Grade 5 Classroom Chemistry
Samantha Tonsaker and Sarah Lapp
January 29th, 2013
Title: Dancers - Understanding Gases
Time: 1 Lesson
Rationale:
Students will be introduced to the topic of Classroom Chemistry as outlined in the Alberta Program of studies in which they will begin to explore which changes take place when substances are mixed together or dissolved in a solution. Today’s activities will help students to explore a chemical change as it occurs during a specific reaction.
Resources:
Learner Outcomes:
General Learner Outcomes
Students will be able to:
5-7 Describe the properties and interactions of various household liquids and solids, and interpret their interactions.
Specific Learner Outcomes:
Students will be able to:
5-7-6 Produce carbon dioxide gas through the interaction of solids and liquids and demonstrate that it is different from air.
5-7-8 Recognize and describe evidence of a chemical reaction. Explain how the products of a reaction differ from the original substances.
Discrepant Even
The ‘science ideas’ for this lesson will be introduced by demonstrating the experiment “Blowing up the Bag” where students will first predict then observe what happens when vinegar is added to baking soda in a Ziploc bag. Observations and explanations should be recorded by each student on the provided worksheets (Click here for a copy of the POE Worksheet #1 as outlined in Appendix A ). This is an example of a discrepant event which allows the teacher to listen to student’s initial reactions and understandings of the topic before introducing the main learning activity. This initial activity should stimulate student thought and get them to consider the open-ended question “How did the bag blow up and where did this air come from?”
Learner Objectives:
Pre-activity Considerations:
At this point in the unit, students may or may not have been introduced to classroom chemistry. Let’s Do Science acknowledges that students may confuse a chemical change, such as effervescence or the formation of a gas, (e.g., adding baking soda to vinegar to produce carbon dioxide gas) with a state change (i.e., creating a gas through evaporation). Therefore, to provide further insight into the meaning of chemical changes, examples of physical changes will be addressed as a comparative tool in the follow-up activity (Click here for a sample of some Physical vs. Chemical Reactions as outlined in Appendix B).
Goals
Students observe and investigate the carbon dioxide that is produced when vinegar and baking soda are mixed and the effect that this gas has on the raisins, corn kernels and other tested materials. Make sure to plan ahead with instruction and be prepared with materials to manipulate variables based on students’ inquiries.
Science Background-Questions to Consider:
§ What is a gas?
§ What is a chemical reaction?
§ How is a chemical reaction different from a physical reaction?
Safety Considerations to be addressed with students prior to beginning the learning activity include:
Predicting
Initial predictions include asking students to give their ‘best guesses’ as to what they think will happen during the experiment (Refer to Appendix C for a copy of POE Inquiry Worksheet #2 where students will asked to list their Predictions, Observations and Explanations).
Observing
Provide each pair of students with the above resources. Students will be asked to put 125mL of water and 125mL of vinegar into the jar, add three or four raisins and corn kernels, add 2mL of baking soda, and observe. At this time, walk around and listen to the groups’ observations. Some questions the students might want to consider throughout the activity are:
Predicting
Ask the students to predict what they think will happen throughout the activity. If the students seem to be struggling with predicting or introducing new questions, the following suggestions might help guide this process:
Ask students to write down their predictions and subsequent observations on their inquiry worksheets. For those students who finish the initial experiment quickly, have them start experimenting with other materials such as beads, paper clips, pennies or uncooked pasta and rice.
Explaining
This step involves having the students share their post-activity reflections based on what they discovered throughout the experimental process. Ask them to discuss with a partner how their thoughts were reshaped or changed from the beginning of the activity compared to the end. After they have had a chance to discuss their observations with one another, invite them to have a whole group conversation. During this shared dialogue, it is important to reveal the scientific explanations (Refer to Appendix D for a copy of Science Explanations). Suggestions for explaining these rationales include “this is what scientists currently think” rather than starting with “this is the right explanation”. These new understandings should be added to their inquiry worksheets as they are explained.
Learner Outcomes:
Students should be able to identify that mixing baking soda with vinegar produces carbon dioxide. This activity should extend their learning by testing what effect this mixture has on raisins and corn as investigated using pop bottles. Students should recognize that a chemical reaction is taking place and provide evidence of this throughout their inquiries. They are also expected to have a better understanding of the products of a chemical reaction and to explain the change the original substances underwent. If students are struggling with the scientific concepts, it is recommended to repeat the initial activity “Blowing up the Bag” following the “Dancers” experiment.
Assessment:
Falkenberg, McClure and McComb (2006) state that “rather than checking whether students have memorized certain items of information, assessments need to probe for students’ understanding, reasoning, and the utilization of knowledge” (p. 11). Therefore, our assessment strategies will focus more on the students’ predictions and explanations based on their observations rather than how accurately they get the scientific facts correct.
Our formative assessment will include observing the students as they make their measurements of the given materials, how they manipulate the materials during the experiment and how well they collaborate with their fellow peers. We will be listening to the students’ conversations to gain a better understanding of how they are interpreting the main science ideas while also encouraging them to write down their observations as they make new discoveries. Specifically, anecdotal notes will be used throughout the lesson to record student’s verbal observations and conversations.
The provided POE Inquiry worksheet will be provided so that students can record their predictions, observations and explanations throughout the learning activity. Although no marks will be given for this activity, these worksheets could be collected for further reflection by the teacher as either a formative or summative form of assessment.
Samantha Tonsaker and Sarah Lapp
January 29th, 2013
Title: Dancers - Understanding Gases
Time: 1 Lesson
Rationale:
Students will be introduced to the topic of Classroom Chemistry as outlined in the Alberta Program of studies in which they will begin to explore which changes take place when substances are mixed together or dissolved in a solution. Today’s activities will help students to explore a chemical change as it occurs during a specific reaction.
Resources:
- jars or pop bottles of varying sizes
- water
- vinegar
- baking soda
- raisins
- corn kernels
- measuring spoons
- measuring cup
- inquiry worksheet
- writing tools
- additional materials (beads, paperclips or uncooked pasta and rice)
Learner Outcomes:
General Learner Outcomes
Students will be able to:
5-7 Describe the properties and interactions of various household liquids and solids, and interpret their interactions.
Specific Learner Outcomes:
Students will be able to:
5-7-6 Produce carbon dioxide gas through the interaction of solids and liquids and demonstrate that it is different from air.
5-7-8 Recognize and describe evidence of a chemical reaction. Explain how the products of a reaction differ from the original substances.
Discrepant Even
The ‘science ideas’ for this lesson will be introduced by demonstrating the experiment “Blowing up the Bag” where students will first predict then observe what happens when vinegar is added to baking soda in a Ziploc bag. Observations and explanations should be recorded by each student on the provided worksheets (Click here for a copy of the POE Worksheet #1 as outlined in Appendix A ). This is an example of a discrepant event which allows the teacher to listen to student’s initial reactions and understandings of the topic before introducing the main learning activity. This initial activity should stimulate student thought and get them to consider the open-ended question “How did the bag blow up and where did this air come from?”
Learner Objectives:
Pre-activity Considerations:
At this point in the unit, students may or may not have been introduced to classroom chemistry. Let’s Do Science acknowledges that students may confuse a chemical change, such as effervescence or the formation of a gas, (e.g., adding baking soda to vinegar to produce carbon dioxide gas) with a state change (i.e., creating a gas through evaporation). Therefore, to provide further insight into the meaning of chemical changes, examples of physical changes will be addressed as a comparative tool in the follow-up activity (Click here for a sample of some Physical vs. Chemical Reactions as outlined in Appendix B).
Goals
Students observe and investigate the carbon dioxide that is produced when vinegar and baking soda are mixed and the effect that this gas has on the raisins, corn kernels and other tested materials. Make sure to plan ahead with instruction and be prepared with materials to manipulate variables based on students’ inquiries.
Science Background-Questions to Consider:
§ What is a gas?
§ What is a chemical reaction?
§ How is a chemical reaction different from a physical reaction?
Safety Considerations to be addressed with students prior to beginning the learning activity include:
- Students would be expected to wear safety goggles when dealing with certain toxic chemicals; however the experiment uses non-toxic substances making it unnecessary.
- Students should be instructed not to touch their eyes after handling the baking soda and vinegar as this could cause a stinging sensation.
- Although non-toxic, it is important that students refrain from consuming any of the materials.
- To avoid making a mess, students should be instructed to fill their containers no higher than half-way with the vinegar or soda pop.
Predicting
Initial predictions include asking students to give their ‘best guesses’ as to what they think will happen during the experiment (Refer to Appendix C for a copy of POE Inquiry Worksheet #2 where students will asked to list their Predictions, Observations and Explanations).
Observing
Provide each pair of students with the above resources. Students will be asked to put 125mL of water and 125mL of vinegar into the jar, add three or four raisins and corn kernels, add 2mL of baking soda, and observe. At this time, walk around and listen to the groups’ observations. Some questions the students might want to consider throughout the activity are:
- What do you observe?
- Why do you think this is happening?
- Revisit the questions from the “Science Background-Questions to Consider” and consider their role in this experiment.
Predicting
Ask the students to predict what they think will happen throughout the activity. If the students seem to be struggling with predicting or introducing new questions, the following suggestions might help guide this process:
- What would happen if you changed the amounts of soda? Or water? Or vinegar?
- What do you think the bubbles are made of?
- What other materials could you change? The size of the jar?
- What could you substitute for the corn kernels and raisins? What do you think might happen?
Ask students to write down their predictions and subsequent observations on their inquiry worksheets. For those students who finish the initial experiment quickly, have them start experimenting with other materials such as beads, paper clips, pennies or uncooked pasta and rice.
Explaining
This step involves having the students share their post-activity reflections based on what they discovered throughout the experimental process. Ask them to discuss with a partner how their thoughts were reshaped or changed from the beginning of the activity compared to the end. After they have had a chance to discuss their observations with one another, invite them to have a whole group conversation. During this shared dialogue, it is important to reveal the scientific explanations (Refer to Appendix D for a copy of Science Explanations). Suggestions for explaining these rationales include “this is what scientists currently think” rather than starting with “this is the right explanation”. These new understandings should be added to their inquiry worksheets as they are explained.
Learner Outcomes:
Students should be able to identify that mixing baking soda with vinegar produces carbon dioxide. This activity should extend their learning by testing what effect this mixture has on raisins and corn as investigated using pop bottles. Students should recognize that a chemical reaction is taking place and provide evidence of this throughout their inquiries. They are also expected to have a better understanding of the products of a chemical reaction and to explain the change the original substances underwent. If students are struggling with the scientific concepts, it is recommended to repeat the initial activity “Blowing up the Bag” following the “Dancers” experiment.
Assessment:
Falkenberg, McClure and McComb (2006) state that “rather than checking whether students have memorized certain items of information, assessments need to probe for students’ understanding, reasoning, and the utilization of knowledge” (p. 11). Therefore, our assessment strategies will focus more on the students’ predictions and explanations based on their observations rather than how accurately they get the scientific facts correct.
Our formative assessment will include observing the students as they make their measurements of the given materials, how they manipulate the materials during the experiment and how well they collaborate with their fellow peers. We will be listening to the students’ conversations to gain a better understanding of how they are interpreting the main science ideas while also encouraging them to write down their observations as they make new discoveries. Specifically, anecdotal notes will be used throughout the lesson to record student’s verbal observations and conversations.
The provided POE Inquiry worksheet will be provided so that students can record their predictions, observations and explanations throughout the learning activity. Although no marks will be given for this activity, these worksheets could be collected for further reflection by the teacher as either a formative or summative form of assessment.