Teaching...Day Five!

     Today was a very hectic day with our second graders! You can definitely tell that it is Thanksgiving week! Like always, our lesson was divided into two parts by the students’ recess break. One of the activities that the students did during the first half of the lesson was write about their scientific observations in their science journals. Our lesson incorporated instructional technology as we showed the students a brief movie on the laptop, which showed a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. After viewing this video, we asked the students to write 2-3 sentences about what they saw and learned from this video. In groups, the students also observed their butterflies and chrysalises in their nets. Again, the students recorded their observations through drawings and writing in their journals. Writing is an important aspect to include in science lessons because it provides students with the opportunity to communicate their ideas about science.  Science usually involves many hands-on activities, but including writing is just as important because students need to practice expressing their thoughts and ideas through the art of writing. 

     Speaking of hands-on activities, the second half of our lesson involved the students constructing a model butterfly. Each group of students was given two model butterfly body parts. As we read clues describing the functions of these parts, the group who believed they had the correct part raised their hands. The correct group brought their butterfly body part to the front of the room where Katie and I constructed a giant 3-D butterfly. Also, as each part was added to the model, the students followed along and labeled the part on their worksheets as we also labeled a poster of the butterfly body parts. After all eight parts were discussed, labeled and put together on the model, our butterfly took shape and became a great teaching tool to show the students the butterfly body parts in 3-D.

Overall, despite the initial chaos in the room, the students were given opportunities to write about science, utilize instructional technology and learn about the interesting body parts of these beautiful insects. I look forward to our next lesson when we will teach about the butterfly’s life cycle!