ASSURE Model Instructional Plan

Trends of the Periodic Table

Keith Crandall

10th Grade

Chemistry

Lesson Length: 90 Minutes (1 Period)

Analyze Learners
The classroom consists of 27 students, 15 male and 12 female. The students range in age from fifteen to sixteen years old. Three students are known to be in the gifted/honors program. There are six students that are known to have learning disabilities, three of the students are reading disabled and three have Attention Deficit disorder. From other lessons, it has been observed that most students (about ¾) have a positive attitude regarding this class and school in general. The majority of the students have no prior knowledge about the trends of the periodic table. The lesson also includes the historical context of the periodic table. A small number of the students have already learned about the basic history of the periodic table in a previous science class.
The learning styles that are present in the classroom are divided into three major categories, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The majority (60%) of the learners are primarily visual learners, followed by 30% auditory and 10% kinesthetic. Student’s learning styles are comprised of a combination of the three learning styles, but it has been observed that most students benefit more from visual stimulation than other learning styles.
State Objectives
SC4.Students will use the organization of the Periodic Table to predict properties of elements.
  1. Use the Periodic Table to predict periodic trends including atomic radii, ionic radii, ionization energy, and electronegativity of various elements.
  2. Compare and contrast trends in the chemical and physical properties of elements and their placement on the Periodic Table.

Select Media, Materials, and Methods
  1. Projector for opening PowerPoint presentation.
  2. Class Textbooks.
  3. Classroom computers (8 available) for Internet research use.
  4. Large paper for display of group work, large periodic table print-outs, markers, colored pencils, etc.

Utilize Media, Materials, and Methods
  1. The projector is to be used for the opening PowerPoint presentation that introduces the Trends of the Periodic Table. The presentation is designed to last approximately twenty minutes, and must be prepared beforehand. During the presentation, the concepts for the lesson will be introduced and a brief background on each of the four trends will presented. The presentation is a way to attract students to the content, and the students will gather more information later in the period. Without going into much detail, the presentation directs students to focus on the concepts before divided into groups. The projector must be analyzed previous to the lesson time to ensure that it is working properly. There is no preview of the material necessary; the teacher makes the presentation.
  2. Students use the class text after being divided into groups. The PowerPoint presentation only provides an introduction into the periodic table trends. In groups, students must gather information about each of the four major trends and develop a concept map. The information concerning the periodic trends comes from one chapter in the text. The teacher must ensure that the text contains the pertinent information regarding the major trends before the lesson is presented. To make sure that students have their textbooks with them for the class, an announcement beforehand should allow students to be prepared for the lesson.
  3. The next method to be used is the in-class computers. After students are divided into groups, each group is required to make their own concept map of the Trends of the Periodic Table. Students must include five facts about the history and the development of the periodic table. This information will come from the Internet. Several websites are chosen prior to the lesson, and the teacher evaluates the quality of content and information. This material must be previewed beforehand, and students are only allowed to gather information from the approved sites. The web addresses should be given to students on paper or written on the board to better facilitate learner preparation.
  4. The last materials to be used in this lesson are the tools necessary to develop concept maps. Large paper and any markers or colored pencils are made available beforehand. The paper should be large enough so that the concept maps are large enough to be understood when hanging on a wall. The print-outs of the periodic table are to be the center point of the concept maps. Students can simply tape the tables to their large paper. Students will understand concept maps because examples will be given during the PowerPoint presentation. There is no preview of the materials needed; the most important thing is that enough supplies are available for the entire class to use.

Require Learner Participation
  1. The introduction of the lesson is provided by the PowerPoint presentation. The presentation allows for the teacher to introduce the content in a visual way to accommodate the large number of visual learners. The presentation also provides a way to ensure that students are paying attention, because the information given is essential to the activity to follow. The final goal for the activity is that students will understand the trends of the periodic table by finding information on their own and developing a concept map. The presentation should have several examples of concept maps so students recognize what the final product of the lesson should be. The presentation should last around fifteen minutes.
  2. Students are then divided into groups of four (and one group of three) randomly based on last name or seating chart. All students play an important role in the development of the concept maps. Each student must find information concerning the trends of the periodic table using their textbooks. This information serves as way to take notes on the trends and should be included in the student notebook. This step should take about five minutes.
  3. The groups must engage in conversation to decide the exact information to include on the concept map. Because each student will have a general knowledge of each of the four major trends, dialogue should include all learners, not simply one student per trend. All students share information on all of the trends within their groups; one student is not responsible for gathering the information on only one trend. This process allows for complete learner participation; every student is important to the group’s success. This step should take approximately ten minutes minutes.
  4. Before the concept map is developed, students must research the history of the periodic table and the process that organized it into the current form. As mentioned before, this will require students to use the in-class computers. Students will need to communicate with each other to reach a consensus on what information to include for the concept map. The concept map should have between five and ten facts (in sentence form) concerning the background of the periodic table. There are only eight computers available; student groups should be selected by the teacher to determine which groups are to be using the computers at certain times. Although this step should take between fifteen and twenty minutes, groups will doing computer research at different times. The research is conducted from a pre-approved list of sites, and students can only visit these specific sites during the lesson. Every student must find several facts by themselves, and then the group will collaborate to select the facts that are to be presented on the concept map. The computer research step should take between fifteen and twenty minutes.
  5. After the groups gather the necessary information for the concept map, students must agree on what information to include on the map. For each trend, a definition, the direction of the trend, the units of measurement, measurement technique, and several examples should be included. Each student is important for the group’s success, because everyone brings a unique viewpoint and experience to the group. Students should connect with one another to develop a plan for the concept map and how it is to be arranged. This step should take approximately ten minutes.
  6. The groups then divide up the task for the development of the concept map. Every student must contribute to the final product. The concept map should be colorful and attractive, as well as provide detailed information regarding the four major trends of the periodic table and the history of the periodic table. This step should take around ten minutes.
  7. After the student groups complete the concept maps, the groups will present the concept maps to the class, the class will vote on which concept map is the best looking and contains the important information. The group that wins will receive five bonus points to their grades for the activity. The winning product will be put on display on a classroom bulletin board. This step should take around ten minutes.
  8. A worksheet for the trends of the periodic table will then be handed out as a homework assignment. If there is time remaining, the students may work on the assignment by themselves.
  9. By keeping the structure of the entire class varied, students will not get bored as easily than with a lecture format lesson. The several students with Attention Deficit Disorder may find it easier to learn the information through groups and an activity that requires the active contribution from all students. The lesson accommodates the large number of visual learners, because the end product of the lesson is the development of a visual aid for the periodic trends.

Evaluate & Revise
  1. Student Performance
A rubric will be designed to grade the student concept maps. Because the lesson is designed around group completion, the complete grade for the lesson will be a combination of the group work and the completion of the student worksheet. The worksheet will be graded on a 100 point scale and will count as 25% of the total lesson grade. The group completion of the concept map will account for the rest of the total grade. The rubric will be designed around three central components. The rubric will be designed on a 100 point scale as follows:
Poor / Average / Excellent
Content (out of 60 points) / The four trends and history are not represented completely. No examples given. / All trends and history represented. Examples given. The number of required facts given. Trends are easy to understand. / All trends and history described thoroughly. More than three examples given from each trend. More than the required number of facts given. Trends are summarized and understandable.
Organization (out of 20 points) / The trends and history are not organized well. Concept map is hard to understand and not clear. / Organization makes sense. The concept map is understandable. The concept map is somewhat messy. / The concept map is clear and organized in a professional manner. The map is not messy.
Design (out of 20 points) / The facts and sentences are not placed in an understandable manner. The colors used are not easy to read. / The information is placed well and easy to understand. The colors are easy to read. / The information is placed in an attractive and professional manner. Layout design is excellent.
  1. Media Effectiveness
To evaluate the effectiveness of the media used in this lesson, the instructor must try to decide first if the PowerPoint presentation helps the student understanding of the lesson concepts. Communication with the student groups during group work can be a gauge of the presentation effectiveness. If students have a general understanding of the major trends of the periodic table, than the media has been effective. The other type of media used in this lesson is the computer for research. To determine if this media is effective for student learning, the teacher can evaluate understanding of the history of the periodic table on the next class quiz or test. The computer as an educational tool is effective if students have a general understanding of the periodic table history after the lesson is complete.
3. Instructor Performance
The instructor performance is evaluated based on the overall understanding of the periodic trends. The next class test or quiz can serve as a gauge of student learning. If the student average on the test or quiz is poor, than the lesson format was not designed well for student learning. After the lesson, the teacher can evaluate if any aspects of the lesson should be changed for better understanding. If any of the components did not flow well, the teacher could change time allotments for individual elements.

Page 1 of 6Last Revised: December 11, 2005