"Friends, Please Back Away from Mr. G and Ms. D...."

L and I knew our first lesson on gneiss, granite and conglomerate was a total success when, as we were wrapping up, excited 4th graders literally swarmed around us with several pocket geology handbooks, a mineral encyclopedia and all sorts of interesting specimens from their own rock collections. The students were so excited to share with us that Ms. B commanded, "Friends, now move back from Mr. G and Ms. D so they can leave the classroom now..."

Yep, we were super popular during our first teaching experience. It was wonderful fun and we both laughed since we started off feeling rather stressed out about our lesson plan, our equipment and being 0bserved. If teaching is going to be like this it's going to be both CHALLENGING but also super AMAZING!

The students were so enthusiastic about learning and they were equally fastidious in following directions and listening as we presented information. It really was a phenomenal experience as far as classroom management and positive interactions with the students go. (although, I would LOVE to see how those same kids start to behave when Ms. B is gone and they have a substitute--my hunch is they may be a bit more rambunctious!)

We began our lesson with a short brainpop movie on the rock cycle (disclaimer: since I cant link right to BrainPop I linked to a cool activity about magma on their site instead)

After we viewed the movie about the rock cycle we sang the rock cycle song. OK! Actually it was this rock song and Leah led off AMAZINGLY!!! Seriously, you must hear her sing!!! Everyone clapped afterward and one of the male students admiringly exclaimed,"professional!" It was a great way to start our lesson.

After that fun introduction to the unit we went back to the carpeted area of Ms. B's room and talked about what scientists do. First, we talked about what type of science studies the earth and rocks. Then we talked about making observations of physical properties. Lastly, we talked about lab safety and the importance of showing respect to lab equipment, our specimens and the importance of hand-washing.

During the next part of the lesson had student share some of the questions they had about rocks and what they would like to learn while studying this unit on rocks. We also did a class brainstorm on what they already knew about rocks. They were well informed, especially when it came to making calls about igneous, sedementary and metamorphic rocks! After we talked we got to the heart of the lesson by passing out 3 live rock specimens for them to observe. As L and I surveyed what groups were coming up we also realized we should've left a lot more time for students, since the time for our lesson was nearly over! We gave the students a 2 minute warning and then quickly did a wrap, leaving plenty of excitement for our appearance next Monday, when we'll study 12 specimens!

L and I are determined to streamline our class presentation in order to maximize the time for students to make and record their observations while sorting their geologic specimens according to their properties. After this first lesson I know that with proper planning we will ROCK our next lesson for Ms. B's 4th grade class!!!

PS. Teachers Amusement Center has tons of really funny science-y jokes and stuff!
And, unrelated, but good is: 10 Creative Ways to Teach Math
but I think it relates to nearly all subjects)