When It Works, It’s Frickin’ Awesome
God, I love it when I nail a lesson.
We’re starting out unit on weather. Told the kids I was going to make water disappear. As an anticipatory set, that worked.
“Nuh uh, Mr. Rain! You’re just going to drink it!”
“Nope. Won’t even touch it.”
“You’re going to tell us it’s invisible, because it’s see through!”
“Nope. It’ll be there, then it won’t.”
“That sounds like magic. My mom says magic is from the devil.”
“Honey, it’s science, not the devil. Does your mom think that science is from the dev….never mind.”
It got a good buzz going. When they went off to music class I started a hot pot boiling and stuck a plastic zip-lock baggie in the freezer. When they came back and saw the boiling water, the hook was set.
“Alright, guys, what’s happening here?”
“You’re making the water smoke!”
“Well, you’re on the right track. Can anybody think of another word for this “smoke” coming off of the water?”
“Steam!”
And on it went. I took the baggie out of the freezer and held it above the steam, which caused the water to condense on the bag lickity-split and make drops. Thus, we were able to talk about the whole water cycle with a great visual, and now our conversation about clouds should be a lot more meaningful.
That said, after the hot pot boiled itself dry, it was incredible to me just how many of the kids didn’t understand that the water hadn’t truly disappeared. “Where did it go?” I asked.
“Down that cord in the back of the pot!” No, that’d be the electric cord.
“Out a hole in the bottom!” Feel the carpet, honey. Does it feel wet to you?
“You took it when we weren’t looking.” Damn it, you caught me.
Finally, one brave guy remembered the steam and shouted out that the water had gone up in the air. If I had told them that they never would have believed me, but since Zach came up with it....well, then it made sense. It was a good demonstration of the power of having kids explain things to other kids.
It doesn’t sound like much, but these are the moments that make teaching great. When they’re hanging on your every word and so excited about what you’re doing that they can’t help but to shout out an answer before you call on them….that’s living, right there.
We’re starting out unit on weather. Told the kids I was going to make water disappear. As an anticipatory set, that worked.
“Nuh uh, Mr. Rain! You’re just going to drink it!”
“Nope. Won’t even touch it.”
“You’re going to tell us it’s invisible, because it’s see through!”
“Nope. It’ll be there, then it won’t.”
“That sounds like magic. My mom says magic is from the devil.”
“Honey, it’s science, not the devil. Does your mom think that science is from the dev….never mind.”
It got a good buzz going. When they went off to music class I started a hot pot boiling and stuck a plastic zip-lock baggie in the freezer. When they came back and saw the boiling water, the hook was set.
“Alright, guys, what’s happening here?”
“You’re making the water smoke!”
“Well, you’re on the right track. Can anybody think of another word for this “smoke” coming off of the water?”
“Steam!”
And on it went. I took the baggie out of the freezer and held it above the steam, which caused the water to condense on the bag lickity-split and make drops. Thus, we were able to talk about the whole water cycle with a great visual, and now our conversation about clouds should be a lot more meaningful.
That said, after the hot pot boiled itself dry, it was incredible to me just how many of the kids didn’t understand that the water hadn’t truly disappeared. “Where did it go?” I asked.
“Down that cord in the back of the pot!” No, that’d be the electric cord.
“Out a hole in the bottom!” Feel the carpet, honey. Does it feel wet to you?
“You took it when we weren’t looking.” Damn it, you caught me.
Finally, one brave guy remembered the steam and shouted out that the water had gone up in the air. If I had told them that they never would have believed me, but since Zach came up with it....well, then it made sense. It was a good demonstration of the power of having kids explain things to other kids.
It doesn’t sound like much, but these are the moments that make teaching great. When they’re hanging on your every word and so excited about what you’re doing that they can’t help but to shout out an answer before you call on them….that’s living, right there.
posted by Ryan at 11:03 PM
1 Comments:
What a great story! And considering how often I go over the water cycle, and the states of matter with my 7th graders, I just may borrow it. Honestly, one of my greatest tools in my classroom is my electric burner...I need to spring for a mini-frig and freezer though!
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