I spy...

This past week we used the microscope again in Standard 5 to look at cells.  And this year the lab did not take place in my living room.  I tested the outlets in our classroom ahead of time and was able to switch into the Standard 7 classroom.  I arranged the microscope at the back of the classroom on the teachers desk, and pushed and pulled all the single desks into groups of 4 to make "tables" so that pupils could work with their group on problems and on creating cell posters to put up in their classroom.  With bags of pencils, colored pencils, sharpeners and paper at the front for each group ready for the posters, and the tables and microscope arranged just so, I felt like I was teaching in a real lab where students could interact and work together to understand the material.  Although I was a bit nervous to have 44 students working in 11 groups of 4 with little supervision, the only teacher (me!) was busy with the microscope, students were engaged and enthusiastic - filling in their worksheets at their tables and gazing into the microscope with grins on their faces.  Take a look at the classroom set up and everyone busy at their tables!

At the end of the day, Standard 7 returned to their classroom and were so curious to see that I put the onion skin slide back under the microscope and they all took a look too.  Here they are below - a Standard 7 pupil at the microscope with Standard 5 students (Herbert peeking out from below and Renatha with her bag on her head) posing for the picture.