Science Night
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I attended a science night on Tuesday, November 13th 2012 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. This was held at Griffin Elementary school in Grand Haven. There were different science activities being performed by students with the help from their accompanying adults and Grand Valley students in charge of the activities. The activities were set up in classrooms around the school and my group’s particular activity was in the gymnasium.
Three other girls and I did an activity with different constellations in a blown up planetarium. We had a table set up outside of the planetarium where the kids would make their planisphere before entering the planetarium. We would provide them each with the materials needed to make a planisphere, show examples of ones already made, and help them when needed.
For a portion of the time, I managed the line to get into the planetarium and helped kids getting in and out. While they were waiting in line with their planispheres I asked them a few engaging questions. I first asked if they knew what it was that they had just made and what it was for. Very little, if any, knew what it was and what it could be used for. They knew what stars and constellations were when I asked. I had them set their planisphere to the current date and time and had them tell me what constellations they could see. A lot of their parents or whoever had brought them helped them with this. I then had them set their planispheres to their birthdays so that they could see what different constellations they would be able to see on the night of their birthdays if the sky was clear enough to where they would be able to see them.
All of the kids were so excited and anxious to go into the planetarium. When they did, there were two Grand Valley students in there to assist them. I also managed a portion of this. The kids would come in with their planispheres and sit on the ground where directed. They were asked what constellations were, and most kids raised their hands to give an answer. We asked them to find the direction north on their planisphere and showed them where it was in the planetarium. We asked them to find certain constellations on their planisphere (Ursa Major, Draco, etc.) and then asked them if they could use their planisphere to locate them in the planetarium. We would point to wrong ones at first and ask them if that was the right one, and they all said no. When we finally pointed to the right one, they all said yes. We did the same with a couple of constellations on the south side.
When they left the planetarium, they were all given an activity sheet (attached at bottom along with the lesson plan) to take home with them to further explore stars and constellations. We also encouraged them to further explore with their planispheres by showing a parent, sibling, friend, etc. different constellations in the sky that they could see. Overall, this was a great experience. The only thing that I would do differently next time is to keep track of the amount of time each group got to spend inside the planetarium so that every child gets an even amount and a chance to go in.
I will use what I have learned from this experience in my future classroom. I saw how much more children were interested in learning a concept if it involved doing something fun. The students got to explore and make their own observations. When I am teaching, my goal is to create lessons that are engaging and fun for children while they are learning. This will keep students interested and excited which will lead to a better understanding of concepts and ideas.
Three other girls and I did an activity with different constellations in a blown up planetarium. We had a table set up outside of the planetarium where the kids would make their planisphere before entering the planetarium. We would provide them each with the materials needed to make a planisphere, show examples of ones already made, and help them when needed.
For a portion of the time, I managed the line to get into the planetarium and helped kids getting in and out. While they were waiting in line with their planispheres I asked them a few engaging questions. I first asked if they knew what it was that they had just made and what it was for. Very little, if any, knew what it was and what it could be used for. They knew what stars and constellations were when I asked. I had them set their planisphere to the current date and time and had them tell me what constellations they could see. A lot of their parents or whoever had brought them helped them with this. I then had them set their planispheres to their birthdays so that they could see what different constellations they would be able to see on the night of their birthdays if the sky was clear enough to where they would be able to see them.
All of the kids were so excited and anxious to go into the planetarium. When they did, there were two Grand Valley students in there to assist them. I also managed a portion of this. The kids would come in with their planispheres and sit on the ground where directed. They were asked what constellations were, and most kids raised their hands to give an answer. We asked them to find the direction north on their planisphere and showed them where it was in the planetarium. We asked them to find certain constellations on their planisphere (Ursa Major, Draco, etc.) and then asked them if they could use their planisphere to locate them in the planetarium. We would point to wrong ones at first and ask them if that was the right one, and they all said no. When we finally pointed to the right one, they all said yes. We did the same with a couple of constellations on the south side.
When they left the planetarium, they were all given an activity sheet (attached at bottom along with the lesson plan) to take home with them to further explore stars and constellations. We also encouraged them to further explore with their planispheres by showing a parent, sibling, friend, etc. different constellations in the sky that they could see. Overall, this was a great experience. The only thing that I would do differently next time is to keep track of the amount of time each group got to spend inside the planetarium so that every child gets an even amount and a chance to go in.
I will use what I have learned from this experience in my future classroom. I saw how much more children were interested in learning a concept if it involved doing something fun. The students got to explore and make their own observations. When I am teaching, my goal is to create lessons that are engaging and fun for children while they are learning. This will keep students interested and excited which will lead to a better understanding of concepts and ideas.
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Science Night Lesson Plan and Activity Sheet | |
File Size: | 549 kb |
File Type: | docx |