PSS1: Anticipates and elicits the naive scientific ideas, emerging concepts, and/or misconceptions that young children are likely to have prior to instruction
Evidence 1: Marble Tower Photographs
Description: Photographs of children exploring the marble towers at the beginning (left) and end (right) of the school year.
Analysis: Marble towers allow children to build upon and enlarge their thought processes. At the beginning of the year marble towers are smaller and consist of fewer pieces. As children learn and explore, the marble towers expand and become more complex. The goal shifts from getting the marble from top to bottom the fastest, and instead expands into determining how to get the marble to travel through each piece of the track.
Evidence 2: Five Senses Center
Description: I developed this lesson plan when introducing the concept of observation to a Kindergarten-First grade class.
Analysis: As children engaged in this lesson, they were prepared for year-long learning. Children learned that observations of living things can be gained and represented in various ways. They were prepared to extend their learning throughout the year as topics in physical, life and earth sciences were studied.
Evidence 3: Mammals vs Birds Kindergarten-First Grade Lesson
Description: I taught this as a follow up lesson to assess understanding while in a K-1 class.
Analysis: Children participating in this lesson were able to become the teacher as they described and explained information that they had learned the previous day in class. I was also able to assess each child's level of understanding as magazine pictures were placed on the dry erase board. Children were able to engage in and show their level of understanding of this lesson in a variety of ways.
