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Northeast Regional Science Alliance, Scranton School District Maximizing resources, team teaching, scheduling creatively, coordinating planning, and integrating curriculum—these are some of the approaches that Kathy Clarke and Judy Baker use to incorporate new ideas and strategies into their first-grade science teaching. When they received STC's Solids and Liquids kit as part of Keystone's mini-grant opportunity, one of their goals was to demonstrate the value of kits in teaching science as a "hands-on," rather than "books only" endeavor. But how could they be hands-on with one kit and three first grade classes? Cooperation was the answer. Teaming up with their grade partner, Kathy and Judy agreed to rotate their classes in half-hour sessions. Kathy used the kit, Judy worked with science sites on the internet, and the third teacher taught social studies. On May 8th, 2001 they hosted KSN staff members Molly McLaughlin and Shelby Jackson; and then invited the entire faculty of their school (John Marshall Elementary School) to hear about their experiences with kits, the web, and the Keystone project.
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Finding time is always a challenge. How could they
incorporate
science into a schedule with an extensive required
reading program and
no science curriculum for the primary grades?
Integrating science
content and literacy skills was a good solution. As
students read stories
about planets to answer their own questions, Judy
segues from the discussion
of ice on Pluto to remind students of the work
they've been doing with
solids and liquids…
…and then moves to a laptop and projector to
introduce
the idea of using the internet to find out more. "Oh,
this is cool!"
exclaims a student as Judy guides the exploration of
three sites about
solids and liquids. |
A favorite was "States of Matter Poems," where
children were able to
read for themselves that liquids flow and have no
shape of their own.
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"Chem4Kids" was a reading challenge for first
graders—but highly motivating! With guidance
from Judy, kids reinforced
vocabulary and ideas about properties of materials
with exercises like
"So, you want to be a solid!" |
Across the hall in Kathy Clark's room, the students
have already discovered
many properties of solids using hands-on materials
from the kit. Concrete experiences with blocks,
balls, cups, and bobby pins provide a
foundation for understanding this new vocabulary.
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They listen attentively as Kathy explains the
activity
for the day—experimenting to find out which
objects roll, which stack, which do both; and then
using Venn diagrams to organize their
data. |
Parent volunteers provide the extra hands needed to
organize materials
and work with small groups of children, allowing
Kathy to move around
the room listening, trouble-shooting, and helping
students clarify their
thinking.
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The kit materials are engaging and fun; the students
are eager to test, observe, discuss, and record. As
usual when they're
doing science, Kathy says, the time flies and is
filled with excitement
and enthusiasm. |
After school, faculty attendance at the kit awareness
session is close
to 100 percent. Molly and Shelby share info about
science kits, the
Keystone project, and the KSN Online website.
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Kathy observes: "I'm learning as I'm going, so don't
feel like
much of an expert at this point!" But as she and Judy
share
their morning lessons with their colleagues, it's
clear that they've gained
a level of comfort and skill with this new way of
teaching and that they
and their students are enjoying this new way of
learning. |
