Olga's Elementary Science Methods 1/2 Blog

 Week 7 What I learned this week? We learned about DNA and genes, we learned about DNA strands and how they connect together, and all of the different elements along with that. T he nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA and RNA.  How can you apply what you've learned to your teaching in the future? We learned different activities on how to teach DNA for example the candy model. W e created a double helix with Twizzlers, Dots, and toothpicks. We used the red Dots as A and green Dots for T, orange for C, and yellow for G. Once completed we twisted the model to show an accurate visual of the double helix. We also  created a child based on flipping a coin to determine their traits. The picture below is the child that my table partner and I created. His name is Danny!  Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? I remember learning DNA in high school, we used lots of videos and websites. I was able to apply that knowledge but I learned how you c...

Week 6 What I learned this week? I learned so much about turtles this week, one being that only one in 1,000 survive to adulthood. We discussed some threats to sea turtles, as well as some things that can help increase their chances of survival. Another fact is that it takes them three days from the moment they hatch to the moment they get into the ocean. They also return to the same beach where they were born to lay eggs.  How can you apply what you've learned to your teaching in the future? I learned how to keep students active in the learning of a new topic. For example, the activity where our goal was to survive the most rounds to "make it to the sea" was fun, and having the ocean sound in the background made it even better. Students learn more when they are more hands-on and having activities like this will always keep students engaged.    Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? I had some information about sea turtles but this was more dept...

  My Groups Food Web Questions: What did you learn this week? I learned that Wales hunt in groups well using a hunting skill called bubble net fishing. Which is a curtain of bubbles made on purpose to trap the fish in one area.  Looks like this: Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? I already knew how to do a food web but I didn't know that only 10% of energy is taken. No matter what level of the food chain you are, you still can only gain 10% of energy.  What questions do I still have? For the 5 NGSS Unit Development assignment, can we get some more explanation and a completed example? There are some elements that I still don't understand and think it would be helpful to see a completed one.  Update:  All of the plants are growing compared to last week. Not all of the plants are at the same stage but it is amazing to see the growth.

  We learned the 5 E's in science instruction This week during the lab we learned about the 5E model of instruction and the five steps that go along with it. The five steps are- engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. I liked that we got to present to each other because everyone had a different explanation of the 5Es.  For example, the first one is engage. Engage- Accesses the learners’ prior knowledge and helps them with a new concept through short activities that build on their prior knowledge. These activities should promote curiosity and help them make connections between past and present learning experiences.      I can apply this in my science lesson to ensure that all my students are actively participant in the learning process. Not only that but to get them excited to learn science.  Update: I was surprised to see that only half of our seeds grew, unfortunately, the back two units didn't grow. My question is why did that happen if we...

  This week we talked about different life cycles and got to plant some seeds! We learned about many different animal cycles like butterflies and mealworms. With a partner, we got to create our life cycle and we chose a turtle. The four stages are egg to hatching to juvenile to adult. We also got to plant some fast seeds and get to see them grow for the next 40 days. When it came to planting the seeds the instructions were clear and it helped that they were also on the board. One thing that confused me at the beginning was how to place dirt into the indicated space without all the dirt falling through it. After some trial and error, my parents and I got it to stay and continued like normal. Overall I am excited to see how much our plants have grown.