NSES Magnet Lab

Standard/Benchmark:

• STANDARD: Physical Science
•  Content Standard B: Light, Heat, Electricity, and Magnetism
• Benchmark: Magnets attract and repel each other and certain kinds of other materials.

Leaning Goals: What should the students know?

• Students understand that certain materials are attracted to magnets.
• Iron is attracted to magnets.
• Students understand that there is a positive and negative in magnets.
• Students understand that other objects can become magnetized. 
• Students understand magnetic fields.
• Students understand the connection between electricity and magnetism.

Formative Assessment: What do the students already know?

• Magnets in Water (pg. 67-71)

Learning Performances: What do you want students to do to show they've learned?

• 
  

Line of Learning

2.7.2012

Line of Learning Questions:

1. How do elementary students learn science? 

Elementary students learn science by interacting with materials and becoming hands-on learners. These activities allow them to make connections, observations, and conclusions. They learn science by incorporating their knowledge about multiple subjects, such as mathematics and reading, and writing into the development of their creative thinking. As was shown in the moon lesson in class, a manipulative helps students demonstrate their knowledge and work through problems. Students are also more apt to learn science when they are able to connect what they are learning in the classroom to real life situations. The School of the Wild is a great example of a place where students can be completely exposed to the physical science all around them, it is also easy for students to connect to the real world through this experience, because that is exactly what they are studying. Also, students may still hold onto these misconceptions even after doing hands on learning, so students can learn best when they truly overcome these misconceptions.

2. What classroom environments facilitate elementary students science learning? 

I believe that an environment that fosters student-centered learning; where the students needs come before the teacher. It is an environment that exposes children to different things and allows children to explore and test theories. 
The teacher should act as a facilitator; correcting misconceptions, guiding topics of conversation, and maintaing a safe and welcoming environment where students feel free to share thoughts openly with their classmates. A classroom environment where students are allowed to work together is helpful for students. 

3. What should teachers know and be able to do to design and foster effective elementary science learning environments?

Teachers should know that students work best when working with hands-on materials. They must also have Science notebook where write their thoughts on the subject matter. This can provide the student with a place to freely express his or her opinion and also a place for a teacher to assess the ability levels of his or her students and cater to those individual needs. A teacher should also know that it is okay for students to not know the right answer, but should give the students the time and opportunity to solve problems. A teacher should be able to gather information on what students already know or don't know. This allows the teacher to tackle the lesson knowing what common misconceptions need to be tackled. A way to gather this information is through assessment probes, which can be easily distributed online through google forms.

Iowa CORE Reflection

This was my first time really exploring the Iowa CORE website. I am interested in teaching middle school math, so I specifically looked at the mathematics standards for 6th grade. I was surprised by how ambiguous the content areas were. Some standards, like Statistics & Probability or Geometry, were familiar to me, but "The Number System" was one that really caught my eye. So I clicked on it. 


In my opinion, in just this one content area there was a big discrepancy between the expectations of 6th graders. The first content area states the following, 

• "6.NS.1. Interpret and compute quotients of fractions, and solve word problems involving division of fractions by fractions, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem. For example, create a story context for (2/3) ÷ (3/4) and use a visual fraction model to show the quotient; use the relationship between multiplication and division to explain that (2/3) ÷ (3/4) = 8/9 because 3/4 of 8/9 is 2/3. (In general, (a/b) ÷ (c/d) = ad/bc.) How much chocolate will each person get if 3 people share 1/2 lb of chocolate equally? How many 3/4-cup servings are in 2/3 of a cup of yogurt? How wide is a rectangular strip of land with length 3/4 mi and area 1/2 square mi? Compute fluently with multi-digit numbers and find common factors and multiples." 

This seems to be a very specific way to teach this lesson. This is also a very complex concept for a 6th grader to learn. Whereas the following standard seems far less complex,

•  "6.NS.7.Understand ordering and absolute value of rational numbers.
• Interpret statements of inequality as statements about the relative position of two numbers on a number line diagram.For example, interpret –3 > –7 as a statement that –3 is located to the right of –7 on a number line oriented from left to right.
• Write, interpret, and explain statements of order for rational numbers in real-world contexts. For example, write –3 oC > –7 oC to express the fact that –3 oC is warmer than –7 oC.
• Understand the absolute value of a rational number as its distance from 0 on the number line; interpret absolute value as magnitude for a positive or negative quantity in a real-world situation. For example, for an account balance of –30 dollars, write |–30| = 30 to describe the size of the debt in dollars.
• Distinguish comparisons of absolute value from statements about order. For example, recognize that an account balance less than –30 dollars represents a debt greater than 30 dollars.

I feel as though this concept is one that most 1st graders understand: the value of a number. It just doesn't make sense to me. 

I was also amazed by how specific these standards were. I had heard that the standards were hard to follow, and now that I actually look at them I can understand why. It is hard to tie the standards together. The concepts are too varied.  Each math standard would take a separate lesson. It would benefit the teachers and the students better if the standards had the ability to be tied together.


Overall, I think that the Iowa CORE standards are very well organized on this website. This can be a resourceful tool for myself when I go into future interviews and jobs to know what is to be expected of me.