It's been several weeks now, but I'm still pretty proud of
this lesson, so I thought I'd share it. We had been learning about cells in
science class for a over a month. The students had built cell models in teams,
memorized cell parts and their functions, and even looked at different plant
cells through a microscope. It was a pretty fun unit. And then I had a
brilliant idea to kick it up a notch.
The unit was wrapping up and it was time to assess their
knowledge. That's what teachers do, you know. Give 'em tests. But I didn't want
your typical pencil/paper, label the diagram, fill in the blank type test. The
students don't want to do it. I don't want to grade it. That kind of test just
becomes a boring conclusion to such an interesting unit. So I decided to go for
something a little out of the box.
I decided that my students were going to show me what they
had learned by building cell models. Out of cookies. This was a total surprise
to them. I told them their test would require them to place and explain parts
of a cell. So when I brought out cookies and various edible cookie decorating
cell components, they were stoked. It was so great! They got to decorate their
cookies with the goodies, then made a key telling me exactly what represented
which part of the cell, and what the function was. Believe it or not, it was
actually a good measure of what they knew.
Some had very accurate models with thorough explanations in their keys.
And then some had a cell cookie with the "cell wall" in bits and two nuclei.
 |
| So close |
This project was tons of fun, and I was proud of the
ingenuity of my assessment tool. However, I haven't earned the title of Coolest
Science Teacher of Acacia. That would have to go to Lee Erin, who was studying
the circulatory and respiratory systems. She procured a cow heart and lung, dissected
them for the students, and after both organs were thoroughly explored all the
students were encouraged to touch them. I thought there would be more gross-out
factor, but the kids all thought it was so cool they manhandled the poor organs
with much zeal. The best (or maybe worst) bit was when one of the third graders
came back from washing his hands and asked, with fingers twitching, "Are
we allowed to have seconds?"
