PRESENTATION TOOL

I feel technology is always changing and it's hard for me to keep up. The presentation tools I've always used in my classroom have been restricted to PowerPoint through a projector and basic transparencies. I have researched many new forms of presentation tools and tested them out, but found that Prezi was the easiest and most user friendly. I signed up in less than a minute and it even gave me a tutorial video, which is very important for me as I am a bit technologically challenged. Another reason I chose Prezi is that I can use it right on my iPad (another excuse to use my cool new toy). It works out great for me because I can just carry my iPad to class and show the presentation as well as work on it in real time with my students. Prezi may just be the resource I've been searching for and may help me take my lessons to a new level.

The guided Inquiry I choose to investigate is : How do different surfaces affect the momentum of marbles? I began by thinking about all the different surfaces. The surfaces I chose were tile, concrete, carpet and laminate wood. I decided that I would build an inclined plane using a piece of card board and a tupperwear. I then rolled the marble down the ramp on each of the different surfaces from the same height. The height I used for my inclined plane was fifteen centimeters. My hypothesis was correct I predicted that the laminate floors would be the surface where the marble will travel the farthest and fastest. I came to this conclusion as there is less friction stopping or slowing the marble down from traveling.

The height I used worked well as well as the ramp I made. What did not go so well, was some of the surfaces were not flat and level. Therefore, not all of my results were as accurate as I predicted.

Some things I would modify in my experiment is I would build a small layer of flat surface then cover each one with the different types of materials and test them, this way I know that all of the areas will be flat and level. Nothing to difficult to make just a way to make everything equal and give us the correct results.

I set this up in my classroom the same way I did at home, but modified all of the surfaces and made them level. I also had my students break off in groups and rotate through each surface giving them 3 minutes to test each one, this way they would not get distracted. All the of groups got to test each surface and in each station a different student tested the surface, this way they all took part in the inquiry. I felt by doing the stations and giving them a time limit the students were intensely interested in the inquiry and enjoyed the process. This inquiry shows the students the reason why they rollerblade slower on the grass then the sidewalk. It shows them how friction changes outcomes and they can start thinking and sharing when frictions has played a part in something they did or say and did know the reason for it. I believe I did reach my goal my students were extremely excited and were talking and giving many examples of a time they experienced friction. I had many students telling stories and sharing their personal experiences and after all that is what science is about. I enjoyed seeing my students facing light up when they “got it”. It is a feeling that as a teacher you can’t explain but carry in your heart forever.

Atom Assignment

I feel the lesson on The Inside of an Atom for a 7^th grade class went extremely well. The students seemed to really enjoy themselves and understood the material. The students loved making their atom models and grading each other on it.

This not only them to do peer grading, but also showed me they really know all the elements of an atom and that the lesson stuck as they were correcting each on what they missed in their model.

The lesson even worked well with my ELL students. They did have some accommodations, but still the lesson was still an overall success as they were able to explain what they learned and were able to do their own models.

Atom Assignment

I feel the lesson on The Inside of an Atom for a 7^th grade class went extremely well. The students seemed to really enjoy themselves and understood the material. The students loved making their atom models and grading each other on it.

This not only them to do peer grading, but also showed me they really know all the elements of an atom and that the lesson stuck as they were correcting each on what they missed in their model.

The lesson even worked well with my ELL students. They did have some accommodations, but still the lesson was still an overall success as they were able to explain what they learned and were able to do their own models.

My First Blog

I'm quite excited to start this blog as I've never done anything like this before. Although I don't have much to say right now, I hope to add more as I go along and create a fun blog. Science will be the main focus of my blog, but I may delve into other subjects and really express myself.