Blog Post Week 4

 

WEEK4_LAB ACTIVITY

Section:  Wednesday 10:30 am                                                                                  Your name: Kylie Hamers

(1) Look over the life science lesson plan for 3^rd grader below. Work in a group to identify the parts of the lesson that correspond with each of the phases of the 5E model. Use the information regarding the 5E Model in the slides to help you complete this task. Please share your answers with the whole group.

 Reflection questions: 

1. What happens during the engage phase of this lesson? How do these activities relate to the function of the engage phase?

Students are asked questions that force them to think about their prior knowledge and relate it to what they are learning about. One question is a “What do you know question,” which elicits responses that uncover what students already know. There is also a “How do you know” question that guides students to create curiosity and find out why. 

1. What happens during the explore phase of this lesson? How do these activities relate to the function of the explore phase?

Students were split into small groups, and half of them read one section and the other half read the other section. This forces students to work together without explicit instruction, the teacher can observe and listen to student interactions. Additionally, they will come back together to discuss what the students learned in their reading. That allows the teacher to redirect students if their information is wrong. 

1. What happens during the explain phase of this lesson? How do these activities relate to the function of the explain phase?

The students come back together and work to verify the information they received from their readings. This encourages justification and clarification from the students and pushes them to explain concepts and definitions in their own words. 

1. What happens during the elaborate phase of this lesson? How do these activities relate to the function of the elaborate phase?

Students created a factual presentation on what they learned in their readings. This encourages students to use formal labels, definitions, and explanations to apply their concepts and skills into a new situation. Students can use prior knowledge and ask questions as to how or why a group is performing a certain way. 

1. What happens during the evaluate phase of this lesson? How do these activities relate to the function of the evaluate phase?

Students perform their presentations in front of the class and the teacher. Teachers can observe students as they apply new concepts, assess the children's in-depth knowledge, assess group skills, and give a space for teachers to ask open-ended questions. 

1. Is the lesson “How do the social interactions and group behavior of ants and honey help to maintain their colonies?” a good example of a 5E lesson? Why or why not?

Yes, it is a good example of a 5E lesson because it forced students to go through all 5E lessons while the students conducted their learning. The model didn’t force students to give a definite answer or conclusion, there was no lecturing as the primary teaching, students didn’t have a guide they had to follow step by step, and students do not receive information with no justificaiton. 

(2) Find a performance expectation(s) of this lesson below and complete the table of lab activity 2. Using the Next Generation Science Standard, copy and paste (a) scientific and engineering practices, (b) cross-cutting concepts, and (c) disciplinary core ideas related to this activity.

Hint- Go to Click: https://www.nextgenscience.org/search-standards and then select 3 in grade and life sciences in discipline.

Lab Activity 1: How do the social interactions and group behavior of ants and honey help to maintain their colonies? 

 

Grade: 3, Life Sciences: How do the social interactions and group behavior of ants and honey help to maintain their colonies?
Performance expectation 3-LS(  )-(   )	3-LS3-2. Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
Success Criteria	The student will Gather and synthesize information about social structures and assigned tasks found in colonies of some insects. Work collaboratively to present factual information about either ants or honeybees to their peers through a creative performance. Prepare and engage in arguments from evidence and be prepared to critique the arguments of peers.
Materials	Articles describing the social structure of an ant colony and a honeybee colony Articles with pertinent information on these topics can be accessed at http://animal.discovery.com Select Wild Animals from the menu bar, then select Insects &Arachnids, then scroll down a little and select the box labeled Insects. In the search window at the top right corner of the screen, enter ant colony, click on the Read Article box beside the article “Ant” (http://animal.discovery.com). The part of the article that is focused on the social structure of an ant colony begins with the heading “The Ant Colony” and ends right before the heading “Kinds of Ants.” In the search window at the top right corner of the screen, enter social bees, click on the Read Article box beside the article “Bee” (http://animal.discovery.com). The part of the article that is focused on the social structure of a bee colony begins with the heading “Social Bees” and ends right before the heading “Beekeeping.” Notebook paper Chart paper Markers Variety of materials for costumes, props, etc., for presentation during the evaluate phase of the lesson
Engage	Ask: What do you know about social interactions of ants in an anthill or honeybees in a hive? Do they all pitch in and help out as needed to keep the colony functioning, or do individual members of the colony have assigned tasks? How do you know?
Explore	Organize the class in an even number of small groups. Give students in half of the small groups the article titled “Ant Colony” and the students in the other groups the article titled “Social Bees.” Instruct students to closely read their articles and take notes about the roles that different castes of social insects take on. Suggest that they use lists and graphic organizers when appropriate. Encourage them to discuss the information as they read, since taking about the text helps students to make sense of it. If you think that providing a template for note-taking would be useful scaffolding for students in your class, develop and distribute them to the students.
Explain	Bring the students together in a discussion circle to talk about their findings. Encourage groups who read about ants to verify and improve each other’s findings and groups who read about bees to verify and improve each other’s findings. Then suggest that opposite groups make connections with their work to compare and contrast the social interactions of the two different types of insect colonies. Recommend that students create graphic organizers to effectively summarize the important information that is shared.
Elaborate	Students should return to their original small groups. Challenge each group to produce a creative but factual presentation about social structure of the insect colony they read about and summarized. They might role-play, do a puppet show, a broadcast interview, etc. Provide ample time for groups to work, buy announce a firm deadline at the time you make the assignment. Collaborate with your class to develop criteria and levels of achievement for a rubric for scoring the presentations. Student involvement with the creation of the rubric helps to ensure that they will know what is expected and self-assess their presentation during rehearsals.
Evaluate	On the day of presentations, arrange to use the stage at your school, or organize your classroom so that each presenting group has sufficient space for their production. Make a video recording of the presentations so that you can review group work at a later time for scoring and thoroughly take in their performance. When you have the next open house, consider showing the student presentations on a video monitor in your room. Parents always like to see their children in action.

Lab Activity 2: How do the social interactions and group behavior of ants and honey help to maintain their colonies? 

 

Grade: 3, Life Sciences

Framework context
Scientific and engineering practices	Science and Engineering Practices Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to the use of evidence in constructing explanations that specify variables that describe and predict phenomena and in designing multiple solutions to design problems. Use evidence (e.g., observations, patterns) to support an explanation.
Crosscutting Concepts	Crosscutting Concepts Cause and Effect Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change.
Disciplinary core ideas	Disciplinary Core Ideas LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits Other characteristics result from individuals’ interactions with the environment, which can range from diet to learning. Many characteristics involve both inheritance and environment. LS3.B: Variation of Traits The environment also affects the traits that an organism develops.