Clark University 03/20/2017
Learning Activity Plan
Chemistry, Mrs. Phillips
I. Content: Chemical Bonding
Today, students will begin working in the laboratory to test their “Unknown” compounds. Students will be proving each compound to be either ionic or covalent by following the same procedures they developed and used in Friday’s “Knowns” lab, which was a preliminary activity to get students used to the techniques, equipment, and strategies that they will be using to test their “Unknown” compounds. Students will be following the same group roles to ensure that all students remain active in this investigation. At the conclusion of the period, students will discuss and interpret their results as a class (time permitting) and continue with this interpretation on Friday (after students return from MCAS).
II. Learning Goals:
a. SWBAT work collaboratively with their group mates to test the properties of three unknown compounds that they have been assigned. The compounds are: A. Calcium Chloride (road salt), B. Butter, C. Sugar, D. Sodium acetate, E. Baking Soda, F. Soap, G. Coconut Oil, H. Sea Salt, I. Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salts), and J. Wax.
b. SWBAT collect and analyze meaningful data, collaborating with their peers scientifically and respectfully as scientists do in real laboratory situations.
c. SWBAT observe all required safety protocol for the duration of the experiment, including wearing goggles and close-toed shoes, and using great care around hot/heated objects and unknown compounds, whose hazards are unknown to them.
d. SWBAT collect meaningful data on each of the known compounds that will be used to identify the compound type in their written lab reports.
III. Rationale:
This is the culmination of a week-long activity that will make sure students have a thorough understanding of the two types of chemical bonds and the ways these different bonds affect the properties of compounds before moving on to the next topic – chemical reactions. This activity will also hone students’ lab skills and give them a chance to explore compounds in a manner similar to what is done in real science laboratories, providing a real-world context for students to give meaning to the work they have been doing in this unit for the past month. The use of compounds that students use in everyday life (day one of lab) also provides an aspect of relevancy to keep students engaged, and the use of unknown compounds in today’s lab will add an extra challenge for students in interpreting their data. Students should be comfortable with the procedures and use of equipment now after having tested it yesterday, and so will likely gather more effective data than if just unknowns had been used.
IV. Assessment:
The final assessment for this activity will be in the form of a formal, written lab report that will show what students have learned in terms of lab techniques and data collection, and in terms of covalent and ionic compound properties. Students will know they have reached the learning goals for this activity when they are able to identify their unknowns as covalent or ionic compounds.
V. Personalization and Equity:
Students will be paired up with the same group mates throughout this week-long activity, and so intentional groupings have been created that will be key to students’ success. Students have been paired heterogeneously to create a supportive and inclusive groupings that will give all students an opportunity to thrive in this activity – high flyers will be allowed to take on the role of “teacher” to further their own understanding and that of their peers, while students who struggle will have a peer to turn to if they need assistance. The group roles I have designed will make sure all students are taking part in the activity in a meaningful way. The group discussion to start today’s class will help to get all students engaged and focused on the goals of today’s lesson and on safety in the laboratory, which is ALWAYS key. The group aspect of this activity will help students who work best collaboratively, while the opportunity for students to act as the “lead scientist” will let students who typically shy away from prominent roles shine. In this class, Kennedy, Dan, Clay, and Brandon will be checked on frequently to ensure they are not struggling and remain engaged, and will be offered one-on-one support as needed. I will also check in on Kassandra and her group frequently, as she has been disengaged from the class lately and may need extra support.
VI. Activity Description and Agenda:
a. Agenda
Time / Teacher: / Students: / Rationale:0:00 – 0:10 / Teacher will begin today’s lesson by talking with students about the safety protocol that they will be required to observe throughout the next two days – highlighting the fact that they are now working with unknowns and must adhere to every protocol if they wish to participate. Teacher will ask students to explain to her why safety is so important when working with unknowns to ensure students understand before beginning. Teacher will then remind students where all of the lab equipment and testing materials are located, telling students that they must be careful in their use of materials as they only get a small sample to work with. Teacher will then tell students to get into their groups and begin working. / Students will enter, discuss lab safety, take out their procedures, and get into their groups to begin the experiment. / This will serve to focus students for today’s lesson and highlight the importance of safety – particularly when working with unknowns.
0:10 – 0:50 / Teacher will walk around the room and observe students as they work, assisting as needed and ensuring that proper lab protocol and safety are being followed. Teacher will also be looking to see if students are following their designated group roles so that all group members are participating evenly. Teacher will give students a ten minute warning when they are nearing the end of class so that they can wrap up their procedures and have a brief class discussion about their data before class ends. / Students will get into their groups and begin working on their experiments, following lab protocols, safety, and their group roles throughout the activity. / This will give students experience with working in a collaborative lab environment and make the concepts we have been discussing in class more concrete.
0:50 – 0:55 / Teacher will ask students to clear their areas and dispose of any unused materials (all can be thrown in the trash or down the sink), and then return to their seats with their data so that the class can discuss their findings. / The students will clear their lab areas and return to their seats. / This will give students time to clean up before we begin our discussion.
0:55 – 0:60 / Teacher will create a data table on the board and ask students to tell her the results they gathered from this experiment and their initial impressions about what type of compound each unknown is. This chart will be used tomorrow to discuss results and analyze them as a group before students begin working on their lab reports. Teacher will emphasize to students again that the guidelines they discussed for compounds are GENERAL guidelines, so not all compounds will fit ALL of the criteria. Teacher will ask if students have any questions before they leave. / Students will discuss the data they collected, and will ask any questions before leaving. / This will give students a chance to wrap up today’s activity and process what they have learned today before leaving.
Homework: NONE.
b. Challenges:
For this activity, I anticipate there may be some problems with students not participating in a full class discussion, and so will be employing talk moves and phrasing questions like “did your group mates…” to remove pressure from students as we talk. I also anticipate some students may not engage fully in the experiment and so have created group roles to make sure all students are included and required to take part in the implementation of their group’s procedure. I will also be walking around to ensure students are participating in the activity equally as groups work together.
VII. Frameworks:
SIS1. Make observations, raise questions, and formulate hypotheses.
SIS2. Design and conduct scientific investigations.
SIS3. Analyze and interpret results of scientific investigations.
4.1 Explain how atoms combine to form compounds through both ionic and covalent bonding. Predict chemical formulas based on the number of valence electrons.
VIII. Reflection:
When planning this activity, I was initially uncertain whether or not I wanted to include a day testing “Knowns” prior to the “Unknowns” testing, as I was not convinced this added lab day would be beneficial enough to warrant two full days of lab. However, after watching the students during this lesson, I would have no hesitation using this two-day lab again. The first day of lab served to help students not only become more familiar with the procedures they had written, but also helped to get students more comfortable using and preparing the lab equipment and correct for any errors or mistakes they had made during the first day of lab so their unknown data would be as accurate as possible. Often times when performing an experiment for the first time, students are uncertain and lack confidence in what they are doing, which can result in a lot of confusion when it comes time to interpret the data. A small amount of this typical confusion was resent on day one of lab as students struggled with understanding how to use some of the lab equipment and how to interpret some of the results. However, during day two of lab, I heard many students who were discussing not only WHAT they were doing, but WHY they were doing it and what it meant as they worked through their procedures, which showed me that students really understood the purpose of this lab and its connection to our unit. They also seemed much more comfortable working with their data tables and recording significant data, which is yet another benefit of having two days of lab.
At the conclusion of lab, students had enough time to write their data up on the board so we could analyze this as a class, which was also very beneficial for students. We were able to walk through one example from each group and uncover some errors in data that helped students to figure out how to interpret their data correctly, and the class was able to easily identify compounds as either ionic or covalent using the data on the board. The initial practice day not only made students more comfortable with the lab and procedure, but also with the typical characteristics of ionic and covalent compounds (which was later reflected in the EXCELLENT lab report write ups turned in by all students). This lab also resulted in the highest turn-in rate for a lab report assignment yet, which I think speaks to the fact that all students were able to access the material and understand it deeply, and so wanted to complete this assignment to show the knowledge they had gained. I believe that the use of group roles in this lab also contributed to student confidence and understanding, as all students were required to participate in some way which helped them to learn and understand not only what they were doing, but also why they were doing it.
Finally, this lab also impressed upon students the importance of always observing safety protocol in the lab, as it was the students’ first experience working with “unknowns” of any sort. Students took this seriously, with the exception of one student who jokingly asked if she could eat the sample to prove it is sugar, and maintained high safety standards throughout the activity not only for themselves, but for their peers as well. I saw many students reminding one another of safety protocol as they proceeded in their experiment, commenting things like “let’s make sure to use the tongs when we pick this up,” or “we can’t take off our goggles yet, we haven’t cleaned up our station.” This emphasis on safety was also reflected in the final lab reports that students turned in, as many had much more detailed safety sections than usual, with not only safety protocol and equipment listed, but also a thorough description of why each safety protocol was to be followed during the lab. I was very impressed with the level of student understanding following this activity and will surely be using it again in the future.