KLEIN's
GUIDE TO
SCIENCE EDUCATION
PHOTO CREDIT: Nadene Klein at Tuolumne Meadows Yosemite National Park
It's the end of November and Thanksgiving is just a few days away. Therefore, the most popular question at this time is "What are you grateful for?"
I wondered about tying that questions in to be a meaningful science lesson. Last week we had a 1/2 day of school and each class was only 1/2 hour long. I wanted a lesson that focused on gratitude, included mindfulness, was metacognative, caused students to be reflective, involved content, and was self-differentiated with choice. Phew, that was a tall order, but I think I achieved them all. The lesson was simple. Students had the short class time to complete the one page handout. Part one asked students to either describe in detail one thing for which they are most grateful for about the class OR list several things for which they are grateful about the class. Part two required students to fill in a T-chart listing things within the realm of our science content that are in the real world for which they are grateful and give a reason why. The third and final part gave students another choice. Either draw or write a description of one of the items from part one or part two to show their understanding and/or gratitude for it. I've included this one page worksheet linked here and below. While students completed the worksheet, I played soothing background music. I also had a "fire place" video from YouTube playing on my front screen. Students took this task seriously and shared some of their feelings and thoughts on what matter most to them. Sure, I reveled some when students wrote that they were grateful for me. However, It was even better when they expressed their feelings about nature, about learning from primary sources and not textbooks. about learning important and real world topics, about them having choice in their learning, etc. When you have a short class period at Thanksgiving time or the end of a semester, I'd recommend this self-differentiated, metacogntive, reflective, mindful, content based, and meaningful lesson. You'll be grateful you did, and so will your students.
0 Comments
|
AuthorNadene Klein, M.Ed. has been an educator for over 25 years. She brings a passion and love for science to the classroom and through this blog to you. Archives
March 2024
Categories |