On Wednesday, November 12th, I completed my
science lesson in my clinical placement in second grade at Prairieland
Elementary School. The science lesson centered around the teaching of what
landforms are and the different types that exist to my students. As a class
this semester, we have been learning about habitats and climates and the next
step was to cover landforms that are found both in and outside of our country.
I had set up five different centers for the second graders to rotate through
over the span of five different days. The first day was to be the introduction
to the centers and then the beginning of the first center rotation with the
students. This lesson was set up to
support the gradual release of responsibilities from the teacher to the
student. We begin in whole group instruction, with me modeling what will be
happening, we have shared practice on the carpet, and then the students broke
into small groups to explore on their own. The introduction lesson began with
connecting what we will be learning to what we have already explored in our
science content area. We then created an anchor chart in which the students can
refer to throughout the lessons on landforms. We discussed what a landform is which
would be a natural feature (such as a mountain or valley) of the Earth's
surface. The students showed great excitement
for the topic of discussion and wanted to share what they already knew about
landforms, as well as, what they wanted to learn more about. To continue our
exposure to the different types of landforms, I conducted a read aloud that
covered all of the different landforms the students would be exploring in the
centers. Finally, I introduced what each center would entail by showing them
the materials and giving them explicit directions, I then divided students into
groups of mixed ability levels, and they began with their first center.
Students
were able to interact with the learning of landforms in a number of different
ways. We had a game that tests them on their knowledge of landforms and the
placement of landforms on a map. They put together a series of puzzles with the
picture, name, and definition of what each landform was. This generated discussion
among the group, as they took note of any new or interesting landforms. Once
they completed that, they were able to play a memory game which would be
matching all of these newly learned landforms. The next center was the writing
center that included prompts for them to write about one or more landforms in a
creative manor. The next center required them to become an expert on one of the
landforms, exploring books on the specific landform, writing down their
findings and sharing with the group. The final center combined the creation of
maps with landforms and asked them to include at least seven different types of
landforms on their fictitious map and to include a map key. The students all
seemed to take away a lot of great new information on landforms from their
first day of centers. Centers have a heavy focus on students exploring
materials and information at their own rate and I believe my class was very
successful in being able to take away a new understanding of landforms.
After
we finished our first set of centers, we came back together on the rug to
discuss what they had learned, enjoyed, or had questions about thus far. I was
very pleased to hear that many of the students enjoyed their particular center,
explained what they had worked on in their individual center to their classmates,
and were able to share many new facts they had learned about during their
center time. Having the class come together to debrief after the completion of
a lesson should always be included in your lesson time. I find it especially
important during centers, in order to see where everyone is at and if any
questions, comments, or concerned need to be addressed at that time. While I circulated
the room while students participated in their center, I was not able to work in
depth with any one student. Because of this, I believe coming back together at
the end is beneficial for both the students and me as the educator.
There
were many things I was able to reflect upon when it came to the creation and
implementation of the lesson and the centers.
This being my second set of centers in which I have created from scratch
in my clinical placement, I am beginning to learn that creating centers for
students is very much an art form. Not only must you create meaningful centers
that all of the different types of learners in your classroom can find success
in, but you must also make sure that each center would take about the same
amount of time to complete. Creating extension activities that will push your
students’ learning further but are not essential to the center is also an
important component to consider. You
must also make sure that each center can be easily understood by the students
without needing your one on one explanation, because being in five places at
the same time is pretty unrealistic. This week, I created centers that are both
user friendly and meaningful for the students and I have found them to be much
more successful than the last set of centers that I created. Directions were
clearly stated on a bright green sheet of paper, along with the clean-up
directions for the end of the center time. Rules have been set up to ensure
that students raise their hands in order to receive my help and it is known to
not simply run up to the teacher with a question because that will cause chaos.
Being able to reflect upon your own teaching and implementation of your lesson
is vital to improving your lessons and working to make them more meaningful and
successful as you continue to work with your students. Overall, I felt that I had
a successful lesson and look forward to implementing more science lessons that
can build upon what we have explored thus far this year.
EXCEEDS: I went over 1000 words :)
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