Sequencing

Sequencing (Attempt 3)

In the process of trying this, I have done 2 drafts…neither of which made me happy. This is lucky number 3. This will begin the year for science. This is a starting point, using some previously used ideas and some new ones for me. I’m sure it will change as I get into more things…but here goes.

This will occur after the all of the introductory, syllabus referral, expectations, rules and text dispersion.

Day 1

1. Students will create a brainstorm list for anything that they can think of about minerals, their uses etc.
1. Students will be able to write their answers on the whiteboard, using the “magic pen”. At the end of the activity, this will be saved and printed for later referral. (students respond very well to getting to write on the whiteboard)
2. After the initial class brainstorm, students are introduced to skimming (Extremely useful in taking the PSSA tests). Students will begin by looking for BOLD and italic terms from CH 9 in their texts. This is done for several reasons: 1. Teach the students a useful skill and 2. Students begin to learn some of the useful things their textbook does to help them.
1. “Know/Familiar/DUH?” lists: Students will classify the bold and italic terms into one of 3 columns. The first is for terms that the students think they know. They are warned that entering a term here will necessitate a student explanation of the term. The “familiar” column will contain terms that they have seen before, and sort of explain, they know something about, but can’t put a definitive definition or explanation on. My favorite, The “DUH” list will encompass all the terms that the students have absolutely no clue on. The combinations of letters that do not register any previous knowledge, spark any thought of its meaning or words that they can’t even pretend to guess a definition for will fill this column. (this is generally a huge column when compared with the others.)
2. Assessment for today will be purely participation and effort.

Day 2

3. Third, students will read and discuss the “Section objectives” for CH9.1. These are the topics/ideas that they will be expected to comprehend.
4. Next students will be introduced to pulling information from their text. Students will help construct a class set of notes for the introductory paragraphs of CH9.1, using the laptop and projector to display notes.
5. The fifth step involves getting a baseline for students’ ability to pull information from the text. Students are assigned a short section from the book, CH9.1, first section. Students are to take the notes that they feel they will need to know. Students will be given class time to get started and will be observed during the process. This gives me a baseline to use. Individual note taking skills have been requested from our HS counterparts.
1. Assessment today will be based on the effort made on the homework assignment.

Day 3

6. This day will begin with 3 voluntary students displaying their notes, each on a different blackboard. Student notes will be consolidated into class set, with input from the class.
7. Now is a good time to develop a basic set of requirements for student-generated notes. They have had the opportunity to make an attempt at notes and have been shown a class set of notes. Students will contribute to list of things that a “good” set of notes should include. These will be written on a note card for later reference.
8. Students will be assigned the next set of paragraphs for notes. Students are to use their lists of requirements as a guide when taking the notes. Part of class time will be used to start these. Students will have the opportunity for clarifications and for assistance.

Day 4

9. Student work will be evaluated. A student volunteer is requested to have their notes scanned and displayed for the class to edit and put a score on. An “official” set of notes will be displayed on the projector/laptop. . Students are asked to compare theirs, check the table partner’s notes and edit their notes. Students are also free to ask questions about their reading.
10. Students will view a laser disk with pictures of minerals. The ones chosen will be a combination of commonly seen and rare, odd samples. The internet will also be used to search for some student selected minerals using a mineral web page.
11. Homework will be the next set of paragraphs.

Day 5

This will begin similar to day 4, with notes being checked/edited and compared. “Mineral ad” introduction. Students will be introduced to their long-term project, the requirements and deadlines. More on this later.

I know that this seems a bit slow, taking up more time than it should, but I feel that spending the time early will save far more later.
What do you think? Ideas? Suggestions?
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