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Alexandra Russell Professor Smolleck EDUC 344 17 October 2012 Cookbook Lesson Reflection

Original Lesson: http://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/labbench/lab4/intro.html

I chose this lesson because the activity was fun and interactive and was on a topic that all students learn at some point in science class, so I felt it was valuable. I liked the experiment itself, I thought it was an effective way to enhance the teaching of photosynthesis, but the only component of the lesson was the experiment itself. The five pieces of the 5E model of instruction were missing. The experiment also lacked the open-endedness that inquiry-based lessons have (Everett, 2004, p.25) but instead lead to one right answer. The second half of the lesson was also too long and complicated for elementary students so I elaborated on only the first part by adding the other pieces of the 5E model into the lesson, centering around the experiment in the lesson I found online. I found it difficult to keep away from having a step-by-step procedure because I am not used to teaching in such an open-ended manner. I tried to make it as open-ended as possible in order to give students the freedom to solve the problem as they wished, but Im sure there is some way that I could have made it more open-ended that I just could not think of. I started editing this lesson by adding an engage portion to the lesson in which students can be introduced to the activity and given an example of what to do, which is very important for children, especially younger children to focus them, have them access prior knowledge, and to provide them with a model from which to work (Eisenkraft, 2003, p. 57). I also decided to do a

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KLEW chart with the children because I find this is helpful for both teachers and students. It helps students keep of their thinking while also helping teachers guide their students through the 5E model to ensure higher order thinking and connections from the children. I then used the experiment that I found as the explore piece of the 5E model because I felt it was a great tool to help children make connections between photosynthesis and chlorophyll. I then added that the children should share their findings to the class as the explain portion. This helps to ensure that all students are on the same page and develops a base understanding before evaluating further areas. It is also a beneficial skill for children to be able to organize their own data, look for patterns, and to express their findings to the class as it is different than reading a book or a story they have written (Evans, 2004, p. 30). To then further the experiment, I decided to have children perform the same experiment, but with orange and yellow leaves. This is a simple extension, but is also different enough that I made it the elaborate portion of my lesson as it was an opportunity for students to apply their knowledge to new domains (Eisenkraft, 2003, p. 58) and will help students then make the connection between photosynthesis, chlorophyll, and why leaves change color in the fall. Finally, I decided to allow students to elaborate on the activity by having them brainstorm their own extensions to test. This is a huge part of an inquiry lesson because it allows students to go beyond making their own connections, but allows them to start from the beginning of an experiment and investigate their own questions. It also allows for all lessons to cater to each students interests since they are the ones choosing the questions (Evans, 2004, p. 27). Also, since this done at the end of a lesson, their questions should be extremely detailed and focused, allowing them to obtain a complete understanding of the topic because they are forced to apply and connect all the knowledge that they have previously learned about the topic. It also helps

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students take responsibility for their own learning (Everett, 2001, p. 24) and gain an excitement for science and helps them learn how to share their findings with others.

Works Cited Eisenkraft, A. (2003). Expanding the 5E Model. The Science Teacher , 70 (6), 56-59. Evans, C. (2004). Learning Minds. The Science Teacher , 71 (1), 27-30. Everett, S. (2001). Modifying Ready-Made Science Activities. Journal of Elementary Science Education , 13 (2), 23-28.

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