Goal #1 was to do a quick overview of the vocab words in my first two classes, thus giving the Ss the knowledge they needed to answer the questions.
Goal #2 was to not focus on all the details in the book, as there are a lot, and I could totally get bogged down in all of this, and it would be a long hard slog for the Ss and that's no fun :(
Goal #3 Was to declare war on all one-word answers :)
As this was the first day of the month, it is National Change Your Seat Day. This is both the most sought after day and also the most hated day of the month. Ss beg to change their seats all month, and then when I change them they say "Oh no Teacher!!! Why this seat???? I don't like her/him!!" Not my favorite day, but a good opportunity for me to bust out that K-pop anthem "I don't care air air air air air'
Lesson Topic: Invertebrates and Symmetry
I started out using a ppt with "Symmetry is........." and a picture of 3 flowers cut in 2, 6 and 12 pieces. I was pleasantly surprised that even my lower level students were able to piece together an explanation (equal parts).
From Symmetry to Asymmetry to Bilateral Symmetry etc etc. I introduced "Prefixes, Root Words and Suffixes" and asked what "A-" at the beginning of "symmetry" meant, and once again they got it :) Yay Team!
Secret Weapon #1 - I knew that the Ss had studied "Planaria" or flatworms in their Korean Science class, so they had lots of information to tell me about this.
My next slide was Bilateral Symmetry Bi- means 2, Lateral means "side" so.......Bilateral Symmetry is '2 equal sides." I showed them a butterfly with a dividing line, then I showed them a picture of planaria.
They recognized it straight away, and I asked them to tell me what they knew about planaria. It was awesome. Everyone had something to say, and then one student would "notice" the connection between planaria and bilateral symmetry. I would quiet the class down, ask that student to share his/her findings with the classroom and watch the lightbulbs turn on over their heads :) YAY!!
One student said planaria lives in clean water, so I went over to my desk, and picked up my cup and drank some water.
T: MMMMMMmmm yummy planaria. Did I just drink planaria???
Ss: Nooooooooo!!!!
(well at least I hope not). Planaria is a flat worm and I asked them to look in their books and tell me why they would not want to be planaria.
S: "Ewwwww teacher, planaria only has one hole in their body, so food goes in that hole and waste comes out that same hole!"
T:......and on that note students, I hope you have a yummy lunch!!
I like grossing my Ss out :)
Scorecard on my goals
Goal #1 - All my classes went well except for one really noisy class, whose student population are constantly interrupting me to ask questions to gain points for their team - Reading of the riot act commences next class.
Goal#2 - I did okay with my skimming the important information but I need to always be aware of this, to not get bogged down - it is sooooo easy to do
Goal#3 - I fought some good battles and won a lot. I will continue the fight.
After viewing your class on video last week and by reading this blog I can tell you are a very enthusiastic teacher who enjoys the subject you teach!!! well done mate!!! Yeah def. review of vocab and past lessons would help, especially in a class of that nature i would imagine. Keep cranking out those pop tunes bro. Remember if the ask for an "A" chant "G G G G baby baby!"
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, I never miss an opportunity to burst out in song :)
Delete1. G G G G Baby baby baby is on my frequent rotation.
2. Put your hands up, put your hands up puh puh puh puh puh
3. (and for multiple choice questions) Letter A, Letter B, Letter C, Letter D........What is the answer? Letter Beeeeee hee heee (sung to the tune of Let It Be :) )
Any more suggestions anyone?
Thanks for the encouragement Matt :)
DeleteIt's a pleasure to feel the excitement in your reflections, Daniel. I appreciate your sharing these details with the rest of us. Science seems like an ideal subject for practicing really useful reading strategies (coming in the next couple of weeks). For example, with all these morphemes you mention here, I trust you're making your students keep a record of them? Also -- seems like TD and TD-BU reading is essential for them to learn to, as you mention not wanting to get bogged down in the textbok's details. Your homework paper, for example, might be structured to guide them through reading the TB chapter this way after you've finished the lessons. Just my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI know that I still have a lot to learn to be a better teacher. I also know that in that short term, I need to be a better 5th Grade Science Teacher. I need to approach my lessons somewhat like a newsreader - Hit the Headlines and flesh it out later (TD-BU). My students need this, especially for their homework and vocab tests that they have in their Korean home room classes. We provide the vocab lists and the Korean teachers test them on them. I did get a couple of positive comments from my low level students today. One of them who is not the sharpest tool in the shed, announced that he got 100% on his vocab test YAY!! Another low level S who was confused this morning about the vocab test asked me about some vocab that I had not yet taught. I explained it to him and in my class with him in the afternoon. I asked some questions about these words, and his hand shot up like a bolt, and he knew the answer and he reminded me that I had coached him this morning. He was a very happy student, and I was really happy to be an encouragement to him :)
ReplyDeleteYes Tom, I am getting my students to write down these morphemes in their English notebooks and quiz them quite frequently on their meanings. It would be a fruitless exercise to teach science without breaking down the words. I have a test this week with them and I have a little grid of Prefixes, Root Words and Suffixes, and my challenge to them is to choose one of each, make a (nonsense)word and explain to me what it means in a sentence.
Thanks so much for your feedback