Climate Change in the News

Climate Change is Ravaging the Arctic

The past six years have been the highest recorded temperatures in the arctic and it is cause for some worry. The warmer temperatures affect many things such as the sea level rising, low summer sea ice, cascading impacts on the regional food web to name a few.

The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet causing changes in the ocean and on land. There is less Artic sea ice which helps cool the polar regions, moderates global weather patterns and provides critical habitat for animals like polar bears is continuing to decline This affects fisheries and ecosystems, creating cascading effects within this interconnected system. Among those affected are the more than 70 Indigenous communities in Alaska- this is shrinking their access to the food resources.

Because of climate change, that ground is now thawing. As it does, it causes roads to slump and houses to collapse. It also will affect levels of carbon in the atmosphere, as that is what gets released as the ice melts.

If the thawing arctic continues at this rate it is only going to make climate change worse.

I chose this article because climate change is a serious issue that we are faced with everyday. And it seems like some people like to ignore it and pretend it isnt real and it is infuriating. I worry constantly about the condition of the planed in 40 years, and what is going to be left for my son as he gets older. Its really scary.







I would incoporate this in my classroom in a unit on climate and weather, I will also be able to use it to express how important recycling is and how we can do small things that can save our planet.

Fieldwork Reflection

This semester was one of the more challenging ones I have experienced since starting my graduate classes. A major thing I learned from my fieldwork experience is how to improve the way that I teach, I learned major time management lessons, and I learned how to accept constructive criticism. Mistakes are made so that we can learn from them, and that is exactly what I did.

For me, the direct lesson plan was easier for me to write and to teach because it required me to teach a new concept, the inquiry lesson was more of a challenge for me and I am still not totally sure why I struggled with it so much. Even though my lesson plan did not go according to plan, we worked incredibly hard on it. Had we had enough time to teach it in full, it would have been a lot of fun for the students with a better end result. But, I think we are all proud of the work we did and the path we paved having gone first.

From the students I mostly learned that they all work at their own pace. There are gifted students who are well behaved and focused and there are also gifted students that act up and cause disruptions. From my colleagues I learmed techniques to teach lessons, on class management and how to manage behavior in a way that is better than my own. I am grateful for these experiences and try to implement what I have learned from the students and my colleagues as well as what I learned from myself.

I enjoyed this experience and I think we all did such a wonderful job teaching our young students. The students seemed to enjoy working with us as well. We laughed, we cried, and we learned. And as much as I appreciated this experience, I am glad that it is over. 😆

Tech & Diverse Learners

Technology is an integral part of teaching in the classroom, our access to technology opens the door to so many different types of learning experiences that can be customized for each and every learner.

This short Sesame Street video is so TRUE! We rely heavily on technology and apps that make our life easier. If we dont know something we are able to look it up and have an answer within seconds. It is amazing the information we have at our fingertips.

I liked the use of overdrive in this video. Times have changed and it is important that we keep up with the newest technology to benefit ourselves and our students. This program provides students an opportunity  to become strong readers by exploring and engaging in the program. It also provides students easy access to books they like which are available right on the computer screen for easy access. There is still something nice about reading an actual book, I dont think reading on a computer screen all the time is a good thing, but in moderation it is okay. 

Chapter 8- eText Video:

The Potential of Technology in Teaching Science to Students

What I take away from this video is that we need to accept and embrace technology because at some point it will be the primary way of learning and we need to be prepared for that.

Brief Summary of Websites:

NASA-provides information all about space and everything related to space. This website has many tabs where you can connect with other sources of social media, pictures, and several helpful resources for students and teachers.

US Geological Survey- has information about natural hazards that are threats to human life, animal/plantlife, and our environment

Worldwide Telescope- gives you an opportunity to look at the earth and all the planets up close.

GLOBE- A science and education program that provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process.

NSTA Freebies for Science Teachers- This website has many science books and resources for teachers and resources such as lessons, videos, kits, and publications to choose from and implement in your classrooms

ViewPure-shows you how to use youtube without ads so that it is kid and classroom friendly

Real or Fake?
GenoChoice: Create Your Own Genetically Healthy Child Online: I think its fake
Dog Island: Fake
Exploratorium: Real
Save the Endangered Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus: Fake

Science Kids: Real

Chapter 9 eText Video

What I take away from this chapter is that when dealing with our diverse learners communication is important. There are several factors that affect how they learn whether its language, culture, religious beliefs etc. We need to take all of these into consideration so that they feel included and a part of all lessons even if there is a cultural barrier.

How you can I provide equal learning opportunities for diverse learners in your science classroom that will keep them active and engaged?

• Incorporate the use of manipulatives
• Hands on activities to build confidence
• peer tutoring
• keep parents involved- have parents night
• accomodation and modification for students with disabilities or impairments
• create an environment to enhance feelings of self worth

Ready, Set, TEACH!

On October 21st, my group- Group 1- The Mightychondrias, were the first to teach our lesson plans to the students at Bishop Dunn. We were beyond NERVOUS. By going first we knew that we were pretty much going to be the example. Each group after was going to get to learn from our mistakes, but we had to do it. On paper our lesson plan was awesome, there was so much we wanted to do. But we just did not have enough time to do it all.

One speed bump we came across is that the students did not come into the classroom until almost 5pm, when our 30 minute Direct Lesson was supposed to start at 4:30. So that set us off a bit. We had SO much information that we felt was important for them to know, but with time restraints we couldnt get to all of it. Once we all realized how we had gone over time we were left feeling like we needed to rush through the rest of the lesson so that we would have enough time to start the 5 senses Taste experiment.

Our Inquiry question was "Does what we see influence how it tastes?" We had different colored and flavored drinks that the students had to hypothesize what they thought the flavor would be based on its color. We had one orange drink that was just water with food coloring. We expected their hypothesis to be that If the color is orange, then it will taste like oranges (or mango, or peach...). They would be surprised when it tasted like nothing.

Things were a little hectic once we started our Inquiry lesson because of how we felt rushed in the direct lesson. Overall, though our lesson did not go exactly how we wanted it it, we definitely learned from this experience. I now know that for future lessons time management is important, especially since things do not always go according to plan. I need to anticipate time running out and have a plan to get the pertinent information in without having to skip chunks of the lesson ( doing this played a major part in our failed lesson).

So, maybe it wasn't perfect and did not turn out as planned, but it was good practice, and we learned from our mistakes (as did the rest of the class).

5 Kingdoms

One of our class assigments was to become an expert in one of the 5 kingdoms. I was assigned BACTERIA- not something I ever wanted to be an expert on!😄

We started in 1 group and assigned the kingdoms to ourselves one by one. We then formed another group with our other colleagues that were assigned the same kingdom. Then we created a powerpoint presentation on our Kingdom: Bacteria. Having to become an "expert" on this was interesting. I did not know that it was so involved and there were so many different kinds.

Here are my EXPERT slides:

We were going to present our information back in our original groups but we did not have enough time after our Fieldwork Lesson. Even without presenting it I still learned more than I would have not doing this assignment at all.

A Star is Born

The sun, an engine of nuclear energy

This article was full of really interesting information. It is hard to imagine where all of the energy in the world comes from and I never knew exactly how much goes on inside of stars. Who knew they were capable of so much?? When we look up at the sky the stars look so tiny, but in reality they are quite large and create tons of energy, and when they burn up all of their energy they die, but the energy that they created does not. New stars are born and the cycle starts over. 

Here is a short video on FUSION

supernova - a massive explosion that is one of the most dramatic events in the universe...

It's crazy to think that  all the light and energy in our universe is the result of atoms being built in the cores of stars. The energy released every time two particles fuse together, combined with trillions of other ongoing reactions, is enough to power a single star for billions of years. 

Here's a video on supernovas!

Stars are so small but incredibly powerful, the natural phenomena that occur in our solar system truly amazes me.

Let's Break the Ice!

On October 8th we had our first fieldwork experience at Bishop Dunn. We did a few icebreaker activities with our students. Since our group was Life Science we chose to do some fin 5 senses activities. One of the issues we came across was trying to find questions and activities that could engage such a varying age group. We needed to have appropriate activities that a 2nd grader could participate in but we also needed to make sure that it was not going to lose the interest of our 4th and 5th graders. This was not an easy task! But, our group put our heads together and we came up with activites that the students really seemd to enjoy.

We had a mystery bag that they would wear blindfolds while trying to figure out what they were feeling and/or hearing in the bag. Some students were so interested in knowing what was in the bag that they purposely tried to rip it! It was funny to see them so focused. We also had some fun taste/smell and hearing activities for them. The students really enjoyed what we had planned for them, most likely because we had candy for them to taste. 🤭

We unfortunately ran out of time and could not always do all of the activites in the 10 minutes that were alloted, but now we know for future to condense our material so that we can fit it all in, what can I say, we were excited and maybe over planned a bit. But it all went pretty well in my opinion. We saw the students get excited, inquisitive and we had few laughs along the way. 

The other groups had fun activities as well, like tossing a beach ball and answering a question, 2 truths and a lie, and one group created a maze.

All things considered I feel that our first class was a success!

Flipped Classroom

On September 16th we experienced a flipped classroom! By definition a flipped classroom is a pedagogical approach in which the conventional notion of classroom-based learning is inverted, so that students are introduced to the learning material before class, with classroom time then being used to deepen understanding through discussion with peers and problem-solving activities facilitated by teachers.

We presented our infographic posters to eachother- an activity that went along with our Scientific method/ Inquiry Hyperdoc. I was caught off guard by this but I learned alot after being  put on the spot. These moments when we have to present and may not be prepared to do so are the time when we learn the most in my opinion. I realized that I do not need to doubt myself so much, I was nervous because I did not think I was knowledgeable enough on the topic but I was wrong! Not only did I learn about the topics from my colleagues but I was also able to take note of how they present, how they speak, the way they stand etc. I was out of my comfort zone for sure during this presentation, but that is how we grow. 

I enjoyed this approach more than sitting through a lecture. I feel many times in the classroom, we listen to HOW to do something and we are really just waiting to DO it. After all we are in this program because we want to TEACH so at some point we will have to be totally comfortable presenting information to young inquiring minds. It was all good practice!