Science Methods

  Over the past couple of weeks, we have been watching the development of butterflies. The first time we saw these butterflies they were in their chrysalis, and now in class, we were able to see them as fully developed butterflies! This is an activity I would love to do in my future classroom so my students can see the development of a butterfly.   This week we also pollinated our flowers using dead bees. I have never done an activity like this before and I found it extremely cool and interesting to do this. I think this is a really good activity to do in a classroom because it allows students to understand the process of pollination. 

  This week we learned about ecosystems, biomes, habitats, and food chains. I have learned about this before in my biology class when I used to be a biology major but learning about this again really refreshed my memory! I think creating a Jamborad is a really good idea to incorporate in my future classroom. It lets students be creative with the animals and plants they want to include, but it also provides them with a level structure to make sure the ecosystem makes sense. I am still curious about the energy transfer between animals on the food chain. I think I understand the concept of energy distribution but I am confused about how scientists were able to determine the number calculations. 

 This week during lab we were able to see the progress of our plants. learning about seed germination and being able to see with our own eyes how the process works is a super cool experience! I can apply this lesson to my future classroom by teaching my students about seed germination and then having them complete this exact lab so they can see the process in action. We also got to see caterpillars during this lab and I was able to apply what we learned in class about the life cycle to seeing the caterpillars in real time. 

  This week we planted some seeds, The last time I did a project like this was in elementary school and It was super fun to plant some seeds again! I think this project is something that should be implemented in every classroom. It teaches students the process of plant growth, as well as gets them excited to see the plants grow over time.  We also made a diorama of a plant or animal's life cycle. My table mates and I choose to do a turtle life cycle The turtle starts as an egg, then a hatchling, a juvenile, and lastly an adult! From previous classes, I learned that turtles have a complete life cycle because they have 4 stages. I thought it was interesting that I was able to apply what I learned from past lectures to this lab. I think I can apply this activity to my future class because for one you get to play with Plato which is so fun! You also have an opportunity to teach students about a plant or animal's life cycle through creativity!