Students and teachers at Pine Tree Elementary are on the lookout for a mad scientist that is roaming the halls carrying large, plastic spiders in his hands.
Jeromie Heath is keeping in character for the month of October to get his fifth grade students interested in science. Walk into his room and you’ll find a science lab filled with skeletons, bugs, bats and other bits of nature.
“I wanted to give the students some simple and fun activities they could learn the scientific method through,” Heath said. “I wanted them to think science was cool and worth exploring.”
The idea came to Heath after he discovered his students didn’t know much about all science entails.
“I found that the kids didn’t think science was something to explore,” Heath said. “I want the kids to really learn what it is, learn what real scientists do and know it can be a career choice.”
Students outside of Heath’s class are also invited to take part in the lab. Some come in during break time to look around the room and ask questions.
“I just want to peak all the kids’ interest,” Heath said. “These activities sound silly, and they are, but they really work. We had a bat day on Friday where we dressed in black and brown and learned about bats by doing fun things.”
Heath doesn’t just incorporate his theme in science class. All subjects center around science lab.
“I notice that when I do that, it peaks the students’ interests more and their scores are higher than if we just read from the textbook,” Heath said. “For example, if I just wrote up some random math problems on the board with an explanation, half the kids would be falling asleep. But, if I take those math word problems and turn them into bat scenarios with pictures, they are excited to learn.”
This isn’t the first theme Heath has come up with to promote learning. He incorporates a different theme in his room every month.
“I’ve worn around 15 different outfits so far,” Heath said, laughing. “It’s a lot of work but I love it.”
Heath isn’t sure yet what next month entails, but his fifth-graders should be on the lookout for a Dr. Suess, Mario Brothers or a pirate theme.
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