This week, I had my second-to-last observation for my student teaching experience. I was observed by my mentor teacher and my university supervisor while I taught a science lesson about comparing apples and pumpkins.
This was the scholars first introduction to Venn Diagrams and I thought the materials were fantastic. On the worksheet scholars needed to complete, the circles for the venn diagram were not just regular circles. An outline of a pumpkin overlapped an outline of an apple. I tried to mimic this image on the board for the whole-group instruction.
At first, I had difficulty explaining a higher-level activity to such young students. I didn’t know how to make it clear and understandable to them without confusing them. I used some questions about the characteristics of apples and pumpkins to guide the activity. For example, I asked questions like:
Where do apples grow? Where do pumpkins grow?
What size are apples and pumpkins?
Are there any parts of these fruits that are similar?
Although I was unsure about how successful the lesson was turning out, I continued to ask these scaffolded questions so that students could guide the topics on the sample Venn Diagram. After we had almost ten facts written for each fruit, I sent the students to their seats to have them complete their own Venn Diagrams comparing apples and pumpkins. When I reviewed their work, I was surprised by how well they understood and completed the assignment.
This was the scholars first introduction to Venn Diagrams and I thought the materials were fantastic. On the worksheet scholars needed to complete, the circles for the venn diagram were not just regular circles. An outline of a pumpkin overlapped an outline of an apple. I tried to mimic this image on the board for the whole-group instruction.
At first, I had difficulty explaining a higher-level activity to such young students. I didn’t know how to make it clear and understandable to them without confusing them. I used some questions about the characteristics of apples and pumpkins to guide the activity. For example, I asked questions like:
Where do apples grow? Where do pumpkins grow?
What size are apples and pumpkins?
Are there any parts of these fruits that are similar?
Although I was unsure about how successful the lesson was turning out, I continued to ask these scaffolded questions so that students could guide the topics on the sample Venn Diagram. After we had almost ten facts written for each fruit, I sent the students to their seats to have them complete their own Venn Diagrams comparing apples and pumpkins. When I reviewed their work, I was surprised by how well they understood and completed the assignment.