Update for the week

This week the students were introduced to the 5 E lab format that we will be completing for upcoming labs and science classroom activities. The students seemed to understand the 5 E's and came up with some interesting and unique ways to understand what each E meant and how we could incorporate them into our science activities and labs. I am pleased with their understanding so far but I am a little worried about their understanding when it comes actually incorporating the ideas into each lab. For my 7th and 8th graders this week the activities were structured around parts of a cell and the structures in a cell. Students worked in groups to create a gelatin cell model where they had to come up with different craft/home/food supplies to use for their organelles. They also had to create a key and write a paper that described the function of each organelle and their rationale for why they chose those specific objects/items. Overall this was an activity where students stayed very engaged and worked hard to complete their tasks. There were some issues with specific students participating with their group, sharing the amount of work in a group and with the items that were brought in (ie: students who brought candy in thought they should be able to eat the extra candy).

Next week I look forward to introducing the first activity using the 5 E format and incorporating the 5 E format into other facets of our curriculum as well as daily activities. I will continue to watch to see student engagement and the ways that I can increase student engagement.