Lisa

I spent time researching eBird as teacher.  I like that the data is accessible to view.  Log in is required to download.  With the young learners I have, we would be exploring the website together.  I will create a log in for my classroom. The data that most interests me as an elementary teacher are  the abundance maps.  This will help them better understand why we don't always see the same birds every day.     It will lead to gathering data on what birds are seen on campus.

A challenge I have is getting outside in the summer. The high temperatures and the bad air quality make it difficult to go to the nearby refuges to have a prospect of seeing more birds.   It is a good reminder to prepare a backup assignment if I have an outside activity planned. Students will learn flexibility.

The most impactful thing I discovered is how freeing it is to jot down scribbles instead of words that name what you hear.  It is much easier to focus on just listening.   I was able to quickly decide to mark down what I heard and not be concerned with marking down every bird chirp that came from the same place. Having students make a sound map would be another way to gather data about our campus environment.   Drawing a sound map with the eyes closed helps to differentiate between different noises that are happening at the same time. This practice helps students listen to objects coming closer or moving further away.

Living in the agriculture region of California, I always teach lessons on water conservation.  Students learn that they can make a positive impact by changing a few of the daily actions. They are always surprised to learn it is not just an adult issue.  They can help educate their family members about what they can do together to help. Teaching in a rural community, students often do not feel connected to the world.   “Frame the work globally and locally” to help them see why they need to learn and know about the topics.   Conserving water naturally leads to studying the effects of the ongoing drought.  It lets them be understand that are people who can make an impact on the world. I look forward to participating in Citizen Science to connect my students to a project and team them up with professional Scientists.

I do not teach science on a regular basis in my classroom.  We switch classes and another teacher teaches Science to my class.  This past year due to Covid restrictions, I led my students in inquiry based experiment. This past year, I chose an experiment with Structured Inquiry. What will prevent ice from melting?  Each student had their own plastic container and we covered the ice with the material the students brought from home.  We set them outside in the sun.  We had one container with only ice.    We were able to perform the experiment three different days. Science practices:  Observation, recordings, analyzing. Modifications I would make: provide more practice in writing down observations and describing small changes.     We would perform throughout the day to see if that made a difference in the material.   I would also have the students communicate their results with others.  I would also allow my students to try different containers.  (They were wanting to test out their personal refillable water bottles to see who had the best one for keeping the ice intact and their water cold.