Seth Hardin

ELED 3221
IMB- Reid Park 5th grade

IMB Summary/Reflection on my Science Lesson

I started off my lesson with a video being played on the SMART Board that
introduced my topic of producers, consumers, and decomposers. I then asked students to
tell me what these three things do after the video was over to review them before we
moved on to the next thing. The next activity I had planned was a foldable and this was
something I had to skip and cancel out because of the time restrictions I was on during
my lesson so I had to go to my explanation stage of my lesson. This part included having
the students open up their EOG ready books and having them follow along with me as I
read to introduce Carnivores, Herbivores, and Omnivores. After reading, I opened up a
PowerPoint on the SMART Board and had a table that I had students raise their hand to
help me fill it in with examples of certain types of producers, consumers, and
decomposers. After going through the PowerPoint, I then asked the students some
questions to check for their understanding of this activity. The next stage in my lesson
was a game on this website that had different animals and organisms that I asked certain
students to come up and drag them to their specific category. This allowed them to gain
more familiarity with the different types and can be used for repetition for the students.
My independent activity for the students was a worksheet that they needed to come up
with one organism for each part and explain why it is either a consumer, producer, or
decomposer. I thought my lesson went pretty good overall and I was excited to see how
my students were engaged in my material that I brought to them. I was expecting some

classroom management problems to arise but they didnt and I was surprised because of
the daily problems that my CT had with them while I was there.

What did the students find out in the experience? Were there any surprises?
- The students reviewed three terms of consumers, producers, and decomposers
because my CT introduced these to them the day before I taught my lesson but he
wanted me to also cover these three again as it would be a review for them. They
found out that there 3 more terms that are like a subcategory of the three terms
they learned the day before. These terms were carnivores, herbivores, and
omnivores and that most animals and organisms can be placed in some sort of
category when looking at it in a certain way. Students found out more examples of
animals and organisms that were consumers, producers, decomposers, herbivores,
carnivores, and omnivores. I think the only thing that really surprised them were
the decomposers category because of how they break down the waste and they
were interested in how this happened and said some organisms were gross

looking.
How did the students in each group work together? Were there any
problems?
- I didnt have much collaboration in my lesson but the times that I had students
turn to a partner and tell them what they think their answers were to the questions
that I was asking them. This is the same approach that my clinical teacher takes
every day and so I wanted to make sure I kept the students in their comfort level
and didnt mess anything up. When they did turn to a partner, they were able to do
it without any problems because of the fact that they were so used to doing it

everyday with most of the activities they do with their main teacher.
Was the activity open-ended enough, or did each group do more or less the
same thing?
- Since my lesson wasnt able to get my foldable activity in it I choose this one for
this question. I think the activity I had them do for the independent part was very
open-ended because of the fact that there were allowed to choose any 5 organisms
or animals to write down and explain why it is either a producer, consumer, or
decomposer. This allows them to think more critically and that they can be more
creative when activities are open-ended.

How did the students extend the investigation?

- If my foldable activity was able to work out and I was able to have time to fit in
my lesson, I would have put that for my open-ended activity above, but since I
wasnt I am going to have to go with my independent activity again with this one.

Look at the previous question for description.

How did the students connect this experience to their daily lives?
- The students are able to connect this experience to their daily lives in ways like
seeing organisms and animals that fit into the different categories that we talked
about in our lesson and they also are able to figure them out themselves now that
they know what is what. Students have a better concept of the food chain and can

relate when they have certain animals in their homes like dogs, cats, birds, etc.
How did I accommodate students with learning and physical differences?
- I accommodated for students with learning and physical differences by
providing preferred seating to students with visual impairments. I also was able to
read the EOG ready book aloud so students who struggle reading could follow

along.
Did I use technology effectively?
- I think I was able to use technology effectively because of how often I used it.
There was really only one point during my lesson where I didnt use it and that
was when I was reading aloud in the EOG ready books. I was very involved with
the SMART Board and had a video, game, and PowerPoint on there. I also had the
students come up and participate in the game on the SMART Board so I think I

was able to use it effectively.

Overall, what do I think the students got out of the experience?
- I think the students got a lot from my lesson. They learned how to categorize
certain animals and organisms; they were able to gain more familiarity with the
food chain, as my lesson was just one day of the one-week process that my
clinical teacher was in the middle of teaching. They were able to learn more about

certain animals and why they are put in a certain category.

What do I remember most about this science activity?
- The thing I remember most about this science activity was when I had the game
on the SMART Board and I asked students to come up and drag the certain
organism or animal over to the specific category that it belongs in. This is
significant to me because of the fact that the students were so excited to raise their

hand and almost all of the students wanted me to choose them. I loved this
because I think this shows that they were engaged in what I was bringing them

and interested in the material.

Would I do it again? How would I plan differently the next time?
- Yes I would do this lesson again; I think this lesson could be done for 6th graders
as well. I think that the foldable activity was a good idea that I came up with in
my lesson and it would have been really good if I could have time to do that but I
believe I would make time for the foldable activity and leave out one of my other
activities if I did this again. I believe the foldable would allow the students to be
creative and be unique when working on these. Maybe I could have used this as
my independent activity instead of the worksheet. Another thing I would have
done was added directions on the worksheet that I did have the students do
because I had students confused and students that did the wrong thing when they

got their worksheet. I believe directions would have helped this problem.
What did you learn about yourself as a learner and as a teacher during this lesson?
- I learned that I need to be willing to learn more about the content that I bring
forward to my students so that they can learn as much as possible from me. I think
that sometimes I could have gave them more information during my lesson so if I
was more knowledgeable of the content then maybe they could have learned a
couple more things. I think as a learner I will always be gaining new information
while I am in the classroom because teachers never stop learning and we can only
get better. As a teacher I learned that lessons dont always go as planned so it is
important to make sure we know the time we have to work with and manage it so
that we can get done with the whole lesson. I also learned that I need to change
my voice tone while I am teaching my lessons so that students can understand the
significance of certain things. I learned a ton during these two weeks and look to
build on what I have learned so far in the coming years.