Changing Matter

I was able to work with a small group of student since I am not currently teaching.  I was a little nervous asking student to help me with my lesson outside of school.  I thought for sure I would get kids who just weren't interested.  However, I was very surprised.  The students were very engage and excitedly shared ideas.  One even when to get a drink and said to their dad "Hey Dad, we are learning about how to change matter!".  I think that the type of lesson helped because it was fun and the students were able to move around, help and observe.

Letting student choose which matter to heat and cool allowed them to be more in control of their learning.  I like the idea of teaching student to do more inquiry and thinking for themselves.  I also think that students need very clear examples and practice with writing a conclusion.  I remember having troubles with this when I was in school.  Having some lessons just on writing a good conclusion would help students use information in all areas and be able to explain their ideas with information they have gathered.

Remembering to connect an everyday example is also important.  All people need to know why something is important.  Feeling that need for students will help them be more interested as well as able to make real life connection and build in prior knowledge.

My work samples require Adobe.  I attempted to take pictures of their work.  However you really couldn't read many parts.  I do not have a class web page, so I am using another web page I have for my childcare.  If you click on the link below, you should be able to view the samples of  my students' work.

http://kidsdayeveryday.com/ChangingMatterExperiment.aspx