We spotlight Gabrielle Rubinstein, CRS Science Super Star honoree, who teaches at New Highland Academy in Oakland. Gabrielle used her classroom's investigation on crayfish to create a memorable science lesson for all of her students.
May 7, 2020
We are honored to name Gabrielle Rubinstein, 3rd Grade Teacher at New Highland Academy in Oakland, as a 2020 Science Super Star!
Gabrielle used her classroom's investigation on crayfish to create a memorable science lesson for all of her students. She highly encourages science as a method to keep students engaged in learning:
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"Students love making predictions, asking questions, and getting to explore and/or create with materials. Set it up with strong routines and procedures then when ou present the materials there will be a strong active engagement." |
During a unit on animal characteristics and adaptations, she brought in crayfish specimen to allow her students a hands-on experience. They were amazed by the live specimen and kept carefully labeled diagrams and detailed notes on their observations. Gabrielle overheard astute comments, such as "They are using their pincers to fight predators!"
Students were able to make connections that related to their own lives. As they learned more about the crayfish's exoskeleton, they were able to make the comparison to the human's endoskeleton. This led to discussions on realizing how all living organisms want to survive, and how everything living organisms do is for that purpose.
Gabrielle is a huge proponent of creating opportunities for her students to meet real-scientists, whenever the opportunity arises. She notes, "Students are so engaged, excited, and eager when interacting with experts."
Her students were also quick to connect their field-trip experiences to the corresponding lesson. In one excursion, they learned about native and non-native species, and how they should not release their crayfish in the wild.
Gabrielle is constantly finding ways to interconnect subjects, which helps student develop multiple skills at once, often without realizing it! Math is common in her lessons from measuring volume to connecting angles and shapes. has her students take notes in their science journals, and create a glossary full of domain-specific vocabulary. She also keeps up a "Science Word Wall" in the classroom as a reference point for students during class discussions.
| "I have one student who usually does not participate in class discussions and often refuses to write. Whenever we do a science investigation he is totally engaged and acting with the phenomena and others." |