Starting Y9 science this coming week.
This is a mixed ability group with an unconventional teacher (Anton Ford). Last week his teaching style suddenly snapped into focus and made sense: he assigns exercises to expose students to the information then runs literacy lessons (focussing on vocab) so they can talk and write about their experiences. It turns out that almost all the students can perform to merit, even if their language is a bit shaky.
I have 8 lessons to plan but have the first 4 mostly mapped out.
These will be a roundup of work to date on sound and light.
Lesson 1 is a practical: I'll draw on prior learning in the unit concerning reflection to see if they can discover the pattern relating the angle between two adjacent mirrors and the number of images produced. ie 90deg = 3 images etc.
ie. If the angle is A, then (360/A) - 1 = N ... but I don't expect a math statement out of these folks. I'd be happy with an algorithm or a flowchart.
They know how mirrors can change the direction of light. I'll be concentrating on "object" and "image" relationships (they still call the image "the reflection" so they think the object is being reflected in the mirror - which is common language: need to reinforce the scientific use.) Other lit vocab: "scattering" (vs reflection, refraction, and absorption)
Lesson 2 is theory: some back-and-fill on using formulas from the earlier lesson because some students are still confused. Maths literacy is a bit wanting - I may have to run some science maths lit skills lessons. But some are strong and there will be finishing-off exercises in their books and maybe a ray-tracing handout so they can get merit (min) and write up the practical.
Lesson 3 is a computer exercise: I could set a treasure hunt, say, why does a mirror reverse left and right but not up and down? What would it take to become invisible? That kind of thing. This is more half baked because I really need a google classroom login so I can see the resources properly.
Lesson 4: wrapup - the Scipad books have a chapter closing exercise many will have started in lesson 2.
The main focus for my own learning is classroom management - which is mostly revolving around routines.
Well that's the plan anyway. Securing enough plain mirrors is turning out to be hit and miss. I'm trying to order some through a local glass company and I've heard that the school's wood-mounted mirrors have been found so, fingers crossed, there will be enough at least to work in threes.
These lessons turned into a management nightmare ... the initial task was too tough for them, they were used to working through their scipad notebooks as their only text and although they could start the practical task fine, they gave up when it came to making decisions about what to do with the data, whether they needed more, or just to investigate further or how to arrive at a pattern. It was still rescue-able, but I didn't understand the problem in time. I was able to finish the last lesson at the standard of a teacher trainee on the first day of the first practicum grrr.
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