Phase 2

Reflections on Lesson Implementation

1. Instructional Decisions/Teaching

Overall I feel that I did well on the lesson. My thoughts were somewhat scattered which made my transitions rough but they were not horrible. I also should have had some of my information off of the computer because I was relying too much on the computer. I think it would have worked better if I had used the smartboard because then I could have written the words and the definitions down for the students to see. The different activities that we did worked really well and helped the students learn. I also should have done more informal assessment throughout the lesson to make sure they were really understanding the information. The alignment to the objectives and standards were maintained very well. By the end of the lesson the students were able to identify the major parts of the digestive and respiratory systems. They were even able to describe some of the parts which is more than the standards expected for this grade level. I did not really make any modifications during the lesson, the only change I really made was not going over the diagram of the body as much initially. The videos that we watched explained it better than I would have so I didn’t feel I needed to keep explaining. What I should have done was watch the movie and then have the students point out the parts before moving on to the other activities.

2. Mechanics

The only technology I really used was the computer. However, on the computer we did a few different things. We first used it to watch a video about the system and then talked about the main parts. Then we went to an academic website to take a play some games and take a quiz. Something that I should have done was have the students take a screenshot of the quiz after they took it, then I could have used it as part of the assessment. My lesson was too short because at the beginning I thought I was taking too much time so then I rushed through part of it. I think I would have been better in the correct time frame if I had set specific times for how long we would be on each of the websites. This way I would have also been able to give the students more time to go back to the parts that they needed help on.

3. Assessment of Learning

For the diagrams at the bottom of this section I would just point to a part and the students would tell me what the part was. Another way I could have done it would have been to print out the pages and have them label the parts. My students had a great level of success in achieving the standards for this lesson. However I think if they were actually second graders they would not have had such a high level of success. Based on my reflections and my classmates comments my lesson was solid but it could have had a lot more support. We went through the lesson quicker than I thought we would and I was not prepared for that. I also rushed over some of the explanations because I knew that they already knew the parts of the system. I had a lot of good activities and information but I rushed through it all.

For Fpf

Second Grade Lesson Plan

Taylor Bradley

Second Grade Science

Strand 4: Life Science

Concept 1: Characteristics of Organisms

PO 2. Identify the following major parts of:

the digestive system- mouth, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/health/anatomy/digestion/digestion_game_quiz.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnzwbipJuAA

respiratory system- nose, trachea, lungs, diaphragm

http://www.e-learningforkids.org/health/lesson/respiratory-system/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc1YtXc_84A

Rationale

These two systems of the human body are very important. They are easier to understand than some of the other systems. The digestive system and the respiratory system are ones that the students can actually feel work. They also are somewhat controllable compared to the circulatory system. This lesson also meets the common core standard for second grade life science.

Overview

Grade level: second grade

Subject: life science

Topic of study: digestive and respiratory systems

Time allotment: two days (one for each system)

Standards: 2.S.2 identify the following major parts of the digestive system (mouth, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines) and the respiratory system (nose, trachea, lungs, and diaphragm).

Objective: Students will be able to identify the main parts of the digestive system on a blank worksheet with 100% accuracy.

Students will be able to identify the main parts of the respiratory system on a blank worksheet with 100% accuracy.

Methods

To start off the lesson I would pull up a diagram of the human body on the computer. We would first talk about the digestive system. I would ask the students what they know about the digestive system and would write them down. I would then pull up a short video on the digestive system for the students to watch. Then on the diagram of the human body I would pull up the digestive system to go more indepth on the parts and where they are.

I would then point out and explain the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine. The mouth is the beginning of the digestive system, the teeth grind the food into smaller parts which make it easier to digest and allows the enzyme-filled saliva to start breaking down the food. The esophagus is what connects the throat to the stomach, after you chew and swallow food it travels down the esophagus to reach the stomach. In the stomach the swallowed food is mixed with digestive juices and sent to the small intestine. In the small intestine the food passes through 20 feet of organ while the body is absorbing nutrients into the bloodstream. Finally in the large intestine the body absorbs the water from the indigestible food before it gets expelled from the body.  I would explain to the students that there are more parts to the digestive system but we are just focusing on the major parts.

Then I would have the students come up to the smartboard where there would be a human body with the parts of the digestive system off to the side. They will put the parts in the right area of the human body. The interactive tells the students if they have put the part in the right spot so they instantly know if they are right or wrong. We would then have a discussion to make sure that all the students understand the parts of the system and where they are. Each student would then complete a worksheet that they will turn into me.

This part of the lesson will be similar to the part about the digestive system. I will put the diagram back on the computer but this time we would only focus on the respiratory system. I would ask the students what they know about the respiratory system and would write them down. I would then pull up a short video on the respiratory system for the students to watch. Then on the diagram of the human body I would pull up the respiratory system to go more indepth on the parts and where they are.

I would then point out and explain the nose, trachea, lungs and diaphragm. The nose is where air enters the body. it also filters the air to remove dirt and makes the air an appropriate temperature. The trachea, also known as the windpipe, takes the air your breath into your lungs. The lungs take in the air and pushes it into the air sacs where it is then picked up by the red blood cells and circulated through your body. The diaphragm is the main breathing muscle that expands the lungs when it contracts. This forces air into the lungs so you can breathe.

Then I would have the students come up to the smartboard where there would be a human body with the parts of the respiratory system off to the side. They will put the parts in the right area of the human body. The interactive tells the students if they have put the part in the right spot so they instantly know if they are right or wrong. We would then have a discussion to make sure that all the students understand the parts of the system and where they are. Each student would then complete a worksheet that they will turn into me.

Assessment
I will give each student the set of worksheets to complete at the end of the lesson. They will fill in the parts of each system and turn the worksheets into me. I will know that they understand the systems if they get 95%-100% on the worksheets.

Phase 1 reflection

What do the students need to know prior to the lesson? The students need to know that we all have a digestive and respiratory system and without them we would not be alive.

How will prior knowledge and experience be assessed? Students will be asked a variety of questions prior to the beginning of the lesson.

How will you use this information in the planning process? I will use it to determine what system we need to focus more on.

Why should the content of this lesson be taught at this grade level? They are starting to be more aware and this is a more complex idea that they will better be able to understand in the second grade.

How do the objectives that you have for the lesson align with the standards? The objectives are based directly off of the standards.
Why are you using the instructional methods you have described? I am using the instructional methods that I described because I feel that they are hands on enough to keep the students engaged and they are able to learn in an interesting way.
How do the instructional methods align with what you know about best practices (think about your methods classes)? They align with the best practices because the students are not just sitting there being talked to, they are participating in the learning in a way that makes sense to them.