Science Ideas

For the Love of Science!

Had a great class tonight in my Science Methods. He had some great ideas that I want to incorporate into my classroom.

Activity 1: Use Your Senses

On the first day of class pass out film canisters with cotton balls saturated with essential oils and on each table have one large canister with one scent per table. The students must use their sense of smell to determine their canister scent and match it to the correct table. Tell them they are not using their speaking abilities but their sense of smell.

Needed:
Film Canister (one per student)
Large Canister (one per table)
Cotton Balls
Essential Oils (one per table)

You can per-assign the canisters to the student by putting their name on the top or you can do it randomly and have them pick one as they walk it.

Classroom Management Strategy 1: Earning the Materials

When doing an activity that consists of collecting materials, it can become a mad house quickly if it is a free for all when gathering their materials. A great way to get around this and slow things down, is requiring the students to write a grant explaining why they want the materials.

For a science activity, have the students write a hypothesis and experimental design BEFORE they can collect the materials needed for their experiment.This will help students think before they jump into the activity, to plan what it is they want to do, develop writing skills, use of scientific terms (great assessment to gauge where your students vocabulary and ability to articulate a desired result).

When the "grant" is completed, you (teacher) reads it and determines if it warrants receiving the materials of if they need to go back and refine the application.  It doesn't have to be perfect but it is a great way to calm things down and have your students Think!

Mrs H.