Formative:As students work in small groups, the teacher will be circulating specifically listening and watching for the assessment criteria below. This will allow the teacher to adjust, modify, and clarify student understandings. During this phase, the teacher will be specifically doing the following:
Teacher will be monitoring students’ knowledge and ability to correctly use their new scientific academic language by listening as they work in groups.
Teacher will be monitoring students’ knowledge and ability to plan, create a model, investigate, and honestly explain and communicate the results of their investigations as they work in small groups.
During my lessons formative assessment is embedded to gauge if students are/are not learning my intended lesson. Think-pair-share, small group, and large group are included to allow students to develop positive peer interactions, socially construct knowledge and learn different ways or perspectives about ways of knowing. When students verbally share as a teacher I am monitoring students discussions, work activities, and inquiring about their thinking.
When students are listening to my direct instruction, however, often prior to their ‘doing’ hands-on activities I gauge student understanding in several ways. It can be a mixture of ‘thumbs up’ for it is clear ‘thumbs down’ for not clear, or ‘hand flat with a rocking motion’ sort of get it but not confident. Other times I may elicit several students ideas/comments or alternative ways of thinking, to measure if they are thinking about what I am instructing.
Exit and/or entry tickets are also another method of gathering student feedback. What do they now before I teach a lesson, did they leave the classroom with what I hope they had from the lesson. I don’t choose to grade these because I believe they are an additional instructional tool for my reflection on my teaching and how to modify for the next lesson.
Summative:As students present their small group investigations, the teacher will be listening and watching for the assessment criteria below. This will allow the teacher to assess if students have learned the expected student understandings as a result of this lesson. During this phase, the teacher will be specifically doing the following:
Teacher will be listening and watching students’ abilities to correctly use their new scientific academic language by listening as they present their group investigations.
Teacher will be listening and watching students’ abilities to demonstrate how they planned, created a model, investigated, and honestly explained and communicated the results of their small group investigations.
Performance Task: (Looking at …) Students will be able to:
Plan and conduct different types of investigations based upon their question.
Conduct a valid and fair investigation by controlling those things that could affect the outcome of their investigation (do not introduce confounds, bias, impact validity)
Systematically collect and record their observations and data for the investigation.
Conduct and demonstrate repeated trials that result in the same outcomes every time.
Understand scientific models are small, controlled, representations of real world natural processes. Therefore, sample size can also affect the outcomes of their investigations. (create confounds by not representing the real world, leading to questions of validity)
Logically and honestly explain and communicate their investigations, both in writing and orally. Specifically communicate and explain their question, scientific model, type of investigation, variables tested (dependent: changes based upon independent: what remains consistent), evidence, and their conclusions.
Use new scientific academic language to plan, model, investigate, explain and communicate their investigations.
Other Evidence
Accommodations/Modifications:So all students can show progress toward learning targets
For the two students that are challenged by the English language, yet do not qualify for ELL, they will be provided with instructional support. For any reading and writing, they will receive one-on-one assistance from myself or my master teacher. When appropriate, we will substitute different vocabulary words and/or readings with the same overarching goals yet at an appropriate level for their reading/writing. When writing they will receive extra time to complete their written assignments and have one-on-one assistance during class sessions. When having group discussions and/or activities, the students will be placed with stronger skilled students to allow them group work without them losing the context of what is being taught. If doing any jigsaw activities, consider what is being jig sawed to ensure they are successful with this activity.
Student Voice:Student self-assessment
Piaget, Vgotsky, and Dewey all teach us that students learn best through meaningful experiences and when these experiences are shared, knowledge is socially constructed providing for higher level learning that as an individual.
As teachers, it is easy to fall into a routine of delivering content, testing on what you want the students to know and fail to ask what the students believe they learned. As teachers, failing to ask questions of our students fails to provide us invaluable information about our own teaching. Did the students learn what we had hoped they would learn? What questions do they still wonder about? What did they enjoy about the lesson, and what was challenging and/or frustrating? If they were to design the lesson, what may they have done differently and why?
These types of questions help us reflect on our own teaching and ways of delivering our lessons to each of our students. We must also remember, however, that these big questions do not necessarily happen with very lesson but should definitely occur for those large learning goals. With the above in mind, for this unit plan, I envision asking these questions at the end of each lesson after student presentations of their projects.
A curriculum of identify asks students to reflect on their skills and interests as they relate to the discipline being studied. Since learning requires experiences in order to have a base to build upon, knowing what value they place on what was learned tells me something about the base they have developed with my instruction. (See Appendix D)
Instruction and Engagement to Support Student Learning
Introduction
Tell Students what you want them to be able to do
Science Lesson: Orchestrated Chaos
Alec Bings, a boy from a family of visionaries, gave Milo a gift of a telescope. He advised Milo to carry this with him on his journey. “There is much worth noticing that often escapes the eye,” Alex clarified, “and most importantly, you can see things as they really are, not just as they seem to be.”
Click on this site, http://www.eepybird.com to view a very popular science experiment. What is happening that you can see? What do you think is happening that you can’t see? Some argue that a chemical reaction is happening, while others feel it is a physical reaction.
Your job is to become an inquiring scientist and draw your own conclusions about the cause of the “geyser” created with this experiment.
You will need to research chemical and physical reactions to become the expert on their differences.
You will have to recreate the “geyser” (make sure you have ADULT supervision, wear goggles, and do this OUTSIDE).
Make a podcast of this experiment to use in your multimedia presentation.
Being the quintessential scientist, you will write your findings in an analytical paper using the scientific method.
Check sources such as the Mythbusters show about Mentos on the Discovery Channel. View the sites, www.geysertube.com and www.Thestar.com. Be sure to examine all credentials.
Your podcast, analytical paper and graphic organizer comparing your findings will be presented in a multimedia presentation.
The products will need to meet all the criteria on the rubrics your teacher will give you.
Tell Students how you will know they got there
Ask a scientific question that can be tested and answered using real world evidence
Planned and conducted different types of investigations based upon their question.
Conducted a valid and fair investigation by controlling those things that could affect the outcome of their investigation (do not introduce confounds, bias, impact validity)
Systematically collected and recorded their observations and data for the investigation using an appropriate graphic organizer for comparing ideas
Conducted and demonstrated repeated trials that resulted in the same outcomes every time.
Understand scientific models are small, controlled, representations of real world natural processes. Therefore, sample size can also affect the outcomes of their investigations. (create confounds by not representing the real world, leading to questions of validity)
Logically and honestly explain and communicate their investigations, both in writing and orally. Specifically communicate and explain their question, scientific model, type of investigation, variables tested (dependent: changes based upon independent: what remains consistent), evidence, and their conclusions.
Use new scientific academic language to plan, model, investigate, explain and communicate their investigations
Tell Students will be looking at:
Graphic Organizer (Data Collection)
Graphic organizer clearly compares the three theories for the Mentos and Diet Coke reaction.
Graphic organizer is an appropriate choice for comparing ideas.
Graphic organizer is neat and easy to read.
Its columns are labeled as follows: Evidence of Physical Change, Evidence of Chemical Change, Indication of both Physical and Chemical change.
Analytical Paper (Analysis)
The introduction clearly states the purpose for the paper.
There is a description of the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment using the scientific method.
A definition and example of a chemical change and a physical change is
present.
It is evident the student read at least 3 different sources of information about the cause of the Mentos and Diet Coke explosion.
There is at least one paragraph summarizing each source’s theory.
There is evidence of each source’s credentials.
The conclusion states the student’s answer based on his research.
Writing communicates thoughts clearly and thoughts are elaborated upon to an appropriate degree of depth.
Information is organized, comprehensive, and convincing.
Mythbusters show about Mentos on the Discovery Channel
Instruction
Phase 1: Getting Started, Engage, Focus
Alec Bings, a boy from a family of visionaries, gave Milo a gift of a telescope. He advised Milo to carry this with him on his journey. “There is much worth noticing that often escapes the eye,” Alex clarified, “and most importantly, you can see things as they really are, not just as they seem to be.”
Click on this site, http://www.eepybird.com to view a very popular science experiment. What is happening that you can see? What do you think is happening that you can’t see? Some argue that a chemical reaction is happening, while others feel it is a physical reaction.
Day 1: Engage and Hook
Teacher
Students
Show students the video of the diet coke experiments at http://eepybird.com
Go outside and show the students what happens when you place 5 Mentos in a bottle of diet coke
Students watch
Students watch and observe. Wonder what makes the soda turn into a Geyser when Mentos are dropped into the bottle.
Phase 2: Explore, Ask Questions
Day 1: Explore
Teacher
Students
Come back into the class and brainstorm things that could change the results of the fountain.
Write the ideas on the board these may include: type of candy, amount of mints, type of soda
As students brainstorm ways to measure the effect of the “Soda Geyser” the teacher writes ideas on the board. The ideas may include time of fountain, height of fountain, amount of soda left over, etc.
Teacher introduces the terms independent and dependent variables.
Students return to the classroom with teacher. Pose different questions in large group of why Mentos caused the “Soda Geyser”
Students record the different ideas of ‘what’ might cause the “Soda Geyser” in their science journals.
Students pose different ways you might be able to measure the effect (result) of the “Soda Geyser” Students record the different ideas for effect in their science journals.
Students ask, clarify, discuss and record the terms in their science journals.
Phase 2: Plan relevant investigations
Day 1: Plan Investigations/Trials
Teacher
Students
Teacher has students get into experimental groups of between 4-6 students
Pass out “Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments” Data Collection Sheet
Explains: Each group will -
Decide on what they will test and how they will measure results
Decide number of trials they will run, but no more than nine will be allowed to keep a manageable time limit.
Teacher monitors discussions, listening for academic language and various ways of thinking.
Teacher directs students to prepare their data sheets for the experiment and identify group roles for all materials for experiment, data collector and scribe, reporter, timekeeper, clean-up crew. They should be prepared to run tests Day 2.
Teacher has students fill out exit tickets for planning investigations.
Teacher collects investigations form, looking to see students understand how to plan an investigation. Teacher will adjust and plan next days lesson based upon student knowledge about planning investigations.
Students form groups
Each student takes a data collection sheet (see Appendix A)
Groups discuss what they will test, and how they will measure the ‘effect’ of their test
Groups discuss how many trials they will run remembering to at most create nine.
Students decide on group roles, prepare their data sheets for running their investigations on day 2, and determine what materials they will need to run their investigations.
Students fill out the investigations form
Phase 2: Explore, using appropriately selected tools and techniques to gather data
Day 2: Running Experiments and collecting data
Teacher
Students
Teacher measures off at least 4 meters on butcher paper marking every 10 cm. Tapes this vertically on the side of a building where the experiment will be run.
Has a video camera ready to record each group as they run their experiments so they can refer to them later.
Each student wears goggles while running their experiment.
Each group runs their experiment while others watch (and cheer). Record results.
Clean up
Teacher has students answer exit ticket 2 for conducting and concluding investigations.
Teacher uses student responses to plan/adjust next day’s lesson plan for any areas that may need to be taught again.
Students safely conduct their experiments, recording what they tested (liquid, additive, quantity of additive) and the results (M1, M2, M3, M4) for all nine trials.
Students watch, cheer, and learn as they watch other groups conduct and test their investigations.
Everyone cleans up for the day.
Students fill out the exit ticket 2 for conducting and concluding investigations.
Phase 3: Process for meaning and Explain by Organizing and Interpreting collected data
Day 3- Analyzing Data
Teacher
Students
Teacher has students use their data collection sheets and a laptop to analyze their data. The teacher has loaded all the prior days videos on the network so each group may refer to the video as they analyze their data. As students work, the teacher is circulating to conduct a formative assessment, listening for academic language, and the skills for conducting a scientific investigation. This will help the teacher mentor, coach and reteach as necessary.
Students create a chart for their data. The chart should include their developed test question, what they tested, what they measured, and the results for their experimental trials.
They should demonstrate they have analyzed their data to include the identification of the dependent and independent variables, and used a graph representing the results of their experiment.
They should provide the answer to their experimental question and support that answer using their data as evidence.
Phase 3: Communicate investigation, observations, and explanations to others.
The teacher will be watching and listening, as students do their presentations, for students to present their developed and tested question, that they have a reasonable answer to their developed question, and that their data supports their answer.
The teacher will also be looking at the group charts looking to see if they included:
Their experimental question
The data that was a result of their experiment Created a graph that correctly presents the data from their experiment
Correctly identified their independent and dependent variables for their experiment
A reasonable answer to their investigation question
Data on their chart adequately supporting their answer.
Each group presents the results of their investigations to the whole class.
Students ask questions, listen, explain, and observe different ways of conducting investigations.
Phase 4: Extending Investigation Ideas
Day 5: Teacher poses a new investigation question, examples may include
Teacher
Students
Teacher asks students ‘why’ did the Mentos cause the diet coke to make a Soda Geyer, rather than ‘what’ additive or ‘soda’ might react.
Students brainstorm ideas for testing ‘diet coke’ with other types of additives and the investigation process begins again.
Teacher asks students does ‘size’ matter when dropped into the liquid
Students brainstorm ideas for testing and the investigation process begins again.
Teacher asks students does ‘temperature’ matter when adding to the liquid
Students brainstorm ideas for testing and the investigation process begins again.
Data Collector