QuickRecipe for Creating a Science Unit
Ingredients:
- Topic
- Two Books
- Two Guiding Questions
- Three Activities
Sequence
Part 1: As a Large Group Activity
- Tell the children the topic and invite them to tell what they know
about it
- Read a book on the topic to 'open the children's minds'
- Introduce the guiding questions and invite children's responses
- Introduce the activities
- Invite the children to make some predictions
Part 2: As a Small Group Activity with 3 Stations
- Let children explore the activities in small groups with adult support
- Remind children of the guiding questions as appropriate
- Rotate children through the stations
Part 3: Reconvening as a Large Group
- Invite children to describe and discuss the activities
- Ask the guiding questions again and encourage children to relate
their answers to the activities
- Decide how to report the results
- Finish by reading the second book
Take all possible opportunities to
- encourage children's exploration
- allow children time to explore the books, materials, and activities
independently
- support children in finding answers to their questions instead of
always telling them the answers
- introduce new vocabulary in relation to the hands-on activities
- read aloud to the children
(this lesson can last 45 to 90 minutes depending on the content and the
children's maturity; start with the shorter time span, allowing 15 minutes
per part, then increase the large group periods to 20 or 25 minutes and the
small group explorations to 30 minutes or longer)
Click here for a Sample QuickRecipe Science Unit
Last updated: December 9, 1997 by
Charles S. Yang
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