Observation (Science)

Instructional Lesson Classroom: Mrs. H. Grade: 5th Curriculum Area: Science What I notice Observer: Nicole Framiglio Date: 3/12/14 Time: 7:50 AM Thoughts, Questions, Connections to Methods Classes Would an activity where students created models of cells be helpful? What is another way to show students how the organelles work?

Today the students are being taught about cells. This is the first time the students have ever been introduced to the idea that they are made up of cells. To begin, the teacher started by projecting an iPad application on the board. The application was called POMT Bones and allows the user to zoom in and see the cells that make up the bones. First, the user starts on a screen displaying the skeleton of a hand. To make sure the students knew what this was, the teacher asked questions. Then, she began zooming in on the bones of the skeleton, the closer she got the more the students became interested. When she made it to the cellular level, she asked the students what they saw. One student made a comment about seeing blood. Then another asked a questions about the cells; he did not know what they were. Then the teacher explained how they were cells and they work together to form the bones. Next she explained that different parts of their bodies were made up of different types of cells. The students had a hard time accepting that they were actually made up of little cells. Many of the students were caught staring at their hands trying to see the cells. Then the teacher explained that the reason they could see the cells on the iPad was because it zoomed in. She continued by showing how she had zoomed in and out on the hand. She said they would need a microscope in order to see cells. Since they did not have microscopes, she explained that was where the application came in handy. Next she zoomed in on a cell and showed the students the different organelles. The students were amazed by what they saw and still had a hard time believing that all that was inside something they could not even see. After exploring on the application together, the teacher then pulled up a diagram of the cell. She had the students create flipbooks with the diagram drawn on the front. Each page in the flipbook had a different organelle in it. The students used the definitions from the application to define the organelles in their flipbooks.