Third Field Teaching

Today, my partner and I taught the third lesson of our water unit. The focus of the lesson was objects that float or sink in water and why they do so. As we both have been in this classroom since last semester and understand the diverse needs of the students in the classroom, the lesson was planned accordingly. Some students are letter name spellers, others can only write the salient sound, and still others have difficulty interpreting directions and understanding concepts without much scaffolding. Several means of representation were provided in order to reach the wide spectrum of students in the class, such as written, pictorial, and a graphic organizer. In addition to visual support, my partner and I provided individual assistance as needed throughout the lesson.
As with any lesson, there are unexpected events that occur when teaching. As such, the need to deviate from the lesson often arises. During the float sink lesson, we felt that the introduction/explanation of buoyancy and density were difficult concepts and we needed to use a different explanation to achieve transference of the information. (Initially we were going to tell a story about Archimedes, a Greek mathematician. Instead, we had them imagine themselves floating in water with the same principle idea as the other story.) During the independent practice phase, we used some interesting objects to help them explore the concept. They were excited to see if the zucchini and oil would actually float or sink. Being able to experiment with object that are readily available but not something they automatically think of when talking about water helped them to understand the concept and transfer the idea to other areas of the lives, as we heard throughout the lesson.
The only part of the lesson process I would change is how I prepared for the lesson. I tested each of the objects, but we had three tables. Because there were three tables, we needed three of each of the objects. I did not know that the crayons I had were made of different material. The difference in the material caused two different effects (two floated, one sank). The students were not aware of this and it served as a great learning point. For the students, they were able to see how experimentation does not necessary always have the same outcome each time. I, the student teacher, was able to learn that I have to go a little further when preparing for a lesson and check every step and material in the lesson.