Summer Institute Video

Today I had the privilege of visiting Team 20 as they taught the first lesson of our eSCI project. It was truly incredible to be a part of their team. Their fifth grade lesson focused on metals and non-metals. After listening to the Pre-conference, it was clear that this team had put in an exorbitant amount of  thought and time into every aspect. They had obtained conductor testers for the children to explore various materials, and had each piece of the lesson set up in a logical and thoughtful order. Of course we talked about students that we might want to focus on during the lesson. One of the students that we talked about ended up being one of the most engaged students of all during the lesson. He even asked for more paper, because he finished testing the things in his bag, and wanted to explore other items in the room. This is a child that is at risk and often off task, yet I would have never known that based on his behavior during this lesson. Everyone knows that I am passionate about science, and it is children like the one from Team 20 that validate the importance and the power of science. At our eSCI kick off a wise woman told us that by neglecting science, we may be neglecting future scientific discoveries, and it is those scientific discoveries  that have created so many of the items that we have become dependent upon. I applaud you all for your hard work, and I know you are starting to realize that Lesson Study is not just about science, it is about student learning and how to truly make an impact in the classroom. I look forward to attending these lessons and watching the impact that you are all creating in your classrooms.