Teachers at Alton Elementary School were searching for a way to promote an interest in Science, targeting the fifth graders, while also helping them improve their needed knowledge. Instead of conducting a Science fair for the first semester of school, the teachers came up with the idea to hold a Science Bowl quiz show style competition.
Each fifth grade class chose four students to represent them on a team for competition. The teachers then developed a series of questions for them, based upon the identified areas of the Science curriculum that the fifth graders still needed show some improvement.
“The classes really got in to it,” said Sonia Mendoza, instructional and assessment strategist at Alton Elementary School. “This seemed to excite them. They really got involved and created banners and signs to support their class teams for the actual Science Bowl contest we held in the library.”
Each team of four students was set at a table with a Chromebook computer and were guided through a series of online questions to answer. The winning team earned their entire class an opportunity to watch a movie on the last day before the Thanksgiving holiday break.
“It really seemed to push Science into the spotlight as something fun,” Mendoza said. “It is always encouraging to see students realize subjects like Science and Math can be fun and interesting. It not only helps them learn, but also helps prepare them for more.”
District officials have indicated one of the biggest challenges is instilling an interest in Science and Math at an early age.
Pictured are two of the teams working on answering questions during the Alton Elementary School Science Bowl. Classmates are seen in the background supporting their class teams.
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