Science Live!

This morning first grade teacher Debbie Harbour used video streaming to broadcast a Science lesson live to the Academy of Science teachers who were meeting at our district's professional development sight at the Schultz Center. Her lesson was part of the district's Learning Schedule on Water.


Debbie called her children to the carpet with a Science song that teaches the scientific method.  The words go like this:


Science Workshop SongWe use science every day
To help us make predictions.
Classify, estimate, this helps us communicate.
Process skills will teach us ways to make new observations.

Debbie then began her lesson with a KWL chart to find out what the kids already know about water and what they want to know. One of the things that the children wanted to know had to do with safety around the water (a good lesson for Florida children!)

Integrating technology, Debbie then showed a quick video of water safety and gave the children their group assignments. Each table of children was given a different location (beach, pool, water park, pond, river) and asked to design a group poster of safety rules around their specific water area. Debbie actually gave the children a checklist for their posters making sure that they were very clear about the expectations.

The children quickly got to work. Looking around, anyone would be impressed with how engaged the children were as they discussed the rules and pictures they wanted to include on each poster. You could tell that this group of students has done many group projects before because the rituals and routines for this type activity were firmly in place. Debbie closed by showing some of the children's poster work.

After the Science Workshop the children went to read independently as Debbie debriefed the lesson she had just taught with the Science lead teachers at the Schultz Center.