How often have I started a science lesson with these words: "Who remembers, from last time..." Or "Get your science folders out."
I've done it many times. And each time, I can feel the energy drain out of the room.
How about this instead:
"Everyone, come over here. I'm about to show you something you've never seen before."
Feel any different?
As I've been observing in many many classrooms this year, I've noticed countless teachers starting lessons with long winded stuff. When I reflect on my own practice, that tendency describes me perfectly. How many minutes pass until I get to something interesting? And no, recalling our vocabulary words is not interesting. (Necessary? Yes. We'll get there. But there's a reason that books don't put the glossary in front.)
Moving forward, I pledge to start with the phenomenon. Mix the chemicals, and watch it do something. Feel the heat difference in an incandescent bulb and a CFL. Watch the youtube of the octopuses transforming to look like seaweed in the blink of an eye. Go outside and actually look at the moon, noticing how it's in a different place from yesterday. I will start with a bang.
The natural words is a wonderful and inspiring place. And once you've activated that wonder, your students are ready. Their minds are sense-making machines, but they're choosy. Give them something worth making sense of. Then they're yours.
They'll need the vocab, because they'll want to explain what they're seeing. Or they'll be ready to listen to teacher, if they need more explanation. Provide that, if it's appropriate. Or ask them a new question to point them in the right direction.
And they'll want to observe the phenomenon again, with this new understanding. They'll want to gather their data differently this time, because now they know what they want to see. We'll do it.
Learning doesn't happen in an instant, and doesn't always happen according to the schedule posted on my door. It happens when I've earned their attention, then they apply that attention to understanding.
Framed in the research, this is the first phase of the 5E model - "Engage." For more on that, look here: http://bscs.org/bscs-5e-instructional-model
If I can't figure out a way to start with something engaging, I'll ask my team. I'll ask others in my network. If we can't figure it out together, I will stop teaching that subject. My time is too precious, and the trust of my students is too sacred, to waste on something that's not inspiring.
But that hasn't happened yet. Science is cool.
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