Week 1- Introduction (Bailey LeBleu)

Hello everyone!

My name is Bailey LeBleu, and I’m currently the in-building substitute at Silver Creek Elementary while completing my practicum hours in a 4th-grade classroom. I’ve been subbing for about four years, including long-term positions in 5th and 3rd grade, and I’ve spent a lot of time in science and social studies classrooms.

One of my biggest takeaways from Week 1 is truly understanding and making stronger connections to inquiry-based learning that I have not only been observing, but also teaching. Even though I’ve seen inquiry in action for years, this week’s readings helped me put clear language and purpose behind instructional practices that always felt especially engaging and meaningful for students.

I’ve seen inquiry come to life through discussion and hands-on learning in both science and social studies. When students are able to explore ideas, ask questions, and talk through their thinking, engagement naturally increases and learning feels more meaningful.

This photo is from my first year subbing, which was extra special because it was the only year all three of my kids and I were at the same school together. I originally started subbing as a part-time job so I could be on my kids’ schedule, but I quickly fell in love with the work and the degree I had once been pursuing before staying home. After that first year, I decided to go back to school to pursue my dream of having my own classroom.

I’m excited to continue learning how to intentionally plan inquiry-based science and social studies lessons and to grow alongside all of you this semester.

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Marbles!!

This is the complete marble 3 ramp. You can see the 3 different landing zones. This is the collision track, so the students knew where to put the marble that would be receiving the energy from the ramp marble. Before they started the experiment, they had to make predictions of which landing zone the marble would land in. For each round, they had 3 tries. Partners were able to earn 1 point for each time the marble landed in the zone they predicted. This question was posted during the teacher led discussion at the end of the activity before students completed their exit ticket individually. Student Exit Ticket Mystery Science: How Can Marbles Save the World? This week I observed and supported the Mystery Science lesson How Can Marbles Save the World? Students investigated what happens to energy when objects collide by launching marbles down a ramp and observing how energy transfers between objects. The video introduced collisions through everyday e...

Twist-O-Matic

Materials Expereiment stuedents completed to find the differenence between the thin rubber band and thick rubber band, and the work sheet they worked on during their investigations. Lesson Exit Ticket each student completed after the lesson individually. Lesson Context This week, I observed a 4th-grade science lesson from Unit 7: Energy Transformations and Communication. The focus question was: What does energy have to do with movement? Students investigated how stored energy affects motion by building and testing a model amusement park ride called the Twist-o-Matic. Lesson Observation: Engage The lesson began with the question: “Do you think the ‘energy’ used by people and the ‘energy’ used by cars is the same thing? Why or why not?” Students discussed how cars use gasoline and humans use food. The teacher pressed students to explain their reasoning rather than simply agree or disagree. This discussion introduced the idea that energy must come from somewhere and can ...

All Aboard!

Lesson Observed: All Aboard! Racing to Build a Railroad Across Colorado This week in my observation classroom, I observed a social studies lesson that followed the 5E instructional model and focused on how Colorado’s physical environment, particularly mountains and rivers, influenced human activities such as building transportation systems. Through a hands-on railroad activity, students explored how Colorado’s mountainous terrain made it challenging to develop rail and road systems needed to move people and goods across the state. This lesson reflected inquiry-based geography instruction where students actively explored how physical environments place constraints on human activity rather than learning about these ideas through lecture alone (Kopp, 2017; National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS], 2017). The guiding question for the lesson was: How did the geography of Colorado affect the development of railroad lines? Standards G2a: Describe how the physical environment provi...

Mrs. LeBleu Inquiry-Based Sci & S.S.

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