In class on Tuesday, a partner and I were both given "Heat Energy" as our specific interest in the study of Physical Science. During a short activity, we were given a lesson plan excerpt or activity excerpt from a book called, Predict, Observe, Explain: Activities Enhancing Scientific Understanding.
As a partnership, we were told to look through the first page of the activity and work through the activity instructions as the student. Our activity was called "Which Contains More Heat Energy?". Initially, I was drawn to the Did You Know? question or Hook presented at the beginning of the activity. The story-like hook describes to students how people used to have to warm their beds using hot water bottles or hot rocks before indoor heating systems were utilized. As the investigation, students are supposed to decide if water, rocks, or something else works better by retaining heat longer. I found this hook to not only be interesting and applicable to the real world, but also to contain many interdisciplinary connections. As a future teacher, I could see myself doing multiple lessons in social studies, reading, language arts, and even math that involve what people used to heat their homes before heating systems were invented. This hook also captures the interest of students who do not believe science to be their favorite subject or even of any interest to them.
Though the initiation was easy to read, my partner and I were thoroughly confused with the actual activity described. After reading the activity multiple times and talking through our understandings, we did eventually come to a conclusion for how we would enact the activity in the classroom. After working through the lesson as students, our professor asked us to turn to the following page.
The following page was, in fact, teacher's notes for the activity! The notes described a scientific explanation that provided background knowledge for the teacher and field experience notes that described how the activity has previously occurred when used in a classroom. These field experience notes were helpful to try to prepare for a variety of answers, questions, and topics that may surface. Additionally, the notes included some alternative conceptions to teach heat capacity and a full list of materials to be used.
After discussing this activity with my partner, we talked about what grade level may be appropriate for each activity. My partner and I actually could not come to a happy compromise, primarily because of the possible safety issue involved when using boiling water in a classroom. To both of our surprise, the activities were meant for students from 7th-12th grade! It was thrilling to see how both my partner and myself could take a concept meant for much older students and find an instructive way to teach the applicable material to much younger, elementary students. This activity also taught me another important lesson. Despite the hard work and time that goes into being prepared and lesson planning, the idea of knowing exactly what to expect and knowing how to deal with problems or questions is extremely worth the work and time. As a professional, I know that it would be unfair to my students to arrive in class using only the activity description and not utilizing other resources or background information. Being prepared only increases my students' knowledge, and in the long run, I truly just want to see my students succeed. As future teachers, we need to realize that the dedication to our career will shine through the light of the next generation.
