What is a Scientist?

Whew!  Set-up of the journal is now complete and it is time to have some fun!!! The first part of the journal is going to deal with the Scientific Method. I teach that at the first of the year.  My school is lucky enough to have a 5th grade and 6th grade well stocked Science lab.  The kids absolutely love going to the lab.  So, to generate excited, I always start with a Spongebob Safety Lab Booklet. It is a great little mini lesson on how to conduct ourselves in the lab.    We do this activity in the lab so I can provide examples for students and show them the lab equipment. Students underline all of the mistakes that Spongebob and his friends make in the science lab.   The Spongebob Safety lab booklet can be downloaded from this link: http://sciencespot.net/Media/scimthdsafety.pdf

After we read through the booklet together, we discuss lab tools.  I give the students a cut and paste lab equipment worksheet.  We complete a foldable on lab equipment together. This year I got this idea from pinterest to make the foldable into a lab coat.  It turned out super cute!

When we return from the lab, I have an assignment on the board.  I call this their bell work and it gets them to start working the moment they enter the classroom.  Students enter the classroom and open their journal to the next page.  They draw a light bulb, and write the standard at the top of the page and the essential question and the bottom of the page.  It looks like this:

After the students draw their light bulb, write the standard, and essential question, we begin our lesson.  Today's lesson is called "What is a Scientist?"  I start off the lesson with a brainstorming session.  We talk about how a scientist thinks and words that a scientist might use.  We create a bubble word wall in our journal.  I make it a contest to see who can come up with the most words.  I usually give the students about 10 minutes to write down their words.  Afterwards, we create a giant poster of the words they came up with and put in their journal.  Their journals usually look like this:

So now we are thinking like a scientist, I move into the next part of the lesson.  I tell my students to close their eyes and imagine what a scientist looks like.  I tell them to look around and see where the scientist is and what they are doing.  Now, I tell them to open their eyes.  I ask students to share what they imagined when their eyes were closed.  Most students see a crazy  white-haired man in a lab coat.  His lab is full of bubbly potions and he is mixing more potions.  I ask my students the following questions:  Did anyone see a woman scientist?  An African American scientist?  A Scientist with a disability?  An Indian scientist? An Asian scientist?  Did anyone see a scientist in another place besides a lab? What about a classroom?  Most students will say no but then they start to realize my point.  My point is everyone is a scientist.  I tell my students that this year everyone is a scientist. We all wonder about things in the universe and every time we say the words "I wonder," we are being a scientist.  Some students are surprised to find that they are scientist and find it very cool.  I tell them to close their eyes again and imagine themselves as a scientist.  I tell them to pay close attention to where they are and what they are doing.  I give them a couple of minutes and tell them to open their eyes.  I give them a slip of paper with instructions. The instructions tell them to draw themselves as a scientist.  Here is my examples from previous years:  I am a Scientist who teaches about Science!  My lab is the classroom.

I give students time to work on their drawing in class.  A few minutes before the bell rings, I tell students to go back and write inside their light bulb the answer to the essential question.  I want them to generate their own definition of a scientist.  I give them a light bulb stamp if they come up with a good answer.  I always end the lesson with them writing the answer to the essential question.  It is a great exit ticket!  Tah-dah, that is the end of this lesson.  Join me next time for the blog lesson, "What is the Scientific Method?"  Have a happy day!