To introduce my class to arthropods, I assigned them a small research assignment. I allowed them to get into groups of two or three to research an arthropod of their choice. They had to look to see if the animal was an arthropod and then they had a paper with questions that they had to answer. This was the first type of research project for this class.
The students had about two full days to work on this project. At the end I had them informally present some of the basic information to the class and then show a drawing that they had made.
Some of the students really enjoyed this, others not so much. I had about 4 individuals/groups that choose not to do the assignment. This kind of bummed me out.
After introducing the variety of arthropods, I passed out 8 different specimens and we made a list of different characteristics. After our discussion I started in on notes and discussed the different characteristics.
I liked this activity, but I will tweak it before I do it with my full year class.
In my environmental science class, I took them out the garden to make observations of biotic and abiotic factors. I gave them very brief instructions because it was all about their observation skills. Then once we got back to class we discussed our observations.
Again some kids liked this and others just complained. The problem I am having lately are the kids not enjoying anything in class. If I try something new, they hate it. It seems that lately no matter what I do, they complain and do not want to participate. This is my big frustration lately.
No comments:
Post a Comment