So I went and offered my services to one of the third grade teachers as a demonstration lesson in model building. As luck would have it, that week she had just completed working with the kids on the layers of the Earth, so I was able to bring a model creating activity to their classroom.
I had forgotten that third graders were so LITTLE! At least next to my seventh and eighth graders... But they were very cute, and very eager to please. That was a breath of fresh air after my super sophisticated teens, that is for sure.
I had decided to do an old fashioned, low tech activity where the students work in pairs to create models of the Earth from clay, starting with a spherical inner core, and building layers on top of it until you have one large globe. Then the globe is sliced in half, revealing the four layers which the children then attach labels to.
I had planned to use the class Smart Board to display some video about the topic, and talk about the best laid plans of mice and men... because wouldn't you know that our entire network crashed that day and wasn't restored until the afternoon. (This lesson was in the morning.) I had to laugh, as I was thinking about how I had wanted to integrate technology into my lesson only to have it fail me.
Just as well, with only 45 minutes to establish a rapport with the class; activate their prior knowledge; demonstrate the procedure; AND help ten pairs of eager little ones to construct and cut their models in half... I can't imagine also having time for video!
The kids were thrilled with the lesson though, and I was SO proud of their performance. They worked hard to complete their models, they helped each other and got along very well with no problem sharing the two rolling pins I had brought. Every student completed the model with correct labeling in the time allotted, which was really great, in my opinion. I saw the class passing by the principal at the end of the day and they all stopped to show her their models (thank goodness I had remembered to bring plastic bags to wrap them in for transport home!).
Though the lesson felt a bit hectic to me due to the intensity of the pacing of the lesson, I felt it met the goals completely. The students were engaged, and had a lot of fun doing the activity. It was one of the fastest 45 minutes in the classroom ever!
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Hello! It looks like the students had a wonderful time, and perhaps the lack of technology was a blessing in disguise because of the time constraints you described. Like you mention, technology has so many benefits, but in some instances such as this one, there's no substitute for giving the students time to build and mentally process the model :) Amy
ReplyDeleteI first did the layers of the earth model with play dough with a third grade class I worked with during their reading block as the Title I teacher. The story tied in with their science chapter about earth and its layers, so the science in me came out). The students were so excited and got so into it. I had car rider duty that afternoon and so many of the kids stopped me and thanked me as they proudly walked out the door with their sliced models of the earth stored in zip lock bags. I miss third grade.
ReplyDeleteI did a similar activity with a handful of 8th grade students. This time, the play dough model had to be to scale. It added a bit more of a challenge, but the students loved getting to work with play dough and again thanked me as they too walked out the door with their sliced models of theearth in zip lock bags.
They did have a really good time, and I know they will remember this lesson. It was a very satisfying day all around.
ReplyDeleteI miss third grade too. I taught that grade for several years before becoming a science teacher. My mom told me it's the "golden age of childhood" and she's right in many ways. Old enough to do many things on their own, curious, and still with that desire to please their teachers. Nice combination.
But I have to admit, though many of my colleagues who teach the younger kids think I'm crazy... I like my middle school kids.
Eileen, I have the same problem with technology at my school. We just went wireless and nothing seems to work anymore. I always have a plan B. However, your lesson looks great. I see that your worksheet has matching and directions on how to build the model. Did the third graders follow the directions on their own or did you guide the lesson.
ReplyDeleteCheryl,
ReplyDeleteI had the students complete the matching first to activate prior knowledge, then I demonstrated part of the procedure for them (showing them how to make the inner and outer core). After that, they worked on their own following the directions while I circulated and gave assistance when needed. The most challenging part was getting the "crust" large enough to cover the model. It was a very warm day though which made the clay easy to handle so the students were able to "smear" the final parts of the crust over the remaining mantle. They all did the labeling independently.
Eileen