Blog Post Week 2

 WEEK TWO

    In lab on Wednesday, we began class by reviewing the information we had learned last week, most specifically NGSS. This was a nice refresher as we were then able to intentionally relate a lot of our class activities to it throughout the rest of lab. We also reviewed the 8 characteristics of living things so we could expand on our discussion of living versus non-living things. The first way we did this was by working with our table groups to make an anchor chart, which was very useful practice as we will have to do this frequently when we are teachers. 

Next, we talked about things that may be living, but could also be classified as nonliving. Examples of these were eggs and seeds. We were first introduced to this through a video and then we were able to discuss it with the class to understand why that might be. To explore that question we experimented with seed germination by putting cotton balls, seeds, and a little faucet water into a cup. I am excited to see what the results will be next week in lab!

Finally, at the end of class, we talked about what inside seeds make them grow into living things. To better explore this we were each able to dissect a seed. This is something I would definitely do with my future elementary students because I think it would really pique their interest and engagement in lessons on living and nonliving things. I would likely use both the cup germination and the dissection of the seed consecutively as we did in class. Overall this was a great lab to show us how we can use simple hands-on activities to assist in teaching science.