21st Century Science. C4 Chemical Patterns revision lesson.
By Sarah Baines + Lesley Johnston, TadcasterGrammar School December 2007.
Learning objectives (WALT):
  • how the elements are arranged in the periodic table
  • what can be found inside an atom
  • how atoms turn into ions
  • how the properties of salt are explained by looking at its structure
/ Learning outcomes (WILF):
  • Understand something you didn’t understand before the lesson
  • Know what you need to do before the exam
  • Enjoy the lesson
/ Hyperlink to Revision Cards from here.
Front
back
Hyperlink to lesson plan in word.
  • Resources:
As specified in plan
Starter:
Atomic structure card sort (Higher)
Students group each element with the number of each sub – atomic particle is contains its group number and its electron arrangement. You may then want challenge students to identify the charge that each element would gain on ionisation. Alternatively, groups of students could then be allocated an element and they have to make a poster/ make bullet points on a post it note of anything else they know about the element e.g. flame colour/properties/safety precautions/uses
VAK 10minutes (depending on whether you extend it or not).
(Thanks to Louise Sibley, King James’s School, Knaresborough, for this activity)
Brain gym loopy PowerPoint
Students stand up and read the contents of each slide (based on atomic structure) If they believe the contents of the slide to be correct they raise their left hand, if they think they are false they raise their right hand. A good tool for AFL.
VK 5 minutes
What was the question?
There are 2 tables which contain 4 answers each. Students are put into pairs; each partner has a different table. The students read each answer and write down a question that could have received that answer. The students fold over the sheet so that only their questions are visible, and swap sheets with their partner, who should then answer the question. Are the answers the same? If not why not? What do we need to think about in our revision lesson?
VA 10 minutes / Atomic structure card sort
Computer
Projector
Loopy PPT
What was the question? sheet
Choose from the following activities to suit your group.
You could give out a Learning List at the start of the lesson. Students could traffic light items or tick those they are happy about at the start. Any items not ticked by the end of the revision lessons will need their attention. / Learning list
Topic summary sheet: (periodic table/group 1/group 7)
Higher groups should be able to do this without a textbook. Foundation groups will need the additional support of a textbook, or may find it more beneficial to do this activity as a plenary. Give each student a copy of the map, preferably A3, and allow them two minutes to fill in as much as they can. Pair students up and give them three minutes, repeat twice with two other partners. Students could finish this sheet at home if necessary, or at the end of the lesson. By the end of the allowed time you and the students will have an idea of which ideas they are most struggling with. You could get students to write a question on a post it note, then play oral tennis (student asks a question of another student who answers and then asks their question), or discuss later as you circulate.
15 minutes V and A. / Higher summary sheet
Foundation summary sheet
Chemistry textbook
Post it notes
Topic summary sheet: (salt and atomic structure)
See above for description of activity
15 minutes V and A. / summary sheet
Chemistry textbook
Post it notes
AFL question (higher)
Students should mark the question on their own using their own understanding. When the student has marked the answers they should compare their ideas with the person next to them. Students should look at the mark out of 20 to see how close they have been to each other and then at the individual questions/answers and discuss any differences. This activity not only tests their understanding on ionic theory but it also gives them an opportunity to correct any misconceptions which they may have. (Students may need rough paper to work out the correct answers in some cases).
VA 15 minutes
(Thanks to Ben Raybould, TadcasterGrammar School, for this activity) / AFL question and mark sheet
Scrap paper
Past paper questions Higher and foundation
Students could be given these sheet to work through at home
Alternatively, put students into pairs and then split the class into equal sized groups of pairs. Print a set of questions for each group, so that each pair has their own question to start. Each pair is given a couple of minutes to answer a question before passing it on to another pair in their group. They should then collect a completed question and fill any gaps/make corrections, this continues until each pair gets their first question back. Each pair could then be asked for a top tip for revision of core content, or exam technique, or to make a statement about common errors. Briefly discuss as a class.
V A 14mins / Foundation questions
Higher questions
Answer PDF
Sodium overview
A sheet which focuses on sodium but pulls together ideas from across the unit. The activity will be most useful with Higher groups; if used early on in the lesson it would be useful for AFL. This could be used as an alternative to the salt summary sheet.
V 15mins / Sodium doc
Chemistry textbook
Remember the formula (F)
Students work in pairs. They test each other, giving the name and asking for the formula. Students keep a tally chart and correct each other.
A 10m / Formulae to learn cards.
Correct the mistakes
Students read the information on atomic structure and identify/correct the deliberate mistakes. It would be better if the students work in pairs as they can identify each other’s misconceptions through discussion of the text.
V 5-10 minutes depending on group / Correct the mistakes sheet
Hazard dominoes
Students work in groups of 3-4 with 7 cards each. The oldest lays a card down and then students work clockwise around the group. Each student in turn lays a card down if they can match 2 pictures, or a picture and a description e.g. ‘flammable’ and ‘flammable’ or ‘skull and cross bones’ and ‘toxic’. If a player can’t go they must pick up an extra card. Winner 1st to finish or the player with the fewest cards left in the allocated time.
For higher groups you could ask them to pick one of the Hazard symbols that they have been using, and describe the precautions that they should take it they see it/ give an example of a chemical which has that symbol.
VAK 10 minutes / Hazard dominoes, one pack for every group of 3/4
Periodic table wheel
Students should play a game in groups of 3-4. The game requires students to answers questions which have been split into 4 types; These are easy, okay, hard and mind-boggling questions. Each set of cards should be shuffled and placed faced down. It would be best if each group had two copies of the wheel so that they can place each set of cards down on the corresponding description, or each class of cards should be printed onto a different colour paper. The second wheel is folded, and made into a spinner by inserting a pencil through it; this is used to determine what type of question is asked. If you answer your question correctly, you score the following points:

Easy= 1 Okay= 2 Hard = 3 Mind boggling = 4

The winner is the player that scores the most points in a time limit. It is hoped that through repetition the students will become more familiar with the answers. You could spice this up by turning it into a game of atom builder. Scoring 1 count for a proton, scoring 2 counts for a neutron, scoring 3 counts for an electron and scoring 4 counts for an electron shell. Students race to construct a diagram of an atom of lithium, every time they earn a part they could draw the part on a white board until they have completed their atom.
VAK 15 minutes / Periodic table wheel
1 white board per student and a pen
Group 1 memory map
See PowerPoint for pointers on how to use this. Get an A3 version of the map and stick it up in a place where the students cannot see directly. Split students into groups of 3 or 4 and give them a copy of the template on A3. Groups have to transfer information from the main sheet to the template, each group gets eight 15 second visits to the master sheet where they have to try and remember as much information as possible, then take it back and share it with the group/write it down on the sheet. Afterwards talk to them about which pieces of information were the hardest to remember? What little methods did they have for remembering the information?
VAK 15minutes / Memory map
Memory map template
Correct the text
Students read through the passage on the periodic table and highlight the mistakes; the activity is most effective if students are allowed to talk through the sheet in pairs. Afterwards go over the sheet with the students.
(Thanks to Jan Seymour, King James’s School, Knaresborough, for this activity)
VA 10 minutes / Correct the text sheet
X marks the spot
A good way of getting students to engage with the text. This passage focuses on the properties of salt but the words have had the vowels removed. Students must identify the missing letters and write out the text underneath. Give the students time to discuss the questions in thinking pairs and get them to feedback, discuss/correct as necessary.
VA 15 minutes / X marks the spot staff
X marks the spot student
If you need to think about line spectra and the structure of atoms then there is a very good activity on the science upd8 website (C4 CSI fireworks) You need to register to download this activity
Revision PowerPoint
Students could be given access to this PPT to work through in their own time and then mark using the answer PPT. Suitable for higher students. / Revision PPT
Revision PPT answers
Plenary:
Taboo
Students work in threes, each has a pile of cards. They take it in turns to play the role of judge (to check that the taboo words are not used), the person who describes and the person who listens. The person who is describing must get the other person to say the word in bold at the top of the card without saying the taboo words at the bottom. The roles switch around after the word has been guessed.
V A 10 minutes
Blockbusters
You can do this as a class, or in smaller groups (which must contain 2 teams and a person to read the questions, in this case you need to print out a PPT slide for each group) The girls have to work their way through the tiles from one pink side to the other pink side by identifying the word which is represented by the letter on the tile. Students can choose tiles in any order, but hexagons must touch through one line if they are to count as being adjoined. The boys go from blue to blue. Pick a central tile to start, you might want to get a spokesperson for each team who will colour the tiles and be the final voice for the team.
Higher or Lower game
This game can be differentiated by how you expect the students to sequence the cards. Print off two sets of the document on card – perhaps a blue set on Halogens for the boys and a pink set on Alkali metals for the girls. Blutack the cards to the wall in two horizontal lines. Turn the first card for the boys over and put back on the wall. Boys decide if they think the next Halogen picture will be more reactive/contain more protons/ have a lower boiling point (select as appropriate). Turn the second card over. If the students were correct then they have another go. Continue. If they lost the other card that has been turned is replaced, and the other team comes into play. Winners are the ones to have got to the end of the cards.
10 minutes. V and A.
Plenary cards are also available for students to reflect on their learning, hand out a couple of cards been a group of two or three, give them thinking time and then get them to feed back on one of the cards. / Taboo cards
Computer and projector
Blockbusters PPT
Blockbusters questions
Higher Lower cards Halogens
Higher Lower cards alkali metals
Plenary cards