Lesson Teaching Reflective Summary

Teacher Candidate for Science Endorsement: Janice Belcher

School: Dowell Elementary

Grade: Fourth

Lesson Topic: Ecosystems- Lesson 4

Write a brief summary or blog of your experiences teaching this lesson,
addressing the following questions:

What went well? What did not go well? (Cite specific examples)

I had no idea how much the kids would learn from those gross little
pellets. They each had identification charts to glue down the bones as
they found them. I loved the discussions they had as they sorted
through the fur, bones, and random regurgitation. They did an
awesome job during the dissection and were extra careful not to break
any of their precious discoveries. There were few management
problems with the lab once the students started going; it kept the
students engaged, which is probably the best management technique
of all. I will definitely seek parent volunteers next time and allow the
students a preview day with the dissection tools.

How well were the lessons student performance objectives

attained?

This activity stood out as one of the most enjoyable in my student

teaching experience. We were able to reinforce a number of different
concepts that the students had learned. It showed the importance of
planning the logistics of a lab: how materials will be distributed,
collected, etc. The lab sheet I created, besides guiding the students
during the lab, was a useful assessment tool, and showed that some
students still held on to preconceptions after the lab, and that
furthermore I needed to better explain the idea of functionality.

Did classroom activity center on science understanding, inquiry,

and sense-making by all students?
Once the students were allowed to begin dissecting their pellets, at
first many of them were very cautious; however, they soon became
engulfed in picking it apart and every second I would hear my name
called out because a student would want me to come over and see the
bone or skull they had found. I havent seen my kids this excited
unless they are out at recess, so I am glad that I was able to teach

them such a fun lesson that they will remember. I think that the Bone
Chart was a great way of incorporating math; furthermore, the
students were excited to compare their charts to their neighbors
charts to see who had found more of a certain bone.

Did your scientific content knowledge enable you to support

students construction of knowledge and understanding of
important scientific concepts and processes?
During this lab, the students connected their prior knowledge gained
throughout this unit and realized that Owl pellets are actually
ecosystems all on their own. As they dissected their pellet, students
explained the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an
ecosystem.
When you have the opportunity to re-teach this lesson, what will
you do differently (strategies, teaching tools, assessments, etc.)
to improve student learning for all students?
Going forward, when I teach this lesson again, I will allow longer period
of time. Due to time constraints I dont feel as though the kids had
ample opportunity to explore how many bones are actually in owl
pellets. I also think that I could have done a better job of questioning
the students about predators and prey; however, once they began
dissecting they were too excited to do much of anything else other
than explore. Looking back now, if I were to do this in my own
classroom in the future I would like to integrate a few more subjects.
We did this as part of our health unit while talking about bones and
muscles, but online I found so many great resources for using our
pellets in teaching about animal adaptations, food chains, and of
course science.