Backwards Design Lesson

This week I carried out a lesson that I planned using the backwards design. I use this method when planning my lessons. You should plan lesson by knowing what you want your students to know after you have taught the lesson.

My lesson centered around mining and its effects on the environment. I started my lesson my discussing different methods and natural occurrences that can disturb the environment. We discussed the steps of succession and looked at pictures that depicted the different stages. The next part of the lesson was hands on and the kids loved it. They participated in a mining simulation. They were each given a chocolate chip cookie. They were to outline the cookie on their paper before they started mining for the chocolate chips. This represented the land before mining. They were to carefully take out (Mine) the chips (Minerals). After they mined the minerals they were to trace the cookie on their sheet of paper. After they finished they write a description of what happened to the land as a result of mining. They saw that even though they were careful that the land was still disturbed. To wrap up the lesson we discussed ways that companies could help to restore the areas after they use it.

They seemed to enjoy it and of course they loved that they not only were learning but that they also got to eat their lesson.

Ask a Scientist....Still Waiting

I thought that I would ask a question that dealt with why do nails cells keep pushing up from their growth source when they die instead of like most cell breaking down and being replaced by a new cell. Also why do finger nails grow faster than toe nails. These both seem like pretty casual questions. I am hoping to get an answer before school starts back so I can share with my students. This is a topic that they would find interesting.

This happens often with technology in that we want an immediate response and rely on it to much at times. I have found that if I have technology built into my lesson for the day that I have a back up plan. I have had too many cases where technology failed me and had to scramble to find soemthing to fill in with.

Web 2.0 Tools

Web 2.0 Tools.

I will admit when I read over the course project and saw that we would be required to present our project with a web based tool I thought oh no I have to learn how to use a new tool in a short amount of time.

Animoto- I was exposed to this tool this year from our curriculum specialist. I love this but you can only do a 30 second video in the free version. I do not know if I would use it enough to pay for a subscription.

Museum Box- I would love to use this when I go over a new scientist/ person in class. I think that my students would also like this tool.

ZOHO- I liked what I saw when i explored this site. I want to play around with it a little more. I signed up for an account.

My Brain Shark- This tool would be great especially if you teach several classes and wanted to make sure that they each got the same information. I like the thought if being able to narrate the slides. I have a program that I can already do this with. It is called keynote. I have put many of my daughters favorite books into this program.

Prezi- I was briefly introduced at the end of the school year. I believe that this maybe the tool that i decided to use for this project. I do like that you can embed videos  This a great
 way to share with other teachers.

When I think about using a presentation tool I want it to be fairly uncomplicated to use. I also would like for it to be one that I could teach my 7th grade students to create presentations for class projects.