November 25th

Today we went to the science fair in Elk Point. It was a blast! One of the first things we did was eat lunch. Then we had two teachers discuss with us some of the guidelines for judging the science fair. After we all had our partners we went out into the gym to judge the groups we were assigned. I was assigned to judge the Earth Science projects. I went around to about seven projects with my partner. One of the top projects we found dealt with different gases and temperature. The boy did a great job of showing his experiment and what he found. Another project we thought was good would was a project about wind energy. He had a great timeline regarding wind and how it has developed into all of the ways it is used for energy. Another project I saw that was very well done, but I did not have to judge was a project about reaction time. I got to try to catch a ruler and was timed. The student found my reaction time and compared it to other females my age. There were a lot of other experiments I liked also.
I thought this science fair was a great way to give us experience regarding judging science fairs, grading projects, and assessing students and learning about science concepts. I also think this was a great way for the students to gain experience with sharing their thoughts and experiments with others. Overall this was a great experience for everyone and I would definitely want to do it again.

November 20th

Today we had another work day. We started off the class with a group discussion regarding everything that is coming up in the future. We passed around a sign up sheet for our final projects as well. We tied up all of our loose ends and then got together in our groups to write our last lesson plan. This lesson plan needed to have hooks to the grade before it and after it in order to better help us prepare for 'real life' teaching. I think it was a great learning opportunity and again I was so productive and my group got everything done. We chose to do a unit on measurement and we used a projector to tie in technology. I am excited to see how everyone's lesson hook and what activities they are all doing.

November 13th

Today in class we had a work day. We got to work with our partners to do our second lesson plan. This lesson plan is based on a book we are going to use to introduce the science aspect of the lesson. My partner and I decide we would introduce our lesson on bats with Stellaluna. The book focuses on a baby bat that is separated from her mother and what she does to get back to her mom. My partner and I found a South Dakota science content standard for 1st grade. This standard says that first graders are able to list needs of people and other animals. I am happy we had the chance to get so much done today and my partner and I were very productive. It really helps having a work day in the classroom!

November 6th

Today we started out with viewing the revised schedule/syllabus. I think this was important to start with so every student was on the same page. Then we discussed the 5 E-model. We viewed a PowerPoint dealing with this model, which did a good job of explaining all of the steps. What I learned from this PowerPoint is that the 5 E-models consists of the the 5 E’s which are Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. The engaging stage is when students use their background knowledge to make new connections. The exploring stage is where the students use their knowledge when working with materials. The explaining stage is when students use their findings to begin talking about what they are learning. The elaboration stage is where students build upon their thoughts they just learned are able to change their views. The evaluating stage is where the teacher decides if their students have learned the material and gained more knowledge about the material then when they started.

Then we did a lab regarding the 5 E-model. We chose to focus on the Explore stage. We described what the students would be doing for the lab and then we did the lab ourselves from our own directions to see if everything was clear. This lab was fun and simple. After doing the lab we realized that what happens in the higher concentrated mixture was that the potato floated. I think this was a little difficult to see because we had kept stirring the mixture so we didn't see the potatoes floating. Overall, this was a great lab and a great way to incorporate what we learned from lecture into our lab experiment!

November 4th

Today was a good day. We opened the class with a presentation. The presentation was on the four seasons and I thought it was very well done. I loved the video and thought their activity was awesome. I really liked their activity on creating a book throughout the entire year. This would be a great way to incorporate their unit for the entire year.

Next we all went outside and set off the bottle rockets from the previous lab lesson presented. This was fun! We all wore the appropriate safety garments. It was great to observe and more people, that weren't in our class, came and watched also. It made me feel like I was back in elementary school, but in a good way.

Then we moved on an discussed our assignments. I thought this was helpful because everyone has a better idea about what is expected and going on in the next few weeks. I feel a little overwhelmed, however I think things will all work out.

Then we went through an assessment PowerPoint. This was interesting, but had a lot of information to digest. I think this was helpful though and a good introduction to our new book we will be reading!

October 30th

Today was another presentation day. There were lots of good demonstrations today.

One of the labs I really enjoyed was the taste lab. We all got a chance to guess where the different tastes were found on our tongues and then given jelly beans to try to figure what kinds of tastes we all enjoyed. My favorite part of the lesson was when the teachers made a graph of our favorite tastes. I thought this was a great visual and way to have everyone participate.

Another lab we watched was the ooblac. We had actually already seen this demonstration done the day before, but it was good to review.

Another demonstration was done with bottles and making water tornadoes in them. I thought this lab went smoothly and I was happy the teachers had already made the wholes in the water jugs for us. I thought they were well prepared with their materials also.

The last demonstration was done short on time. It was one with heat and light sources for first graders. The PowerPoint was well made and they got everyone involved by having volunteers feel the heat coming from the lamp. They also had lots of great examples and visuals. The worksheet was also an easy way to assess students and the candy at the end was a great way to close the lesson. I also enjoyed how they tied trick-or-treating into using a flashlight or light source.

Overall today was a lot of fun! And beneficial.

October 28th

Today was quite an interesting day! We had more presentations to watch and do. Today, however, I had trouble concentrating. The first presentation to start took awhile to get the technology started. It seemed that today's lessons weren't as prepared as they should have been. We didn't get through to many demonstrations today because of the lack of technology and time.

The first demonstration I remember seeing was the bottle rockets. I thought their safety video for this was great and I loved the demonstration. It really stood out and I think, if done properly, the kids or students would really enjoy it.

The other demonstration I remember was the one on elephant toothpaste. This was done well and I thought it was well organized. The materials were already measure and laid out and this made the lab go smoothly.

Overall, I don't remember to much from today's presentations, but I do remember how great the bottle rocket was! It went super high!