Jennifer Allen ELED 3221-003 Science Lesson Reflection Lesson Summary I was asked by my cooperating teacher to integrate science

and social studies into a lesson. The class had just wrapped up their science unit and was moving onto social studies. The unit of social studies that my class was moving into was on The Lost Colony of Roanoke. I took this idea and integrate a science topic on fossils. There was a specific carving of CRO found on the site of Roanoke. My question for exploration to the class was, Is this carving a fossil and what do you think it means? Students used provided books and articles to explore these questions. Throughout the lesson, from beginning to end, we created a K-W-L chart to reflect our prior knowledge, what we would love to know and the end result, of what we found out. Reflection What did the students find out in the experience? Were there any surprises? o The students learned that the lost colony is a mystery. They came to their own conclusion on whether the carving in the tree was in fact a fossil or not. This was discussed as a class and the students carried on the conversation with one another on whether they agreed that it was a fossil or disagreed about it being a fossil. I had some personal surprises. I was surprised to see the students forming and carrying on their own debate. On top of that, they brought the book resources to the carpet and referred to them to back up their opinions. As far as the students, many said that they didnt know and were surprised that CRO could mean that the colonist went with the Croatoan Indians. How did the students in each group work together? Were there any problems? o I split students into teams based on the tables they sat at. There were four groups all together. I noticed that for each group there was one student who took over and lead the group. They took the role or writers for the K-W-L charts at the tables and then they also took the role of the team informant when we met back on the carpet. There was one group that had trouble staying on task. It took me going over and telling them who the group leader was and if they wanted to talk about what they found in the articles and books, then they should raise their hand for the group leader. After this, the group settled down and stayed on task. Was the activity open-ended enough, or did each group do more or less the same thing? o The groups did sort of the same thing. However, the materials were different. There were three different books provided- two groups had the same book- and there were two different articles provided. So each group had different materials, with different information and different theories to report on. I was worried that they would all come

Jennifer Allen ELED 3221-003 back to the carpet and report on the same information, but they all had something different to offer. How did the students extend the investigation? o Students were asked to build opinions and support those opinions about two questions: Is CRO considered a fossil? and What do you think CRO means? However, the students formulated more questions for the K-W-L chart in the want to know section. After they found information to support their opinion, the students searched in the provided materials for answers to other questions. Even though we didnt have time during the actual lesson, students came up to me during lunch time and told me about the answers they found to this questions and that question. One student asked to keep an article so she could continue to read. They took this investigation further than what I expected or asked of them. My cooperating teacher was happy for this because it reached into a lesson that she was planning on teaching and said that it allowed for students to gain prior knowledge for that lesson. How did the students connect this experience to their daily lives? o Students talked about fossils that they had seen before at museums. They talked about books they had read that had fossils in them. At the end of the lesson, the students all asked if they could take a field trip to Roanoke. They really connected to this place and the mystery behind it. They made comments like, Maybe we will know what happened if we could actually go there. One student had read about The Lost Colony at home and brought to the discussion some of the things her and her mom had talked about. How did I accommodate students with learning and physical differences? o For the autistic student, I set up the groups so that he/she could benefit from the group discussion. At first it was tough to get him involved in the conversation within his/her group. However, I noticed that his/her group did not give him/her materials. After I intervened and distributed the materials evenly so the student could feel like he/she had a role in the group, I noticed a lot more interaction. His/her group members facilitated more conversation with him/her. When we met back at the carpet, his/her group had picked him/her to be the informant for the group. There wasnt anything specific that I did to accommodate for this student. I just made sure that this student felt like he/she had a role and part in the investigation and involvement took off from there. Did I use technology effectively? o The school I was at did not have technology in the classroom. What I had to do was bring my computer and show the engage picture on my laptop. Apparently this was the norm in this classroom. After the lesson, my cooperating teacher said that she has to do this same thing if she wants to show a video or picture or website. I told her I was

Jennifer Allen ELED 3221-003 worried about the effectiveness of this and she told me that she thought it was as effective if there would have been a SmartBoard to display the image on. The students still responded and became engaged in the lesson. Overall, what do I think the students got out of the experience? o I think that my students received a lot from this lesson. First, I think the most important was that they were able to form their own opinions and support them with information from given resources. I was very proud to see them do this so well. I think they were able to see how two subjects could be interlaced together. During carpool, at the end of the day, many complimented and said that they were happy that we did both science and social studies together and that it was their favorite lesson I taught them. I also think that it helped build prior knowledge for the future lessons on The Lost Colony that the cooperating teacher has planned. What do I remember most about this science activity? o I remember the discussion the most. The students did such an excellent job facilitating discussion that was benefitted the lesson. They brought in both science and social studies elements. They talked both about what they knew about fossils and what they learned about the tree carving. I thought it was such a mature conversation for 4th graders. Would I do it again? How would I plan differently the next time? o I would do this again. I would allow for more time so that I could really give more information about fossils. Since that is the one science element in the lesson, and the main focus was on The Lost Colony, for true integration, I think I need to have more of the fossil involvement. I felt it was a stretch for me to do this, but my cooperating teacher ensured me that she found the integration effective. It was hard for me to satisfy what my professors at UNC Charlotte wanted and what my cooperating teacher wanted and what was best for the students so they wouldnt be so thrown off in their studies. However, I think I did a pretty good job satisfying the requirements and needs of all parties. It would be fun to re-plan this whole lesson for my future class and myself. I like the self-discovery and investigation elements and I believe the students did as well. What did you learn about yourself as a learner and as a teacher during this lesson? o I learned that I love classroom discussion between students. I think discussion among peers is the best way to learn a concept and seeing it in action because of my lesson was very rewarding. I learned that I have to prepare and build my own prior knowledge before lessons so that I can effectively convey information to students. I didnt know I was so rusty with my elementary science. I also learned that I love integration. Even if my lesson isnt the best example, I want to learn to

Jennifer Allen ELED 3221-003 effectively integrate. I think it is such a great way to expand learning and make sure students are receiving all they can.