Ok, so I'm trying to come up with ideas for a lesson on physical properties vs. chemical properties. I love using water/ice/steam to explain the difference in physical properties and then some ideas I have seen on chemical change would be something that has been caught on fire, or something rusted, or the good ol' bake a cake to help show that once it has gone through these changes it cannot go back to the way it was and that is what makes the difference. All could be really fun to do, but some would take longer than others to show or be dangerous (fire). I'm considering the Hook to be something other than a video because I use videos a lot for my hook...Maybe a brainstorming activity to see what prior knowledge they have? Or maybe just a question on the board that they answer in their journals and then we begin class with what they were thinking? Maybe using one of the strategies here like Knowledge Mapping? I could have both terms, Physical changes and Chemical changes, listed on the board and tell them to brainstorm key terms or ideas they have about these two phrases. This would help me know how much more detail I need to go into for these two terms.
The bulk of the lesson will be showing them the different physical changes water goes through and how no matter what stage water is in, it can always go back to water. For the chemical side I might be able to have something already baked and all the ingredients beside it to show that no matter what I do to the cake, it will never be able to go back to the ingredients it started as? Or maybe I give a group of students each a cupcake and have them tell me the different parts they "see" in the cake and what I could do to get it back to the original ingredients and see what they come up with?
I'm thinking for the exit slip/closure part of class they would be shown either videos or pictures of different objects and then they have to tell me if it went through a chemical or a physical change and how they know?
I still need to think about what I could do for those struggling and those that are excelling, but I think this could be a really fun lesson!
This sounds like a great lesson! I love the use of water,ice and steam to show physical change. It's so visual and such a common thing. A wealth of prior knowledge!;) What about using baking soda and vinegar for the chemical change? You sound like you make things interesting for the kids. I'm sure they love you!
ReplyDeleteI thought about doing a good chemical reaction, just was worried it might be too much to fit into one class.
DeleteI'm glad you've got your creativity going so well. I'd say that the water idea is dependable and simple and will drive the main points home. To show chemical changes though, I'd say don't use cake but use chewy cookies. I say this for 3 reasons:
ReplyDelete1) it's less expensive for you because you can get some at the Dollar Tree/Store,
2) you KNOW they're going to want some and it's already portioned,
3) chewy cookies make less of a mess than hard ones (less crumbs to clean up afterward).
But having the ingredients next to them is great, especially because they're 5th graders so they should already know about how cookies are made - you're just illustrating a good point.
For closure, they get to eat their cookie if they can explain the differences on paper (because you don't want anyone just repeating what their classmate says), and then turning the paper into you.
Sounds like you're doing great Carrie! Keep it up. ;)
I think this lesson plan is ripe for a graphic organizer as a strategy to use. Graphic organizers can help the students work individually, or in collaborative groups, and it still steers the students in the direction you want them to go in through the prompts on the organizer.
ReplyDeleteI will try to attach a couple examples I found through a quick search on Google.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/231583605809885481/
ReplyDeletehttps://www.pinterest.com/mgraef/teaching-chemistry/
Unfortunately I cannot paste/attach pics in the comments block of your blog. Above are a couple of graphic organizers that could be used for a strategy.
Those are great ideas! Thanks Chris.
DeleteHi Carrie, I think having students make a prediction is a great opening hook! Maybe give them a list of examples and have them predict whether they will be physical or chemical, then for closure, you could have them get their predictions back out and see how many they got right:)
ReplyDeleteI love a good prediction! Thanks Parker.
DeleteI'm glad to see you looking for a variety of hooks as well. We can get into a rut, that's for certain. I'm sure our students would appreciate that you mix it up.
ReplyDelete