How to Implement Scientific Inquiry in a K-5 Special Area Science Class
Unit Overview:
Topic(s) Covered:
- What is a "science special area" class?
- How can a standard science lesson become inquiry-based for a K-5 science special area class?
Learning Outcomes:
- You will be able to discuss ways to implement scientific inquiry into a K-5 special area science class.
- You will be able to redesign a science lesson into a scientific inquiry lesson for a K-5 special area science class.
- You will be able to show your understanding through a discussion about ways to change and incorporate scientific inquiry into a K-5 special area science class.
- You will be able to discuss how your learning can apply to your current/future career.
What You Need to Succeed:
- A willingness to engage with content and expand your understanding.
- Familiarity with technology such as Google Jamboard (reflective discussion) and Google Docs (your lesson plan)
What is a K-5 Special Area Science Class?
A K-5 Special Area Science class is best described as a learning environment where students are coming into your space one to two times each week for 30-60 minutes at a time. This means that you have to take into consideration that you are teaching multiple grade levels, classes, and, in many cases, different scientific content in the same day. There are other additional considerations, such as the fact that students are given one class period a week to learn something, which means that they need to have the appropriate background knowledge from the previous week(s) to help them to be successful. If that sounds like your current or future classroom, then this unit should work to help you feel more confident in incorporating scientific inquiry within the space.
One resource that I have found helpful for incorporating scientific inquiry is Mystery Science. The website works to create standards-aligned scientific inquiry lessons for elementary students. They are organized by grade level and have supply lists, vocabulary, and assessments provided. They even line out the expected timing for each lesson. Within each lesson, there are videos, planned out questions, and guided experiments. They take the science standards and phrase them in the form of child-like questions so students can better understand them.
How Can I Adapt a Science Standard?
The first step in adapting a science lesson is understanding what information you want your students to walk away with. Then, you need to work to understand your learning environment. In a special area class, the learning needs to be done in a quicker and more efficient manner. Students need to be able to retain their information over the course of a week and there needs to be explicit connections made between the current lesson and the previous one. Finally, you need to make a point to put students in as much control of their own learning as possible, whether it be through hands-on activities, collaboration with their peers, or creating their own driving questions and experiments.
Let's start with an example, say the standard that's being worked with is: 1-PS4-2 Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that objects in darkness can be seen only when illuminated.
How can you simplify the language to match the students? One interpretation could be "I can make observations that prove that things need light to be seen." Now, you have to determine what type of inquiry you will have your students engaged in. Because this would be for a first grade class, open inquiry may be a bit too intense, especially considering their lack of experience in scientific inquiry. So, guided inquiry, where you provide the question and students determine the experiment, would be more appropriate. For this example, the special area class is going to last for 45 minutes. So, you have 45 minutes for your first grade students to work to understand that light is required to see things.
Next, you have to decide how involved students are going to be in their own learning, how they will collaborate, how to teacher will become the facilitator, and how students will be hands-on in their learning. The driving question will be given by the teacher and could be something like, "What does light do?" The question is simple yet open ended. There could also be a follow-up thought question, "How could we find out?" The rest of the lesson would be up to the students. They would need to work to decide how they could test what light does. As far as collaboration goes, the students could be given the option to work with partners or in a group of up to 4. The hands-on aspect would come with supplies. Flashlights would be needed, but, there could also be boxes, colored paper, mirrors, and anything else that students could use for their experiments. Students, with their partners or groups, will work to determine what their experiment procedure will look like, including the supplies they need. The teacher will take on a facilitating role by supporting student ideas and promoting the notion that students will be deciding how to conduct their experiments. It is important that the teacher is not telling students what they should or shouldn't use in their experiments. Additionally, the teacher should focus on observing students and asking questions about what they are doing rather than if what they are doing is right or wrong.
Lesson Plan Example:
Lesson Duration: 45 minutes
Driving Question: What does light do?
Next Generation Science Standard: 1-PS4-2: Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that objects in darkness can be seen only when illuminated.
5 minutes: Engage students with a mini-lesson about light. Students should discuss how they are able to see in the classroom, windows, sunlight, lightbulbs, screen lights, etc. Allow students to also discuss where else they have experienced light.
30 minutes: Explain to students that they are going to explore ways to figure out what light does. Display supplies that students can choose from. A suggested supply list is:
- flashlights (at least 1 for every other student)
- boxes
- colored paper
- books
- mirrors, or other reflective materials
- anything else that you think would be beneficial
Tell students that they are going to be working with either a partner or a small group of up to 4. Allow students to form their groups. Then tell students they are going to decide what materials and tests they are going to be conducting over the course of the class. Students should work to brainstorm what materials that they are going to use and tests they are going to conduct to learn more about light. Give students 2-4 minutes to brainstorm. Then allow students to collect the supplies that they need and explore the properties of light around the classroom. It could be useful to have the lights on for half of the time and lights off for the other half.
7 minutes: Have students sit together in the room and take turns sharing what they have learned about light throughout the course of the lesson. The teacher should ensure that each group has a chance to share what they have learned. The teacher should also make sure to write on a board and repeat what students are sharing about their learning. At the end of the time, the teacher should summarize the class's total learning.
3 minutes: As an exit ticket, students should independently write down/draw what they have learned in regards to the question, "What does light do?"
Let's Practice!
Now, it's your turn! You will have two choices in how you want to progress through this activity: choosing your own standard and adapting it or you can utilize the standard that I am providing for you. Some helpful reminders:
- Decide early on the level of inquiry you want to write the lesson to have.
- Utilize the inquiry checklist.
- Remember that you are not going to be perfect at creating an inquiry-based lesson, but any steps in that direction are improvements.
Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS): 2-PS1-2 Matter and Its Interactions
Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.
If you would like, you can use the lesson plan template in order to write out your lesson plan. Otherwise, I recommend using a Google Doc in order to write out your lesson plan. Make sure to hit each part of the checklist and ensure that the lesson and language are age/grade appropriate. Do not expect perfection on your first attempt, try your best and use all your resources.
Show Me What You Know:
Reflect on your learning over this unit through a reflective Jamboard. On this Jamboard discuss:
- How you feel your lesson design went
- How your confidence surrounding scientific inquiry is
- Any other questions or comments.
*If you want feedback on your lesson plan, you can share it with me: nabradley000@gmail.com. This is not required, only if you would like to discuss it with me. You can also discuss any concerns or feedback desires in the Jamboard and connect with other learners.*
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
If you want to read more about the Mystery Science curriculum, feel free to visit this link:
References:
Mystery Science. (2014, May 19). Mystery science. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iAqXbuqReg
Mystery Science. Open-and-go lessons that Inspire Kids to Love Science. Mystery Science. (2014). https://mysteryscience.com/
NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.