Discovering the Solar System & Climate Change

Discovering the Solar System & Climate Change

       For Group #1's lesson, my fellow colleagues taught about the solar system touching on very specific concepts and climate change. Personally, I was excited to see what the group had developed because the solar system as a whole has so many concepts and mind-blowing twists and turns that follow the story that teachers can have so many different approaches to teaching about the solar system, especially when referring to the solar system in science. 

Direct Instruction:

         The direct instruction consisted of teaching the students about specific terms that revolve around the solar system. One of the components of the direct instruction that I enjoyed was the implementation of an acronym to help the students to remember all of the planets in order.

The acronym that my colleagues used to provide an easy influence for students to remember the names of the planets was "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos!" I praise my fellow colleagues for finding this type of acronym because it is something that the students can relate to, uses student-friendly language, and it is something that the students will be able to remember. I also enjoyed seeing how the lesson flowed even with a lot of information facts. There was unfamiliar terms that even perked my curiosity and I am grateful that the group defined the terms for the students. I also enjoyed seeing how the teachers worked together when there was complications and they helped each other maintain classroom management. When the students seemed to get riled up, the teachers were able to nip it in the bud and keep the classroom under control. The use of a Prezi presentation was also a nice touch because it kept the students looking at the screen due to the movements and effects of the Prezi software. 

Inquiry Instruction:

            The Inquiry Instruction that Group #1 brought to the after school program revolved around a science experiment called Melting Ice Caps which referred to the process of conserving ice. The problem for the students was presented through a Voki which I absolutely loved the idea and the students were instructed to use a variety of materials to try to prevent the ice from melting. Each group received different materials and collaborated with one another to try to conserve the ice. I liked the overall concept of using just an ice cube to represent the melting ice caps and how this inquiry lesson reflected back to the concept of climate change. Global warming is a major issue and I appreciate that this group highlighted global warming as an issue and a topic for making everyday earth day. I enjoyed seeing how the students used team work within their groups to record observations and while trying to solve the problem. 

Constructive Criticism & Overall Opinion:

          I enjoyed the general presentation of both lessons and I felt that as the first group to teach, everyone did a wonderful job. For the direct instruction, I wish that more visuals could of been integrated into the presentation such as diagrams and more images that reflect on the vocabulary terms that were being taught. There was a lot of vocabulary terms that were being taught and a lot of them were unfamiliar to me which I assume would be also unfamiliar to the students. Personally, I am a visual learner so having visuals would of facilitated with my own learning process and understanding of the terms. For the inquiry instruction, I wish that the concept of melting ice caps were covered more thoroughly before the initial experiment or during the direct instruction. I think that if the students had a better understanding of melting ice caps than they would have developed a finer understanding during the inquiry instruction.