Integrated Science Unit

EDU 407/607

1. Theme: Select an appropriate theme reflecting QCC science topics, student interests, your own experiences, and values. Develop a focus statement that summarizes the direction and goals of the unit, including reasons it is important to study. Indicate grade levels of unit.

2. Themewebbing: Begin by brainstorming and webbing ideas for your topic. Go to the media center and/or town library to find children's books on the topic. Look in various resource and text books and web pages for activities, and feel free to ask for ideas. Create a curriculum web for your unit, relating it to a large theme and including connections to subjects and resources. The web should include how the various parts of your unit are connected to each other, to a larger idea, and to possible activities in other subject areas.

3. Write lesson plans for each of 6 (individual) or 10 (pair) science-related lessons, including major instructional activities and sources if appropriate. Use the Berry lesson plan format distributed in class. Include among your lesson plans the following:

a. Initiating Activity: This should involve an activity which can begin surfacing children’s ideas and conceptions while getting them excited about participating in the unit.

b. Activity-based lessons: Lessons should highlight a clear science concept and involve hands-on/minds-on activities using active approaches to science such as experiments, demonstrations, guided inquiry, cooperative learning, etc. When "borrowing" ideas from various sources, make sure you adapt the activities to be constructivist!

c. Children’s literature: At least 2 lesson plans should include reference to children’s literature. Choose either 2 picture books, poems, stories, or 1 chapter book to accompany your unit and create 2 lesson plans which connect science concepts to literature.

d. Culminating activity: Design a project or activity that engages students in meaningful summarization of their discoveries. Discuss how you will use this for evaluation purposes.

4. Bibliography: Multiple sources should be used in creating the unit. List your sources for the ideas you have used.

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