could be cumbersome. (I had 44 notebooks in all since Mrs. Jones class also had notebooks.) Despite some of these minor inconveniences, I think I made the correct decision to use them. There are only a couple of things I would have done differently to improve the effectiveness of this method. First, I would have used more graphic organizers; and similar to what I encountered in my AMSTI seminars, I would have instructed the students to write reflections in the notebooks about their learning. Unfortunately, we were so pressed for time to get content covered and experiments completed that time for reflection was not a feasible option. I got lots of verbal feedback, however. They liked the journals a lot. I can say with confidence that from the students' perspectives, the science notebooks were an unmitigated hit.