Analysis

My unit contained two physical science lessons and three life science lessons. Because all the topics covered were being introduced to students for the first time, I did not feel that it would be necessary for second graders to take a written pre-test. Instead, before each lesson, I asked students to raise their hands if they knew what certain things were. Based on the hands raised, it was quite clear that none of them knew the content. The physical science portion of my unit did not contain a formal assessment. Second grade science standards state that students are to be introduced to the topics, but they do not have to be mastered. Because students participated in hands-on activities for those lessons, I informally observed to make sure they were learning. Students were expected to participate and explore. Because each student did what was expected of them, I have concluded that learning did occur. The life science portion of my unit contained three lessons with two formal assessments. These two assessments did not occur at the end of the unit. They occurred after each lesson that they went with. Again, at the second grade level, students are not expected to master the content, but simply become familiar with it.
**When viewing these scores, please keep in mind that students started with virtually zero knowledge of the content.

Animal Post Test Results Questions 1 (lifespan) 2 (predator) 3 (endangered) 4 (prey) 5 (enemies) Mean: 89% Median: 100% Mode: 100% Fossils (Dino) Post Test Results Questions 1 (how fossils form) 2 (fossils are made of) 3 (what fossils can tell us) 4 (paleontologist) 5 (extinct) 6 (fossils show looks) Mean: 90.05% Median: 100% Mode: 100% Correct Responses 19 19 18 20 17 17 Total Responses 20 20 20 20 20 20 Correct Responses 17 20 19 17 16 Total Responses 20 20 20 20 20

Reflection: These science topics were brand new for these second graders. With that in mind, it is clear that significant learning occurred. My physical science lessons took considerable amounts of discussion prior to the assessment because it was such a new concept to students. I feel that the hands-on activities really helped them to understand the concepts which can seem very abstract to them. I also feel that my animal lessons went extremely well. Learning about different habitats and how they change, along with food chains and predator vs. prey, can seem like a lot of information! Not only that, but also, students learned all about fossils. They were able to describe how they form and what they can tell us about the past. I do not regret only giving a formal post-test. I feel that as a general classroom teacher, I would not give a pre-test in a way that could be formally analyzed. When you are around your students it is fairly easy to know what they have and have not been exposed to without going to the lengths of formally assessing it. Based on my formally analyzed results, students may still be a little confused about endangered vs. extinct, what fossils can tell us about the past, prey, enemies, and lifespan. These topics will all be covered again as students progress through elementary school. Again, it is NOT essential for them to master the content right away.