Think, Pair, Share Science Observation Activity
A goal in the elementary classroom is to improve student's abilities to record observations. A Think, Pair, Share will allow students to verbally share and then communicate through paper. It is a great addition to the elementary science classroom.
Directions for using a Think, Pair, Share in a science classroom.
1.
Pair students up.
2.
Give them an item like a rock, an interesting object, or place a science demo
like Rainbow Milk in front of them. Make it something that happens in
less than 3 minutes.
3.
The students "Think" individually first by writing down their
thoughts with a focus on observations. This should be fairly quick.
4.
Now they "Pair" with their partner. They will discuss what they
wrote down and come to a consensus on their best observations. They will
write those down into complete thoughts. Make it age-appropriate.
For younger grades like kindergarten, this could be verbal. First graders
can make it a sentence or a simple picture.
5.
Let's "Share!" Combine together as a whole class or have
students join 1 or 2 other pairs. Everyone shares the observations from
the "pair." For kindergarten, the teacher can model the writing
or drawing of observations. For older grades, the teacher can write down
other details missed and highlight good observations.
Use this strategy throughout the year to continue to improve student's observation and science discourse skills.
Try these other fun Observation Strategies too.
