week 7 - anchor chart

This was my first week teaching, and I taught a science lesson about the sun. This was some of the

first exposure that the student had to this topic although they have been in this unit since January. Science is a subject that often gets overlooked, as the teacher puts a heavier focus on math, reading and writing. The lesson went well, but I want to focus on one activity of the lesson. I used a KWL chart with the class, filling in the K and W sections before learning anything and the L section at the very end of the lesson.

The class had never used this type of chart before, but they understood it when I explained it. In the K section, there were a lot of misconceptions about the topic - which I was excited to hear because I knew that we could correct these misconceptions in the lesson. It also helped me to decide what to emphasize as I was teaching. The student asked some great questions, some of which I wasn't even planning to teach but added in last minute because they were curious about it (specifically, what the sun is made of). By the end of the lesson when we filled in the last section of the chart, the students had changed a lot of their thinking and were able to give me much more detailed facts and ideas about the sun. I have attached a picture of the chart, I was amazed by their learning.

My CT was excited that I was making a chart with them because they do not have many science related things around the classroom. I asked if she preferred I did the chart on the Smart Board so that it was easier for the students to see, but she expressed that she wanted to hang the paper chart in the room. Anchor charts are a great tool for seeing what student know or have learned. It is also something that they can reference and use to make connections to as they learn more about the sun.