Manning Science Center (MSC)

Passed: Testing

2011-09-05T15:06:00.000-04:00

Again, to explore the practicality of blogging via email (this is my second test as the first had an error).

My email was received and stored (set to wait for my review).
--
^c(¯`'·.¸❄¸.·'´¯)·.·~•*'¨☼๑¨'*•~-.__.-~*'¨๑☼¨'*~-·.·(¯`'·.¸●☀●¸.·'´¯)c^

Observations and late summer flowers

2011-09-05T14:51:00.001-04:00

To avoid starting the year with listing of all the rules (and the prohibitions) I start each class with a lesson covering the basics of observations. This year I'm starting with flowers - which I almost discarded as an idea due to the cost of purchasing flowers. THEN, I noticed Queen Anne's Lace blooming! It's a wonderful plant - and I'll be adding a second flower during Part Two. Haven't decided on the second one yet as I don't have to commit to that part until Thursday morning. My general plan is to follow up with similar work with insects.

Recent Activities (June 14-18)

2010-06-19T20:36:00.000-04:00

Hi,
Gr5: guiding students in creating their electronic yearbook "Class of 2010 - In Their Own Words" (using OpenOffice-Impress and MS PowerPoint)
Gr4: Participating in their field trip to the USS Constitution (ship and museum)
Gr3: continuing investigations around the change in water's density with temperature
Gr2: continuing explorations with 'the ground' and rocks - understanding asphalt
Gr1: re-juggled the schedule - and several of the 4th graders carried out a wild activity building pirate ships - seeing which design could carry the most pirate loot.
K: Wood / lumber - compared pieces of redwood, pine, basswood (which looks nearly identical to pine), plywood, and particle board. Later, after examining it to see the sand - each student sanded a block of basswood.

Role of Computers in the Manning Science Center

2010-04-09T13:31:00.000-04:00

As previously posted, I use my vision of exiting fifth graders to inform my choices. Part of this includes computer-using skills. Massachusetts ELA Learning Standards include computer media literacy, and I have resources to support the students in this area. Part of my vision includes their ability to quickly locate reliable information (both in text and images). It also includes the ability to use computer technology to communicate well. I focus on preparing documents, including digital images.

There are some required science topics that work best through online resources - such as identifying minerals, learning about volcanoes or our Sun. To conduct research properly, students require strong computer skills. We learn as we go - lessons are integrated with practical projects, as well as during some choice time (the choices are actually quite limited).

Examples of some of the computer-based projects include:
#Mario Teaches Typing - for basic keyboarding skills (erratically used, starting middle K)
#KidPix - digital graphic arts (generally starting in second grade)
#MS Word - including appropriate ways of doing "Upper Case" and proper use of the space bar and enter key (and avoiding the use of Caps Lock) - generally starting late in first grade
#PowerPoint - for writing in outline and for inserting graphics and photos into documents - starting in fourth grade
#Internet search (Google search exclusively currently) - some in Gr3, mostly in the upper grades

One specific project are PowerPoint projects about animals in 4th grade. While these do not amount to sophisticated presentations (nor are they really friendly to the viewer) - they do require students to learn about researching animals and how to use PPT to share work.

Some words about how I decide what to teach

2010-04-09T13:14:00.000-04:00

I have a vision of where my fifth graders should be at in the middle of May (Science MCAS time!) and I work back from there, to Kindergarten. While only some of my fifth graders in fact start in Kindergarten, I capitalize on the ability of children to learn very quickly from each other. For example, when I review the concept that warmer things move up and cooler things move down, students new to the concept pick it quite easily when those around in third grade start explaining what they know.

I teach to the Massachusetts Learning Standards for Science and Engineering. Generally, the curriculum resources provided by BPS work well. In some cases, however, they include significant material that is not included in the standards and also doesn't lay a foundation for learning other standards-based material - and this material I will often skip over. Further, there are some essential concepts that are insufficiently presented in these resources - and for these I supplement with other resources.

My students have taught me that they can properly retain and apply concepts learned from the middle of third grade. For concepts learned earlier, much revisiting is necessary. My emphasis in the lower grades has thus evolved to a focus on developing the core skills, such as focusing on the questions that describe what we are learning, manners of taking notes, working in groups, following directions, maintaining order, and so on.

My students have taught me my most valuable lessons on teaching. Each year, I review the outcome of the Gr5 Science / Engineering MCAS to find out more about areas of weakness - and I explore. I explore different activities and ways of presenting concepts. I explore ways of making different connections to other concepts. I explore ways to prepare students by changing up the work in the lower grades.

I also teach significant literacy skills, both in using text and in writing. I am working on building up the role of math skills.

School Computers - Upgrade in progress

2010-03-15T14:43:00.000-04:00

In addition to teaching science, I support the school's computer technology. (As the Manning does not have a computer center - the Manning Science Center has always had a lot of computers. This spring, we are moving to mostly laptops as they take up so much less space. Students will now have more than 3 inches to work the mouse. We are getting ThinkPads (through eBay). The desktops from the MSC are being moved - mostly to fourth grade. Once that is settled, other computers are being moved around to meet the requests of the grade level teachers. The oldest machines will be retired.

What do seeds need to start growing?

2010-03-15T14:32:00.000-04:00

Recently, first grade students have set up a system for growing grass seeds. The initial question is "do seeds need dirt to grow" and so the systems have no dirt - some have cotton balls and some have a non-absorbent sponge with a paper towel. The systems have a cover, to keep the water captured.

The fifth graders have just started a similar project; they will be focusing more on the body parts of plants and the functions of each (we learned to use these terms during recent writing projects on animals).

The Kindergartens have today also started this project, this time using beans, paper towels, and plastic bags.

3.15.10