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classroom than the one I was placed in. I was placed in 3rd grade and
the grade was departmentalized. The departmentalization began in
January of 2015 due to an accident one of the four 3rd grade teachers
was in as well as the new hire of one of the 3rd grade teachers. The
teacher involved in the accident wouldnt be returning for a few
months so the school had a loyal teacher assistant as well as subs
covering her class. Since these two positions are not equal to that of a
full time teacher, the assistant wasnt in charge of planning lessons.
The school felt that it was best for them to departmentalize in order to
ensure all students were receiving equal education. The grade was
departmentalized into A, B, C, and D class and they rotated between
math, science and social studies, reading, and writing. The teacher
assistant as well as the subs within the class taught social studies and
science. Due to this, the students typically did bookwork and the other
CTs thought it would be better if I didnt go into that classroom.
Luckily, I worked it out so I could observe a 5th grade science lesson
within the school. In the classroom I observed in there was a male
teacher, and about 18 students in the class during my observation. I
did observe early in the morning and there were extra desks so the
class could normally have more students than it dud during my
observation. The majority of the students were African American but
there was one Asian student as well. The boy/girl ratio was fairly even
as the students desks were set up in pairs in the front and some small
groups of three towards the back.
I observed a lesson within the Ecosystem Unit that the class was
studying. The lesson began with the students completing a Do now.
This consisted of the students reviewing the information they had
learned previously, as well completing a science warm-up before going
over the Do now as a group. Here they answered a few questions in
order to get their brains working and ready for science! The students
then talked with their partner telling them the information the learned
and remembered regarding various terrestrial ecosystems: Tundra,
Taiga, Temperate, and Deciduous forests. The students sort of did a
think pair share. They turned to their partner told them what they
knew about each of the topics, and then they all went through the
topics quickly as a class. I acted as one of the students partners who
was sitting towards the back of the class and he told me all about the
ecosystems! The teacher monitored all the discussions and walked
around in order to scaffold any students who needed it, he also called
on different people each time in order to check for understanding. He
interacted with the students very well, and was always engaged in
conversation within the classroom.
When he began introducing the new information he showed the
class a SMART board page that displayed all the standards of the unit,
the information they would learn about, and what they would be doing.
explained all of this to the students and they were very interested in
this and seemed to really connect to the information he provided them
with. For example, he made it a point to tell the students where they
fit into the food chain.
I think the students got a general idea of the information they
will be learning about over the next portion of their unit. They were
introduced to all of these ideas, concepts, and key topics as a way to
prepare them to dive in to the details making up the ecosystems and
food chains that make up such a large part of our lives. I really
appreciated how much he taught science, and I think his students
value the lessons as well!
5-LS2-1.
Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals,
decomposers, and the environment.