I'm really excited to be trying new reading strategies in my science classrooms. I have learned that demonstrations are a great way to integrate background information into new units of study. I do a lot of demonstrations in my Physical Science and Advanced Chemistry classes, but I have decided to do most of them at the beginning of a unit of study, whereas, I used to do them after I had given the students notes and practice. This new method has proven to be very effective. Throughout various units, the students often refer back to previous demos and what happened or what they can apply after they saw the demonstration. If a student is having difficulty with a certain topic, I can almost always bring them back to understanding by reminding them of a demonstration we had done at the start of the unit.
Another benefit of science demonstrations that I had never considered was the benefit of becoming familiar with complex science vocabulary during the demonstration. Students seem to connect with unfamiliar words more easily when they "see" or "experience" the word first hand. And following the demonstration, I often require the students to do vocabulary exercises to reinforce what they experienced. Overall, I'm having some great results. Thanks IAL!
That is so encouraging to hear that your students are benefitting from the strategies you are learning from our class readings. It sounds like your science demonstrations reach out to students of various learning styles. The audiotory learners can learn by hearing the demonstration, visual learners by seeing the demonstration, and the kinesthetic learners by helping you with or participating in the demonstration. And its even better that you are able to integrate the unit's vocabulary words into the demonstration. Maybe in some cases the vocabulary words could be tied to the "total physical response" strategy since your demonstrations are a physical depiction of the concepts you are teaching. Perhaps with some demonstrations in the future, you could possibly have a student lead the demonstration with your guidance, if needed. Keep up the good work with your demonstrations and your teaching of the science vocabulary. Sounds like you've got a great thing going!
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