Lab Safety

Here is a simple lab safety activity I did this year. My students did this as a warm up and an introduction to Lab Safety. They had to look at the carton and answer these questions:

Questions:

1. List 3 unsafe activities shown in the illustration and explain why each is unsafe.
2. List 3 correct lab procedures depicted in the illustration.
3. What should Bob do after the accident?
4. What should Sue have done to avoid an accident?
5. Compare Luke and Duke's lab techniques. Who is following the rules?
6. What are three things shown in the lab that should not be there?
7. Compare Joe and Carl's lab techniques. Who is doing it the correct way?
8. What will happen to Ray and Tim when the teacher catches them?
9. List three items in the illustration that are there for the safety of the students in the lab.
10. What is Betty doing wrong?

We went over the questions as a class and then I passed out the Flinn's Scientific Contract for them to read and sign, as well as, have it signed by their parents.

  I think you could elaborate on the cartoon and have your students create a "Goofus and Gallant"image for lab safety or have them write a song like the Lab Safety Rap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJG0ir9nDtc

A great way to sum up the lab safety lesson would be to assess the students. 

Initial Reflection: Science Philosophy and Vision

My philosophy on science is that everyone is a scientist. We practice the scientific process every day, knowingly and unknowingly. When we are selecting which new television to buy, we are using logic and data (price comparison and consumer reports) to make an informed decision on the best TV to purchase. We may have trouble getting our car to start and we use scientific investigation and deductive reasoning to solve our car dilemma.

If everyone is a scientist, it is my mission, my vision to reveal the scientist within my students to themselves. Once they see that they are scientists, and that they use science and rely on it daily, learning about science will feel more natural and less foreign to them. They will be more receptive and less intimidated about our lessons. I try to make my lessons as fun and interactive as possible. I want my students doing and exploring more in my class. Kids learn through activity, rather than absorbing the concept by sitting through a lecture.

I love science. I enjoy the search for knowledge and learning new things. It is this appreciation and joy of learning that I wish to share with my students. I would love to see my passion become contagious and my students infected for life.  I want them to want to learn new things, to get excited about topics that we discuss in class. I want them to think. Not about what they read on Facebook or Twitter, but about life and the world around them. They are our future doctors, lawyers and Nobel Prize winners, and as teachers we get to encourage and impact our future.

 I make it a habit to bring in items that my students have never seen outside a text book before. Simple objects that someone might take granted, for instance a wasp nest or a horseshoe crab molt. They get to hold and examine the specimen. Their eyes light up and I see a spark of curiosity ignite within them. It is at that instance, I realize how much I love my career. I am sharing my happiness with several students every day.