“How do you teach science? What do you do each day of the week?”
I saw this question this morning and decided to share my weekly science planning with you. This is my work smarter, not harder plan.
So, what does a week in Science look like?
I always have my year planned and resources selected before the school year begins to make this even more seamless for me. You can find this for any grade level and subject I have taught here in my collection.
Monday will always start a fun attention grabbing, curiosity building, and schema activating/building activity. Usually a game or a demonstration that can help students get into the standard we are about to cover.
Day one of the Word Wall Builder Chart would be done next, so learners can be ready for the key terms in their reading. Students will take a guess at what the key terms mean. This starts our working definition of each word.
Students read an informational text with a few key terms they can define using context clues. An informational text is designed to provide basic information and vocabulary for the rest of the week’s lesson to build on. These are not on a challenging reading level or full of everything they need to know about the topic. Differentiation for this reading is simple. Reading aloud, can help struggling readers get the information they need to be successful in the lesson.
A customized graphic organizer will help students process their reading. These graphic organizers provide visuals to go along with the main points of the reading.
Tuesday will start with a summary writing using those key terms from yesterday’s informational text. This will give students another opportunity to process the new information.
The anchor chart is one of my favorite teacher input tools of a lesson. I love doodle or visual note taking, and this provides the main information in a topic with those visuals. I like to give students a printable version to fill out along with me and/or color. The Interactive Science Notebook is a perfect place to store the anchor chart. Students can use it for reference on homework, assignments, or studying for a unit test.
If time allows, I always have an interactive addition ready for the anchor chart. A flap, a wheel, a pocket… anything to make that anchor chart more moveable and interactive (and fun!).
The second day of the word wall builder chart is for students adding their personal definition of the key terms.
Wednesday is my favorite day if the week! And, I think it’s the students’ favorite day too. This is where the real learning happens. Find a lab, stations, or a game that shows kids the science concept in action in real life.
Today is the final day of word wall builder chart. This part of the chart adds an actual definition and illustration to the working definition of the key terms.
By Thursday, we have all the teacher inputs and hands-on learning covered for the week. We can move on to student output activities.
My student output activity for the ISN each week incorporates conceptual knowledge and creative thinking. It can be word art, a comic strip, a drawing showing off the concept, or a poem explaining it. Change it up each week for engaging way for students to process the lesson.
Analyzing data is a great way for students to use their new knowledge in a real way. They can think about science and how it applies to the real world. This can work as a formative assessment, if needed. Friday’s formative assessment is my favorite to use as a grade, though.
If you are doing a 2 day project, you can let students work on the planning stages today.
It’s Fri-yay!! A Claim it and Explain it activity is perfect to finish up a week of learning. Students can use what they know to think critically and answer a guiding question from the week. This is a good formative assessment grade because it’s a final show me what you know, and it’s open ended.
For the remainder of class time, you can have students work on the project or play a review game. Science Says and Diagram Quick Draw are my two favorites. This builds and reviews their vocabulary and conceptual knowledge through the year.
I hope you found this helpful! Click any links in this post to grab resources that make your teacher life easier. And, don’t forget to sign up below to receive free weekly science lessons through the year!