This lesson involved a couple of activities; one that went extremely well, and one not so much. The class really seemed to enjoy the activity of making photosynthesis molecules with marshmallows and jelly beans. It was quite interesting to see the different ways that students created their molecules, showing how well some of the students understand the concepts of elements and molecules, and where students needed additional instruction and explanations.
The part didn't work well was testing for starch. None of the food items I brought in tested positive for starch. I used this as teaching moment to show that science is about trial and error, and one when something doesn't work the way you thought it would, it provides an opportunity to examine your procedure and look for changes that can be made. The next day, I brought in some raw potato and the test ran perfectly.
The part didn't work well was testing for starch. None of the food items I brought in tested positive for starch. I used this as teaching moment to show that science is about trial and error, and one when something doesn't work the way you thought it would, it provides an opportunity to examine your procedure and look for changes that can be made. The next day, I brought in some raw potato and the test ran perfectly.
The activity in this lesson worked extremely well and had some surprises as well. The class found the activity of examining soil particles quite interesting, and almost everyone was very engaged in the activity. One of the surprises was how interested in the activity a couple of students were, as they typically didn't get involved much. These students asked a lot of questions about what was in the soil and why. One thing I learned was that while the worksheet they had said to record their observations, and most students did, there were some who didn't do any recordings because I did not explicitly before hand that they needed to record what they were seeing in the soil samples.
This lesson went quite well. Several of the students in the class have their driver's license, so this lesson and the others in the chapter on the technology of safety had real world relevance and importance as we discussed what safety features are in vehicles and what can happen if or when they are not used.