Lesson #3...another Success!

Our third lesson with our second graders went very well! After a bit of drama...surprise snow storm, no school, arrival of caterpillars...everything turned out great! The caterpillars were a bit larger than we would have liked, but I think we're all happy that they're not chrysalises yet :) phewww. This week, we focused on three different topics.

First, we had to focus on classroom management. Sarah and I are very lucky because our class is extremely well behaved. We rarely  have to take any kind of action and when we do, they listen to us with no problem. For example, if the students start talking or if they aren't listening, Sarah or I will clap. This is a sign for them to pay attention to the teacher, they show that they are listening by clapping in return. We learned this trick from their teacher Mrs. K. and it has been helpful because this is something that the students were already familiar with. Classroom management-wise, there is something I would have changed about our lesson. I began distributing the caterpillars while Sarah was talking. Clearly we didn't have their attention, so if I were to conduct this lesson again, I would make sure that everything I want to say is said before handing out the creatures!

Second, we had to focus on the Process Skills (this week: observation). This also went over very smoothly. We explained to the students how to properly care for the caterpillars before we gave them out. Also, we told the children how to use hand lenses correctly. These instructions along with the worksheets we gave the students resulted in a nice demonstration of observation by the second graders. They all acted like perfect little scientists and observed just as we asked them to. They are great listeners! 

Third, we had to focus on our conclusion. For our conclusion, Sarah and I made sure to return to the key question (naming the parts of a caterpillar) and reminding the students what they did today. Overall it was a great wrap up to our lesson. The students are always so attentive and it helps make our introductions and conclusions successful!


Can't wait for next week! I wonder what phase the caterpillars will be in!! :)