Saturday, 5 February 2011

Science Lesson Plans


Science Lesson Plans With Classroom Technology
Every science teacher wants to make sure that their topic stays exciting, fun, fresh and relevant. It's always great if your science lesson plans include field trips.
A virtual field trip is not the same as going on a real field trip and using all your senses - sight, smell, touch, hearing and even taste - but it's the closest thing you can get to the real thing. So while your science lesson plans shouldn't totally abandon real field trips (complete with packing jackets and safety warnings, which are part of the fun and the experience as well as being a learning experience in its own right), you should see how many virtual field trips you can fit in.
A virtual field trip is not the same thing as watching a documentary video - or not quite. Naturally, your science lesson plans for virtual field trips need a fair amount of prior planning. Often, if students can see something fascinating at the park or zoo (or whatever) during a virtual field trip, the students are more likely to want to visit that park and see it for real.

The majority of these students in California are in English-only classrooms where instruction is given by teachers who do not speak the first language of their students. When trying to develop science lesson plans, teachers need to be able to effectively communicate with all students.
The Role of Science
Surprisingly, students who received intentional vocabulary instruction in science actually learned more of the target vocabulary than those who were in a controlled class. At the same time, those who understood more of the vocabulary were able to express their comprehension of the concepts of science more effectively than other students.
In developing science lesson plans, it is important to note that multiple exposure to words in meaningful and relevant contexts plays a significant role of the deep word knowledge development. Interaction was possible through structured-talk activities and teacher support. This study conducted in the use of science lesson plans suggest that an intentional and scaffold approach to oral language development can improve young EL and non-EL children's reception and expressive vocabulary knowledge. This explicit focus on the linguistic features of science, as well as opportunities for discussion and expression improves both science and language learning.
While this study offers significant arguments for the effectiveness of innovative science lesson plans, it does present certain limitations. Only 19 students were involved in the intervention glass, making it difficult to generalize findings among the population. The study was also limited in its length of time and lack of previous data on all students in the study for comparison.
The fact that science lesson plans delivered such benefit suggests a stronger push for science overall. Another channel for application could also be in science videos. Educational videos in any subject can lend considerable value when developing English skills and understanding concepts. Many teachers agonize about planning science lessons for Grade 1. They think that the students are too young to take part in science experiments. This is because they associate science experiments with using chemicals and Bunsen Burners. At this grade level, there are many experiments you can do in class with the students that are perfectly safe and do not put the students in any danger.
For example, it is easy to plan a lesson related to using the five senses. Some of the outcomes that you need to address in Science lessons for Grade 1 are:
1. Students will be able to identify the five senses
2. Students will be able to demonstrate ways that materials can be used to alter their smell and taste
3. Students will demonstrate ways we can use materials to make different sounds
4. Students will describe ways in which materials can be changed to alter their appearance and texture
5. Students will demonstrate how each of the senses helps us to recognize, describe and safely use a variety of materials.
You can teach all of these objectives using fun activities to keep the students interested. You have to think of the age of the students and realize that these activities are very simple, yet relevant to students in Grade 1.
Students can immediately see how the appearance and the texture of the material have changed.
When you are teaching Science lessons in Grade 1, you should always look for appropriate children's literature so that you start the lesson off with a story to peak their interest.


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