Example of Logs from "Systems Thinking and Materials Support"
Teacher to Teacher Kit Reflection Log
for sharing extensions, management ideas, what works...
Kit Name: Structures of Life
Publisher: FOSS
Activity 1 - This was very enjoyable for the children. I requested fruits + veg. from parents + this helped to defray the cost. Histogram was a popular graphing activity with the students>
Activity 2 - Very effective. I had a problem with the bean seeds; they took longer to sprout than the corn, sunflower, and pea seeds. Perhaps they were old + had lost some of their strength. The children planted the corn, sunflower, and pea seeds in peat pots which I purchased. They were sure that these would grow faster than the hydroponic beans and they did!
Activity 3 - The hydroponic plants progressed very slowly under a light in my room. 3 of them got moldy + died. I relocated them in a southeasterly window and finally (month + 1/2) got flowers + eventually beans to our great delight.
Activity 4 - An extremely exciting activity for students. The children were fascinated with the crayfish and had so many questions. The book "Crayfish" by Kathleen Pohl is an excellent resource. Unfortunately, the few copies in the public libraries were hard to come by. I finally got one during Activity 5. I found that the 12 crayfish I had were very aggressive with one another. This decreased when I brought in a third tray + separated them into 3 groups.
Activity 5 - Most of our crayfish did not always stay in the same house. The students really got involved predicting which ones would go where. A great activity!
Teacher to Materials Resource Center
Suggestions for improving materials in kits, ie., trade books, packaging/handling concerns.... Any materials issues you have.
Kit Name: Structures of Life
Publisher: FOSS
Seeds - Bean seeds must have been old. They were slow to sprout + 3 plants developed mold + died in the hydroponic setting. To see the entire life cycle I'll have to transfer hydroponic plants into my own container so that kit can be returned. In this case 2 months was not long enough to complete the life cycle.
I bought peat pots so that other sprouted seeds could be planted in soil. Could these peat pots be included in the kit?
Crayfish - The 12 crayfish were much less aggressive when I separated them into 3 trays. I bought an extra Rubbermaid container (similar in size) from home. Could 3 trays be provided instead of 2?
The book "Crayfish" by Kathleen Pohl is an excellent resource. Could this be included in every Kit?
This Kit needs to be scheduled for a 12 week period of there won't be enough time for students to observe the plant growth and crayfish.
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