Developing a Unit

Suggestions for an Introductory Unit that extends through out the year.

SALLY SEEBODESAN MATEO HIGH SCHOOL

Overarching Strategies

• Practice and Build (add strategies and repeat)• Help students connect experiences to other courses and

world.• Ask Questions. Don’t solve all their problems, help them

solve their problems. “What do you think?”• Increase students comfort with not knowing stuff.• Give students skills for learning/figuring stuff out.• Help students guess and experiment. DO Science!• Being wrong or making errors is great for learning.• Start where you are. Do what you can.

What to Teach?

• Science Standards– Text books are often great guides for content

• Department or school wide programs• What you love

How to teach?• Do you have school wide learning programs?

(reading programs, note taking, …)• Are there department skills or techniques used in

all classes? (lab format, notebook, conclusion…) • Identify the core ideas in your subject area that

get repeated? (big ideas)– Chemistry: scientific method , dimensional analysis,

molecular behavior• Introduce these skills early, use supports to help

all learn, return to them through out the year lessoning the supports.

Traditional Scientific Method

1. State a Problem2. Hypothesize3. Design an Experiment (Variables)4. Take Data/Observations5. Analyze Data6. Draw Conclusions7. Theorem

MODIFIED SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Wheel of Wonder Observation

Experimentation

Hypothesize: Predict

PROBLEM SOLVING

ObservationTurn a classic observation lab into something surprising

• Observing a Candle• 15 - 20 min lab activity• Topics: Review senses, qualitative vs

quantitative, inference/interpretation, practice writing complete sentences (don’t use “it”), practice organization/neatness

• CFU: Practice with a class demo candle

Break to do Candle Lab

Common Candle Inferences

• The Candle is made of wax• The Candle has been used before• The wick was burned previously• The Candle produces CO2

Class Candle Demo

Candle Lab Summary

Never tell them what the candle was, ever!

They will wonder for a long time.

Hypothesizingforce hypothesizing & improve detail in hypothesis• 3 - holed bottle activity• 1 period demo and lab activity• If…Then…Format. • Teacher provides the If statement, students

write the Then statement.• Do vertical bottle with cap on as a group: work

on adding detail to hypothesis • then have students continue with horizontal

bottle and cap off experimentsInitial idea from Leslie Hayes

Do Bottle Lab

Initial idea from Leslie Hayes

Bottle Lab Summary

• Kids start rethinking things they took for granted.

• Let students guess/figure out what is going on.

• Instead of answering, ask how they might find out more.

• We will revisit this lab at the end of the unit.

Experiment: Writing Procedurehelp students plan and write clear, detailed directions

• Tell me how to make a PBJ sandwich• Demo, writing and experiment (2 days)• During Demonstration, students give you

directions, take them as literally as possible.• Students write procedures with partners• Students test each other’s procedures and

make comments/improvements to procedure.Demo PBJ

PB & J Summary

• For lab use individual baggies and ½ slices of bread. You do need a class set of PB and J.

• Encourage pictures. If EL, use pictures and key words.

• Some students have never made/eaten a PB & J sandwich. Part of your job is to help students learn American culture – make connections. (I do S’mores and Jell-O later in the year)

• Check for peanut allergies before doing. Can have student make another type of sandwich.

Experiment: Data TableMake a neat data table with labels and correct sig figs

• Metric Olympiad : 1 day• Set up a Stations Lab and teams. Have teams

pick a country to represent.• Review measuring techniques (ie meniscus, all

certain + 1 estimated digit) & units (g, L, cm, …)• After lab post team results. • Optional: Olympics’ anthems played during lab

and a medal ceremony.

Olympiad Summary

• Introduce/Emphasize a measurement includes all certain digits and one uncertain digit.

• Have students determine the number of significant figures in each measurement.

• Are all students measuring?• Assess whether students need continued

support when measuring.

Experiment: Conclusionclearly express what was done & ask new questions

• Mystery Tube Demonstration (1 day)• Write “if” part of hypothesis and students

write then part.• Do the demonstration. • Model a conclusion.• Repeat for all 4 strings • Build from class conclusion to independently

written conclusion for last string

Mystery Tube Practice

Conclusion FormatRestate hypothesis.State results.Did the results support or disprove your

hypothesis?What do the results mean? Explain, detail,

moleculesExtend the lab to new questions (what next?)

or connections to world/applications.

Mystery Tube Summary

• When demonstrating, guide results by deceptively holding strings.

• A Conclusion may not come to a definitive answer. It should guide the reader to the next logical step of study.

• Never show them the inside! Extra credit if a student can make a model and bring in to compare. Then you could look in the model.

Assessment

Design and perform an experiment to further study the 3 – holed bottle. (2 Days)

As a class: identify variables, form testable problems, and help groups with the “if” part of hypothesis.

Rubric Grading Ideal with option for redo.

Repeat through out the year• Does the Wax of a Candle melt or burn?• Separation of complex mixtures• Does the density of an egg change when you boil

it?• Find the thickness of Al foil• Find the % water in a tomato• Use mass to find the # of M and M’s in a bag• Determine mole ratio of iron and copper sulfate

in a single replacement reaction• Find the pressure in a soda can right before it is

crushed

Suggested Intro Unit (50 min periods)

• Day 1: Introductions and Candle Lab• Day 2: Candle Summary, Further Class Set Up• Day 3: Bottle Lab• Day 4: PB J Demo, students write procedure• Day 5: Students test PB J procedures• Day 6: Olympiad• Day 7: Mystery Tube• Day 8: Plan Bottle Lab• Day 9: Do Bottle Lab

Repeating Myself

• Practice and Build (add strategies and repeat)• Help students connect experiences to other courses

and world.• Ask Questions. Don’t solve all their problems, help

them solve their problems. “What do you think?”• Increase students comfort with not knowing stuff.• Give students skills for learning/figuring stuff out.• Help students guess and experiment. DO Science!• Being wrong or making errors is great for learning.• Start where you are. Do what you can.

Thank you!

Oh, yeah, the candle….