Week Three: Skills

 

4-2-08, 4-2-10

This activity forces the students to observe and communicate what they see when they put water on paper. Students have to be able to actively communicate what they are seeing at various intervals while completing the activity. Students will have to become comfortable with recording their observations in the form of a sketch instead of simply using words. It opens up young students to a new way of communicating and forces the students to be creative when getting their point across. In grade 4, it also forces students to learn a new skill of diagramming an experiment and communicating what they are seeing in a new format.

The teacher should tell students that they need to label their sketches and teach them how scientists label diagrams. This can help them improve their communication skills with both words and pictures. Students will need these skills all through their school career, and possibly longer, in science class. It is up to the teacher to guide them to good communication skills. The teacher should first review how sketches are presented in science. 

The observation skill is another obvious skill that students develop while doing this activity. Students will have to observe the changes of how the text looks as they move the water drop around. Students having to note changes in what they see and be able to communicate those changes clearly. Observation and communication go hand in hand. If students can observe something, but not communicate what they are observing, they are failing at the ability to share gained knowledge. On the other hand, if students cannot observe something, but are strong communicators, they will not be able to tell you what you need to know from them.