November 19, 2014

Slip-N-Slime Lesson Reflection

Today, I taught one of my final lessons at Chapman Elementary. This time it was a
science lesson. I have never taught a science lesson in my clinical placement before so I was
eager, but nervous to perform this task. I went into it face forward with this new found
confidence that I have gained within the classroom. The students were starting to see me as an
authority figure more and more every day. I had a really cool lesson planned for my kids. The
lesson was entitled Slip-N-Slime. The students were going to recall the properties of solids and
liquids. Then, they would take this knowledge in order to construct a polymer (slime). A
polymer is considered a large molecule that has characteristics of both a solid and a liquid. It is a
solid because you can hold it in your hands. It is a liquid because it can take the shape of its
container. I really thought that the kids would enjoy making the slime because it was a lesson
that was memorable to me when I was their age. I wanted to share that awe and experience with
them.
The lesson went very well. In fact, I thought it was one of my best lessons taught. My
clinical teacher left early that day and left me in charge of the class with a substitute. I was
extremely nervous at first, but she gave me reassurance that I would be fine. When we came
back from recess, I began the lesson. I prepared my materials for the experiment beforehand
because I know that when dealing with second graders having a mess is inevitable and you will
waste a lot of time getting materials prepared if you leave it up to them (I guess that is where
classroom management comes into play as well). I decided to shave off some time by having
some students help me prepare the materials for the experiment ahead of time. It turned out to be
a really efficient method. Also, while the students were creating the slime, I created it with them

so they would have a model. The students followed instructions for the most part and having
that model seemed to help them create their slime correctly. Every group was able to have an
accurate observation of a real life polymer.
Even though I thought the lesson went extremely well, there were some things that I
wished I could have changed about the lesson. First, I wished I had enough time to learn how to
work the Promethean Board and some of its components before I taught my lesson. Since my
teacher left early, I did not know how to turn the volume up so the students could hear the video
about Solids, Liquids and Gases. The students tried to assist me, but they could not figure out
the problem either. I had to continue to teach the lesson without the video. The video would
have been a great review for the students. As a teacher, I have learned that it does not matter
how long you spend planning these elaborate lessons, something can always go wrong. I have
learned that you must be flexible and be able to think on your feet as an educator. I just decided
to spend more time going over examples of solids and liquids for the students on the board to
give them that sense of a review.
Another thing that I will change in my lesson for next time is how I distributed the
materials for the slime. In my lesson, I had it set up to where each group of four created a thing
of slime and broke it up into four pieces when they were done. Some students received larger
pieces of slime than the other and I did not think that was fair at all. Also, some students were
dictating the experiment while others were just observing and not actively participating. I did it
this way due to the fact that I am a college student and could not afford the materials for each
student to create their own thing of slime. The next time I attempt to do this experiment, I will
make sure that I have the funds so that each student can create their own slime and get that
experience of going through the process to create their own polymer. Lastly, I would make sure

that I would have more time to do this experiment. My clinical teacher left ample work for my
students to do before the experiment which cut back some of the time for the lesson. Once again,
I have learned that time is not your friend in the educational field.
The following lesson can be applied to a variety of content areas. You can incorporate
polymers into Language Arts as you can read fiction or non-fiction books about this molecule. A
teacher can incorporate books such as What is the World Made of? or Cream of the Creature
from the School Cafeteria. These books can give students a pretty good idea of the physical
aspects of some solids, liquids, polymers or slime in particular. An educator can incorporate this
into a Social Studies unit as they can identify some polymers used in history and compare them
to the ones used now. For example, in my lesson I explained to the kids that polymers are found
in their clothes. We can compare the clothes and how they were made in the past to how they
are now. The students can learn a great deal about the evolution of polymers. Lastly, polymers
can be incorporated in to mathematics. My students have learned that polymers can be rolled,
stretched, bounced, etc. These are called physical changes to matter. We could have a
competition to see whose slime or polymer is more elastic and measure the distances stretched.
You can also do the same for the property of bounce and measure the height of the slime when
dropped from a surface in the form of a ball.
Overall, I thought the lesson was a success. The students were actively engaged as they
could get their hands dirty and have an authentic experience in creating a polymer, something
they encounter in their everyday lives. I wasnt even nervous that I was being recorded because I
was confident in the content that I was teaching. Evaluating myself was probably the hardest
part for me. I am my hardest critique, but after watching the video I was very proud of myself
and it was confirmation that I had gone into the right field. I even remembered to explain the

relevance of why the students were learning about polymers. I was ecstatic! I have learned two
very important things throughout my clinical experience. One, you must know your kids, their
behaviors, attitudes, etc. They will respect and appreciate you more if you take the time out to
get to know them. Secondly, you must be confident and competent in what you are teaching.
The students look up to you for information and if you dont they lose faith and respect for you
as their educator. I just went in with my best foot forward and everything turned out amazing!