Context:
This artifact was created in the spring semester of 2007 under the advisement of Dr. Terry Carroll. Jeni Keeter and I worked together on this project. We taught this lesson to our peers and to Mrs. N. Gilreath's class of fourth graders at Spindale Elementary School. Thank you Mrs. Gilreath and your students for letting us teach in your room. We used the Learning Cycle (5 E's) format with these components: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Expansion, and Evaluation.
Impact:
My partner and I chose to teach a lesson from the fourth grade curriculum. We chose a lesson involving electricity. Our lesson plan was "Making a Motor Run". This required the students to have a hands on, guided inquiry science lesson. We integrated math, language arts, and social studies into the science lesson. The students investigated current electricity, circuits, and the pathways that the electricity flows through. They will also learn the concepts of closed and open circuits. The students will also acquire vocabulary associated with electricity and they will use scientific thinking processes to conduct investigations and build explanations by: observing, communicating, comparing, and organizing.
Alignment:
This artifact met the following North Carolina Standards for Elementary School Teachers:
Standard 3 Indicator 2 I met this standard because I developed a lesson plan that had our students investigating about current electricity, circuits, and pathways that the electricity flows through and to understand and construct simple open and closed circuits.
Standard 7 Indicator 1 I met this standard because I followed the NCSCOS in the science content area to develop this lesson plan.
Standard 7 Indicator 2 I met this standard because I integrated math, language arts, and social studies into this science lesson.
Standard 7 Indicator 3 I met this standard because I engaged the students in a story in which I asked them to recall a earlier science lesson and compare it to the materials I was using in this lesson. I ask the students to construct new knowledge based on their prior knowledge. This is the Expansion phase of the 5 E's Lesson Cycle.
Standard 7 Indicator 4 I met this standard by allowing the students to draw in their science journals and talk to their neighbors as an assessment to check for understanding and to work in small groups.
Standard 7 Indicator 5 I met this standard by allowing the students to work in small groups and to have hands on time with the materials involved in this lesson. I also used higher thinking questions to help the students understanding of the lesson.
Standard 7 Indicator 6 I met this standard by allowing the students to record in their science journals, using informal and formal questions to guide the students to the point understanding.
Standard 7 Indicator 7 I met this standard by walking around during small group time, observing the journal drawings, and questioning the class often during the lesson. This was the Evaluation phase of the 5 E's Lesson Cycle.
Standard 10 I met this standard by developing the 5 E's Lesson Cycle on electricity especially the Exploration phase. I allowed the students to experiment with a "D" cell battery, electric motor, circuit base, wire, and a switch. I had them to make inferences, predictions, and to interpret the data collected. I guided them with questions throughout the lesson plan.
Standard 15 Indicator 1 I met this standard by encouraging the students to talk to local representatives from the utility companies. This is a lesson plan that students can relate to their environment. This is part of the Engagement phase and the Exploration phase of the 5 E's Lesson Cycle. The Engagement was related to a real life experience and the small groups were encouraged to let everyone participate and explore with the materials.
Standard 17 Indicator 1, 2, 3, and 4 I met these standards by addressing safety rules posted in the classroom and supervising the students at all times during the lab activities. Students and teachers wore goggles during the lab activity.
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