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Taurean Moore
Reflection IV
Supervisor: M. Stewart
22 November 2019

Reflection IV

For this lesson, I used the district approved science core curricula, Mystery Science,

which is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The benchmarks and core

state standards that the lesson was focused on are as follows:

4-ESS1-1. Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to

support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.

4-ESS2-2. Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.

On Thursday, November 7, 2019, my lesson was titled, “Will a mountain last forever?”

Through this lesson, students were supposed to gain a deeper understanding of weathering and

erosion as it related to rocks and mountains. The lesson was of the more unstructured variety

because the students conducted a student-led experiment in pairs. By the end of the lesson,

students were expected to be able to explain if it is possible to break rocks/mountains. Students

were also expected to be able to discuss how rocks break apart and identify how they change

over time. To set the stage, my anticipatory set was to have the students form an inner and outer

circle. I had created a document that had several images from the unit compiled for viewing via

the Smart Board in our classroom. With each image shown, I asked the students one question

that correlated to the key concepts (ice and seed wedging). There was a total of four images and

four questions that students were expected to observe and answer. By being in the inner/outer

circle, all of my students had the chance to discuss and explain their ideas and thinking with
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several of their classmates. Then, as a class unit, we gathered and sat at the front of the

classroom to discuss some of the things that the students either said or heard. Next, I informed

students that they were going to be scientists and that they would do a stand-up, hand up, pair up

to discuss the next science question, which was “Can you think of some experiments you could

do to figure out what happens to a rock as it tumbles downhill?. I allotted students a couple of

minutes to discuss the ideas that they had formulated. To promote equity, I pulled sticks to call

on students to share something that they heard or said with the class.

Next, I introduced the actual sugar shake activity that the students would be doing to

grasp an understanding of the science concepts that I mentioned above. The students were

broken up into pairs and given some materials to carry out the activity. My students were given

five sugar cubes, two markers of different colors, and one small container to conduct their

experiments along with directives. To control the outcomes of uncontrolled activity, I opted to

make pair the students ahead of time and prepare the majority of the materials. I wanted all of

my students to have an equal opportunity to participate and be engaged in the learning activity. I

reminded the students that they were scientists before the experiment which meant that they were

expected to behave like scientists, which meant that they could not eat the sugar. Once the

students retrieved all of their materials and found a space for them to sit in the classroom, I

directed my students’ attention to the board. The Mystery Science lesson gave written and visual

instructions on how they needed to begin the activity. With each step, I walked around the

classroom to observe student progress and asked students to do a fist to five to let me know how

much time they needed to complete the steps. Then, students were given several minutes to

conduct the sugar shake activity. The students put the sugar cubes in the containers and took
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turns shaking the containers 40 times for about five trials. Between each trial, the students had to

stop and describe the shape of the sugar cubes and how they changed with special attention to

how the edges transform. They were also expected to write short written responses to five

questions on the back of their activity sheet with their partner! The questions were to spark a

correlation between sugar cubes and the rocks that fall from the tops of mountains and how the

rocks transform over time. While students were completing this activity, I was careful to walk

around to make sure the groups were staying focused on their activity, answer any question, and

to determine how much time we would be spending to complete the activity. I was formative

assessing my students by listening intently to the conversations they were having and the

correlations that they were making between the sugar cubes and the rocks. At the end of the

activity, there was a discussion question inspired by jagged rocks and rounded rocks. The

question that my students answered was “Why do you think the rocks look different? What

happened? To encourage my students to use talk moves, I chose to do a student-led discussion. I

had my students take a few seconds to look at the pictures and generate some ideas before

starting the discussion. I had the students use a soft ball and pass it as if they were playing silent

ball. Whoever had the ball was the one who had the turn to speak, the only rule was they had to

agree, disagree, and or comment on whatever the person or persons said before them in some

kind of way.

Overall, I was pleased with my students and the correlations that were making! I could

tell that they were truly understanding the process of weathering and erosion as it relates to

mountains, rocks, and land changes over time. Going forward, if I were to do this experiment

again, I would set up the materials for the activity in a more productive way as to prevent
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awkward transitions. I would put the materials in large numbered Ziploc bags so that we can start

within one to two minutes as opposed to within 5 to seven minutes. When teaching NGSS

aligned science lessons, I am going to continue to incorporate the use of student-led discussions,

appropriate technology. I also intend to use a variety of methods and structures so that I can

engage all of the learning styles of the students in my classroom!