INSTRUCTIONAL FRAMEWORK /
NAME: Michelle Cooper / COURSE: The Curious Chemist: Chemistry in Our Daily Lives B02
FRAMEWORK STEP / TIMING / DESCRIPTION / BULLETED LIST OF IDEAS, THOUGHTS, ACTIVITIES, PRODUCTS, STUDENT OUTCOMES, ADDRESSING ITEMS IN THE “DESCRIPTION” COLUMN
Consider: How will you differentiate activities by interest, ability or learning style? / Underlying Concept & Essential Question(s)
ONGOING / Teaching Assistant
ONGOING / Assessment Plan
ONGOING
Broadening the Focus; Starting to Develop Objectives / Wk 1 / Identify potential areas of interest and/or sub-topics that may serve as a catalyst to ignite the students’ interests. Look at the topic from various points of view and across content areas and subject disciplines. Think of professional applications that could result from the study of these topics. / ñ  Students begin exploring the scientific method, lab safety, tools of science and science process skills. (Charts posted in classroom. )
ñ  Students observe discrepant events to uncover the mystery or novelty that can exist in everyday objects, students will be encouraged to think deeper and ask questions about other objects they use daily.
ñ  Initial investigations will include everyday items that students are familiar with but may view now in different ways using their senses, lab tools and methods.
ñ  Draw a picture of a “scientist” and share, who are “scientists”?
ñ  Profiles of “scientists” in our everyday lives.
ñ  Complete a student-driven concept map showing “Where do you find 'Chemistry' in your daily life?” / The underlying concept is that students discover the chemical nature of matter and its change by using their senses to explore everyday materials around them, investigating properties and experimenting using the scientific method.
- What does it mean to work scientifically?
- How can we investigate something in a meaningful way? - “What happens when...” / Teaching assistants will be
- working 1:1 with students to support students' completion of lab activities
- answering questions/offering guiding questions when needed,
- checking that students are safe w/equipment & completing labs correctly
- recording observations of students, and noting concerns or needs for a particular activity for each student.
- TA can also take daily attendance, remediate and/or accelerate a student(s) who learns at a different pace. / Daily use of the Chemistry Journal will serve as a tool to monitor student learning and areas that need to be developed or accelerated. Students will receive feedback daily from their work so that they may continually improve on their lab skills and methods. The Journal will serve as a record of the students' problem solving skills.
Pre-Assessment / Wk 1 / Design a formal or an informal activity to determine individual student entry level, initial questions, learning styles, pre-existing knowledge and interest in the content to help you know what to teach and what to skip. / ñ  Write your name and draw a picture of a “scientist”. Draw or write about what a scientist does.
ñ  When asked about interests, prior experience with this age at SIG suggests most students will say “we want to blow something up” and we talk about possible things to be “blown up” that are safe, what this concept means to them, and lab safety.
ñ  In addition, it is helpful to show a slide show of real scientists and their activities to get them thinking about other aspects of chemistry.
ñ  Students are asked to draw something from the slide show they felt was most interesting to them.
ñ These preassessments later become the first pages of their “Chemistry Journal”.
NAME: Michelle Cooper / COURSE: The Curious Chemist: Chemistry in Our Daily Lives B02
FRAMEWORK STEP / TIMING / DESCRIPTION / BULLETED LIST OF IDEAS, THOUGHTS, ACTIVITIES, PRODUCTS, STUDENT OUTCOMES, ADDRESSING ITEMS IN THE “DESCRIPTION” COLUMN
Consider: How will you differentiate activities by interest, ability or learning style? / Underlying Concept & Essential Question(s)
ONGOING / Teaching Assistant
ONGOING / Assessment Plan
ONGOING
Fact Finding:
General
Exploratory &
Interest
Expansion
Activities / Wk 1
&
Wk 2 / Identify a set of highly stimulating activities and resources that may be used to introduce students to the topic and possible areas of interest. Consider learning styles and varying instructional tools, as well as the incorporation of a
range of resources and materials. / ñ  Hands-on lab activities will include common materials such as soda, candy, popcorn, vinegar, glue, cornstarch, detergent, borax, baking soda, syrup, oil, marbles, toy cars, paper towels, milk, food coloring, etc. to investigate: physical properties and changes of matter, chemical changes, and various types of chemical reactions such as acid/base/ neutralization, and oxidation/reduction. All labs are designed to be completed independently; and there are no “lab partners”, although some may want a lab buddy. Students practice use of safety equipment. One activity has students completing a group color chart for the results of a color analysis lab. Several trips outside to collect items for investigations such as leaves for chromatography and observations of some wet labs.
ñ  Modeling the Scientific Method: students are reminded to use the scientific method and record experiments in the form of the scientific method in their Chemistry Journals: Question, Hypothesis, Procedure, Results, Conclusion. / Students work in small groups & individually to complete hands-on experiments exploring the principles of chemistry. Students will learn to make observations using their senses, use tools and methods of science to conduct an experiment, collect data, draw conclusions & communicate results. Each lab activity is tailored to begin with “What happens when...” and predictions, a review of lab safety and recording data in their Chemistry Journals. Some of the youngest will be making observations and some older students will be answering a specific question tailored to the student and the lab experiment. / Teaching assistants will be
- ensuring students write in Chemistry Journals daily and offer feedback/ stickers
- working with students to answer questions/offering guiding questions
- checking that students are safe -cleaning up spills
- recording observations of students, and noting concerns or needs for a particular activity for each student. / Observation of student work during lab experiments
Open-ended question posters placed at each lab station for student response.
Chemistry Journals show a progression in the students' use of the scientific method and progress on student objective project.
Narrowing the
Focus and
Refining
Objectives / Wk 1
&
Wk 2 / Survey the students to help them focus on their particular areas of interest within the big idea. You can use a pre-existing instrument, create one, or simply ask questions of the students. / ñ  Chemistry Journals are reviewed daily after class to monitor the progression of students towards effective use of the scientific method and experimentation. The journals and 1:1 student conferences will focus the student's interests, objectives and final product. Options include choice boards, answering a specific question or adapting one of the experiments completed over the past week. Materials should be available in the Chemistry Kits. Assist student in framing their question in the form of the scientific method and developing a procedure to answer their question. / Using the Scientific Method to answer a student-generated question about a physical or chemical property or reaction. “What happens when...” and encourage critical thinking and problem solving skills. / Teaching assistants continue to guide in the use of Chemistry Journals and working with students to answer questions/offering guiding questions / Continue to review Chemistry Journals daily for effective use of the Scientific Method.
Display a rubric for Journals with a checklist and samples with pictures.
Differentiation
Menu:
Generating
Solutions and
New Ideas / Wk 2
&
Wk 3 / Create a set of activities that reflect the variety of sub-topics that promote critical and creative thinking and problem-solving skills, a wide variety of how-to-learn skills and methods employed by professionals, skills in the use of advanced-level reference materials, and written, oral, and visual communication skills, generating solutions and new ideas. These activities may serve as the basis for developing the individual student outcomes/objectives for the unit, especially for students who have limited experience or have expressed only an initial level of interest in the topic. / ñ  “Where do we find chemistry in our daily lives?” Students create a large group collage using magazine pictures (or an individual one on their own) showing science in our daily lives: water, farming, food, fuel, firefighting, International Space Station, doctors and medicine, etc. Students are encouraged to include ideas and drawings of their own into the collage.
ñ  “What would life be like without chemistry?” View video by American Chemical Society – A Day without Chemistry. Students then explore ways that chemistry affects their daily lives by visiting a series of lab stations: toothpaste, making bread, hot and cold packs, soap, and cooking. At each station, students are asked an open-ended question posted on a large poster and students may post their answers in a “talking bubble” or in their Journal.
ñ  Field trip to a lab at Boston University. Students write reflections of their observations in their Chemistry Journals. / “Where do we find chemistry in our daily lives?”
“What would life be like without chemistry?” / Teaching assistants work with students to direct ideas for the collage, assist in maintaining lab stations and monitor students on the field trip. / Student generated collage is displayed in classroom for student discussion. What other items should be included?
Student generated “talking bubbles” for each lab station are discussed.
FRAMEWORK STEP / TIMING / DESCRIPTION / BULLETED LIST OF IDEAS, THOUGHTS, ACTIVITIES, PRODUCTS, STUDENT OUTCOMES, ADDRESSING ITEMS IN THE “DESCRIPTION” COLUMN
Consider: How will you differentiate activities by interest, ability or learning style? / Underlying Concept & Essential Question(s)
ONGOING / Teaching Assistant
ONGOING / Assessment Plan
ONGOING
Culminating Experience / Wk 2 &
Wk 3 / Generate a list of authentic, professional investigations, experiments, or projects that replicate the kinds of activities that professionals in the field produce. This set of activities may serve as the basis for the development of individual student outcomes/objectives for the unit, especially for students who have well-identified, intense interests and a wide range of experiences and strong knowledge base which were noted during the pre-assessment and on your survey of student interests. Be sure to consider authentic outlets and audiences. / ñ  Students are again asked to “Draw a Scientist”. Afterward, students are asked to look at their original “Picture of a Scientist” from Day 1. How has their perceptions changed? What might their scientist be working on? What has been added or taken away in their drawings? Why? Does their picture now show the scientists doing work or solving a problem? Does their picture include tools that are used in science? This page is added to their Chemistry Journals.
ñ  Create again a student-driven concept map showing “Where do you find 'Chemistry' in your daily life?” Afterward, display the students' original concept map. How has the map changed How can the scientific method be used in daily life?
ñ  Students complete an independent lab activity using the scientific method to solve a real-world problem or answer a question and report the results in the Chemistry Journal. Some younger students may need to choose from a list of ideas or suggestions.
/ Students will design and conduct their own experiment to answer a real-world chemical question of their own choosing or to solve an interesting chemical problem from materials they encounter daily. / Teaching assistants offer support for students' individual projects; such as, supplies, guidance, answering questions and referring back to scientific method format. Some younger students will need more guidance and support to complete their project experiment.
Focus on lab organization, safety and cleanup with many individual projects completed. (Utilize a “lab stations” format.) / Student may report their experiment in their Chemistry Journals, create a poster or record a video.
Rubric: How well did the student correctly apply the scientific method to answer a real-life question or to solve a problem related to chemistry?
(*See attached scoring guide)
Did the student make conclusions based on their experiment?