I've drilled and drilled about using Science terms in their labs, in their writing, in their communication. I've given them a vocabulary sheet in front of them while they take a quiz, and they still do not use the vocabulary.
I think I have a solution.
The next Grade 7 unit is Heat in the Environment. The first thing I will do is give them the terms of the unit, and they will create vocabulary cards, similar to the ones they do for French. We will post them around the lab stations. I'm thinking two per word, depending how many we have.
I did it again for our Structures and Mechanisms unit and this is what our board looked like in the end. In general the Grade 8s really shined in learning and using the Science terms and we will keep working with those 7s next year!
I think next year, every time they do a written response for Science, I will have them highlight the vocabulary words they are using. Hopefully that will help!
I think the best part about this time of year is that I noticed them using the Science terms during the presentations of their structures. This was the most ambitious of the structures, made entirely from recovered materials that were saved from going to the landfill. We had a great year in Science!
You're awesome, Skibinski!
ReplyDeleteThank you Mrs. RR. It was great to learn with you this year, look forward to our PKE next year!
ReplyDeleteTerminology creates the engagment and a deeper understanding by using the words connected to the meaning!
ReplyDeleteI'm really hoping this just keeps improving for them! It really does show understanding when students can use the terms in context and not just memorize the definitions for a test.
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