How to Time Lessons in Science for Third Grade
When teaching high-energy third graders, creating lessons that are neither too long nor too short is of major importance. If the lessons you craft are too long, you will lose your audience, while if the lessons are too short you will be able to impart the necessary information. Get the important scientific facts across to these precocious pupils by carefully planning the amount of time you set aside for each lesson.
Instructions
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Consider attention span. Determine your students' attention span by multiplying their age by three minutes, suggests Christina Myren, educator and author of "Milk Carton Math" and "Posing Open-Ended Questions." Using this formula, you should be able to expect your third graders, who will likely be eight and nine years of age to pay attention for 24 to 27 minutes.
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Break up the material if necessary. Organize your material to fit into approximately 25 minute blocks of time by breaking up more complex topics. If teaching your third graders about cell-parts, for example, you will likely want to break all of the parts into different groups to ensure that the lesson doesn't become oppressively long.
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Run though your lesson with a timer running. Try your lesson before students arrive, moving through it exactly as you plan to. By doing this with a timer you can ensure that your lesson is the length you intended for it to be.
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Make adjustments as necessary. If your lesson is too long, select some sections to move to another day. If it is too short, consider what else you may be able to add to the lesson to use all of your time.
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