Elsa the Snow Queen is back!                                                                                               

Science News for Kids

Thanksgiving weekend I went to the movies with my daughter, son, and my son's girlfriend.  We saw "Frozen 2."  I do not believe it is destined to be the next holiday classic.  However, it was entertaining.

So when I came upon an article about whether Queen Elsa's ability to create snow and ice could actually happen, I was intrigued.  I thought the article was quite timely given the release of the movie and would appeal to elementary students, since they adore the snow queen.

The article explores whether or not snow can be made artificially.  Snow can be recreated in a lab.  Scientists use compressed air, bubble wrap, and dry ice to replicate snow.  Many ski areas create their own snow when Mother Nature does not provide.

So, the fact that Elsa is able to create snow and ice is based in reality.  However, the creation of her ice castle is a bit more problematic.  The article states that the castle could not have been created in the mere 3 minutes it takes Elsa in the film.  There is a hotel made out of ice in Sweden. However, I am certain it took days to construct.   I would like to visit it someday, even though I loathe snow and ice.  They are beautiful to look at, but living with them-- and within them-- is something completely different.

 I would much rather live near the sea.  Perhaps I should have found an article exploring the possiblities of living underwater like Ariel, the Little Mermaid?  Oh well, as long as Elsa does not show up in the Hudson Valley anytime soon--and the fake snow is contained to the ski areas-- I believe all will be well!

Blogging in education--why is it important?

Blogging takes time.  However, having a blog can be a valuable tool for teachers.  I can see how a blog would be a good way to bridge the gap between the school and home.  Parents could visit the blog and see first hand what their students have been learning while at school.

Another good way to use a blog is as a resource for other teachers.  The blog could serve as a platform to share ideas.  The Teacher's Chatterbox is a blog full of great ideas to use in the classroom.  According to Jennifer Laffin of Sweet Teaching Life, blogging is an excellent way to reflect on your own teaching and share your teaching philosophies as well.

In conclusion, while maintaining a blog may be time-consuming, the benefits are undeniable.  A blog is just another extension of the classroom.

A book trailer---no it's not a camper for books!

Mary's Book Trailer

I created this book trailer to promote the book "What is Climate Change?"  by Gail Herman.  This book is chock full of information.  It is a chapter book and would be most appropriate for students in the 4th--6th grades.  It could easily be incorporated into an inquiry lesson on climate change, global warming, and C02 emissions.

Ms. Herman explores the history of climate change in this book.  She traces the roots back to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.  Did you know the first factories appeared not long following the American Revolution?  I had no idea!

This book was very informative.  I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to know more about climate change and how we have arrived at the current era.

Experience in the Field

I have not posted to the blog in quite a long time.  Our Teaching Science and Technology for Elementary class has been involved in field work at Bishop Dunn Memorial School for the past 4 weeks.  We were broken into 4 groups of 4 people and were required to present our lesson plans together as a group.

The group I was assigned to was a good group to work with.  Everyone was willing to get together and had really good ideas.  The end product was very good.  However, it was extremely overwhelming how much work was involved!   I am so glad it is over with!  This past weekend I went to visit my son and I realized I felt as though I had been living under a rock for the past 4 weeks since I was so consumed with working on the lesson plans for our presentation! I just hope eventually lesson planning will be like breathing, and will not be so all-consuming.  I hope the more we do it, the more natural it will become.

However, I did enjoy actually teaching the material to the students.  I just love being with the students and seeing them engaged in what they are learning.  The paperwork is overwhelming to me--I wish it didn't exist!  I know I will need to present to my principal what I plan to do for a unit or semester in the future, because that will be his/her job--to know that the curriculum is being covered.  Yet, I just would rather not have to deal with paperwork--it is just so tedious!  It is my most NOT favorite part of the teaching process.

The field work was valuable.  I learned what works and what doesn't work for keeping students engaged.  Technology can be a God-send for keeping students' attention.  Little boys love video games, so computer programs, such as Kahoot, are very attractive.

Having a long slidseshow or presenting too much information at one time causes some students to lose attention.  They become overwhelmed, like a circuit which is overloaded, and shut down.  This leads to behavior challenges. 

The presentations of the other 3 groups were engaging and educational.  Group #1 taught about the 5 senses.  I have always been fascinated by the human body.    Group #2 taught about gravity.  Their inquiry lesson was very engaging.   The final group, Group #4 taught about wind and had the students construct pin wheels with different materials.  I really thought this was the best lesson as the students really had to investigate which materials made he best pinwheels, and test them out, and draw conclusions based on their experiments. 

I am looking forward now to next year and being nearly done with the coursework and tests for obtaining my teaching license.  At first, going back to college was exciting and I enjoyed the coursework, but that was over 2 years ago.  Now I just really want to be done and get back to living life.  I am beginning to count down the months that are left.  I cannot wait to don a cap and gown and receive my diploma!  I feel I am on my way to being a great teacher, I already see a difference over where I was a year ago.  I know this time spent inside the classroom, as a student, is valuable.  I hope I will look back fondly on this time in the years to come.

No Grades--Say it Ain't So!

For Food for Thought Dr. Smirnova had us read an article entitled Teaching Without Grades: A Year of Lessons from A No Grades Classroom.(Priscila, & Tiffanee Warner. (2019, June 7). Teaching without grades: A year of lessons from a no grades classroom. Retrieved from https://www.gerarddawson.org/teaching-without-grades).  I like the idea of giving feedback rather than grades on assignments.  This still allows students to know how they are doing and also lets them know what they need to work on.  

This system reminded me of the art classes I took as an undergraduate student.  For the most part, we did not receive grades on individual assignments, but we did receive feedback to let us know if an assignment was up to standards.  In the garment construction courses I took this was even more true.  If the stitches were uneven or sloppy, the instructor would let you know.  Sometimes I would submit work thinking it was terrible, but then receive good feedback, which was always a nice surprise.  

We had to keep a portfolio of our work over the 4 years that we were in the program.  It was very beneficial to go back and look at previous work to see how far we were growing and transforming during the course of the program.  

Of course, in the end, we still all received letter grades.  The college mandated letter grades be recorded for the transcripts.  However, for the most part, as long as the professors saw you were working hard, making improvements, and turning in assignments on time, there was little to worry about.  

I do not know if I would use a completely gradeless system myself.  However, some sort of hybrid system I think would be very beneficial.  

Assess, assess, assess

Assessments

Back in the 80's we called them tests.  Now they are referred to as assessments.  No matter what they are called, they accomplish the same thing--giving the teacher an idea of where a student is in learning a subject or concept.   Has it been mastered or is there still some work to do? 

Rubric

We were given the task to design a rubric.  I think the rubrics are a bit more complicated than the old fashioned letter grades we used to receive.  However, I do like them since they do provide a more detailed picture of how a student is doing grasping a concept or how he/she is performing. 

Here is the rubric I designed:

Scoring Rubric and Prompt

Prompt:  Upon studying the following image of a food web diagram, please explain what would likely happen if the mouse was removed.

Level of Achievement	Answer to Prompt	Presentation
Master (3)	Learner uses higher level vocabulary         Evidence to support answer         Grammar and spelling are correct	·       Project is presented neatly ·       Zero errors in labeling ·       Image or drawing of food web included
Apprentice (2)	Vocabulary is more basic          Critical thinking is evident        Evidence to support answer         1-2 Spelling or Grammatical errors	Project is presented in clear and concise manner         1—3 errors in labeling         Image or drawing of food web included
Amateur (1)	Vocabulary is incorrect        Little or no evidence        3 or more Spelling or Grammatical errors	Presentation could use more detail        3 or more errors in labeling          Image or drawing of food web included
Back to the drawing board (0)	No response	Image is not included

 I hope it's alright.  

Types of Inquiry

Here is a slideshow about different types of Inquiry based learning practices.  Inquiry based learning 

allows learners to:

• Ask questions
• Explore their environment
• Obtain evidence to support claims
• Design a convincing argument