Week 2- Is it Living?

 

Week 2- Is it Living? 

The 8 Characteristics of Living Things 

8 Characteristics of Living Things Anchor Chart

 Learning This Week: 

This week we learned how to classify if something is living or not based on the 8 characteristics. To determine if something is living, it must have cellular composition, genetics and heredity, can maintain homeostasis, grows and changes, moves, responds to stimuli, goes through a metabolic process, and can reproduce. In addition, we learned about the process of photosynthesis which is how plants get their food and energy. Animals on the other hand, get their energy through cellular respiration and the breakdown of food. 

In addition to the curriculum content, we also learned about the three dimensions of science learning: Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts. Students can apply these dimensions to their learning through asking questions, designing investigations, data collection, models, evidence-based arguments, defining and designing problems, and applying their knowledge to engineer solutions to a problem. 

Application to Future Teaching: 

I can apply what I learned this week into my future teaching through decoding the NGSS standards, incorporating the three dimensions of science learning into my lessons, and encouraging students to connect their learning through different practices. Students can demonstrate their learning through patterns, cause and effect analyses, scales, proportions and quantities, system models, energy and matter, structure and function, and stability and change. These interactive application methods allow students to problem solve, analyze, and develop products through trial and error. These assessments will be more effective in growing the students exposure to STEM instead of offering simple paper-pencil tests. 

New or Remaining Questions: 

1.) Through the application of the NGSS, has science standardized testing scores improved, and has there been an increase in STEM interest like they planned on? 

2.) How can a teacher take this lesson over photosynthesis and the 8 characteristics of living things and make it accessible for Multilingual learners or students with special needs? 

  

 

 


Comments

  1. Melodee KovinchickJanuary 28, 2024 at 2:42 PM

    Hi Bailie! I love your second question that you proposed and it has got me thinking in what ways could be possible. For multilingual learners I believe giving them a copy of the powerpoint that is in the language they feel comfortable in might be useful as well as accessible. However, thinking of a way to make it accessible for students with special needs I'm not quite sure. I feel as though it depends on the students needs and abilities as well as the child's personality which would definitely help in this process.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alex DickJanuary 28, 2024 at 6:54 PM

    Hi Bailie! I really liked your post, especially the way it is formatted as that is something that I have struggled with a bit. I liked your first question a lot, and I wonder what the answer to it would be. I tend to not use standardized testing results as a measure of a program's success, but I think in this case it would be the easiest way to tell if it has had a measurable improvement with student success. I wonder if there would be a similarly easy way to gauge if there is an increased amount of interest in STEM subjects.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Madison StuckerFebruary 17, 2024 at 9:09 PM

    Hey Bailie! Your blog looks awesome! I think your idea on how to incorporate the NGSS to your future classroom is a great idea. I definitely believe that having more interactive lessons will help your students learn more.

    ReplyDelete

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