Clark University 01/12/2017

Learning Activity Plan

Chemistry, Mrs. Phillips

  1. Content: Periodic Table

Today, students will bepresenting their projectsthat they have been preparing for the past week in which students were researching an element to create an element superhero or a detailed poster of their element. Students will also have the opportunity to present their extra credit song assignments today if they chose to do this optional assignment. During presentations, students who are watching the presentations will be required to fill out a worksheet on their classmates’ presentations and these will be due at the conclusion of the presentations.

  1. Learning
  2. SWBAT Present an organized, well-researched summary of their element’s characteristics via a poster or superhero project presentation.
  3. SWBAT analyze information from many sources and organize it in a presentable manner to present their findings to their peers.
  4. SWBAT compare and contrast the elements presented to complete their worksheets and provide constructive feedback or ask pertinent questions of their peers.
  1. Rationale:

The periodic table is a very important tool in chemistry and contains extremely useful and sometimes “hidden” information about an element that students must learn how to read in order to gain maximum use of this tool. Being able to read all of these facets of the table will be essential to students’ success in future units such as bonding, reactivity, and more. Today’s lesson and the next few days of research will serve as a means of assessing students’ ability to interpret and use this information, as well as their ability to perform productive research and present this information professionally to their peers.

  1. Assessment:

The assessment for this lesson will be a summative rubric-based assessment as students present their findings to their peers. The final assessment for this entire unit will be in the form of a final exam on the periodic table and periodicity.

  1. Personalization and Equity:

Throughout presentations, students will be given ample time to present their findings in the manner of their choosing while students in the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions to ensure all students understand the material presented thoroughly. The requirement for visuals in these presentations will be beneficial to my IEP and ELL students – particularly Dan, Brandon, Clay, and Kennedy – and the hands-on nature of this assignment is beneficial for these students as well who all excel with these sorts of hands-on, practical activities, and this will also beneficial to students who work best creatively. This also helps students who are typically shy to take on leadership roles in the classroom. The use of a highly specific grading rubric will make expectations very clear to students so students know exactly what is expected of them throughout their presentations, and the audience worksheet will ensure students are paying attention throughout the presentations.

  1. Activity Description and Agenda:
  2. Agenda

Time / Teacher: / Students: / Rationale:
0:00 – 0:05 / Teacher will begin the lesson by informing students that they will be presenting their research projects today, as well as their extra credit song projects. Teacher will give the students five minutes to perform finishing touches before returning to their seats for the presentations. Teacher will pass out the presentation audience worksheet while students put their finishing touches on their pieces. / Students will enter, listen to instructions, and then put their last-minute finishing touches on their presentations while the teacher passes out the audience worksheet. / This will get students focused and on-task immediately and give students some last minute time to prep their presentations.
0:05 – 0:58 / Teacher will ask for volunteers to present their projects and use random draw to call students if there are no volunteers. Students will have this period and tomorrow’s class to finish up their presentations. / Students will volunteer to present their research and audience members will listen to presentations and fill out their worksheets. / This will give students practice with presenting research findings to their peers.
0:58 – 0:60 / Teacher will inform the class that time is up and the remainder of the class will present tomorrow. / Students will clean up their projects and head to their next class. / This will give students enough time to gather their projects before leaving.

Homework:No Blue Books this week

  1. Challenges:

I anticipate some students may have difficulty remaining focused or working independently on this project, and so have decided to allow students to work with a partner of their choosing so long as each student presents an independent product. To keep students on task, I will circulate the room to make sure students are working productively and will ensure that students are working either individually or in groups of no more than two students.

  1. Frameworks:

3.1 Explain the relationship of an element’s position on the periodic table to its atomic number. Identify families (groups) and periods on the periodic table.

3.2 Use the periodic table to identify the three classes of elements: metals, nonmetals, and metalloids.

3.3 Relate the position of an element on the periodic table to its electron configuration and compare its reactivity to the reactivity of other elements in the table.

  1. Reflection:

This was one of my favorite lessons in this entire unit, as students were able to take full control of the class themselves and really showcase the information they uncovered through their research as young scientists. Students were very excited as a general rule to give their presentations, with some students getting as creative as writing their own songs about the elements – Clay performed a rap about Argon that I will not soon forget because of the depth of the logic and information involved in his song, and Jennifer, a student who is typically shy and does not like performing presentations, wrote a song and played it on her guitar as she sang. Another student, Voldivain, chose to perform an acting piece, portraying his character and giving a soliloquy of sorts describing his adventures and engaging the class in his unique wit. Nadia, who is often challenging to engage, shot her hand up in the air before presentations could even begin to ask if she could go first, excited to share the super villain she had made out of arsenic. I am very glad that this was the lesson I chose to videotape for this unit, as students really shined and were able to creatively (or logically) express all of the information they uncovered, and their classmates were highly engaged in watching the presentations as well, cheering their peers on as they each presented.

This lesson was not only an effective means of giving students a chance to perform research on their own and giving students practice with presenting their scientific findings to their peers, but was also a confidence builder for students who tend to struggle in some of the more technical or difficult to grasp areas of chemistry. It was a creative outlet for students who needed another means to express their knowledge and really showed me a different side of many of my students that I do not get to see in traditional classroom circumstances. It also proved to be a good community building activity for the class as students openly showed support, comradery, and corroboration throughout the presentations. Students were highly respectful of one another’s presentations, and asked carefully thought out questions of the presenters and gave a rousing round of applause to each presenter as they concluded their performances.