Corgi Chemical Reaction
Overview
In this unit, students will explore matter and its interactions in the form of chemical reactions. They will understand what happens to atoms when substances react in a chemical process, how chemical reactions affect the number of atoms involved (thus the mass of reactants vs. mass of products), and what the characteristics of exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions are.
Unit & Lesson Plans
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Unit & Lesson Plans
Chemical Reactions
Subject: Science
Grade level: Middle School (Grade 6-8)
Guides: Question Exploration, Cause & Effect, Comparison
Standards: NGSS, Common Core - ELA
Introduction
Thank you for your interest in Unit & Lesson Plans for the Corgi application!
The units and lessons that follow are intended to be used in conjunction with Corgi, a free, digital tool developed with the principles of Universal Design for Learning.
Each unit is aligned to national and/or state standards such as the Next Generation Science Standards or the Common Core Standards.
Each lesson utilizes the 5E Instructional Model to guide implementation.
Table of Contents
What is included in this Unit?
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Suggestions
Lesson 1: Atoms, Substances, & Chemical Reactions
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Suggestions
Lesson 2: Conservation of Mass during a Chemical Reaction
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Suggestions
Lesson 3: Exothermic & Endothermic Chemical Reaction
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Suggestions
Unit Plan
Unit Synopsis
In this 3-lesson unit, students will explore matter and its interactions in the form of chemical reactions. They will understand what happens to atoms when substances react in a chemical process, how chemical reactions affect the number of atoms involved (thus the mass of reactants vs. mass of products), and what the characteristics of exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions are.
Learning Goal
Students will understand chemical reactions, how atoms react during a chemical reaction, and that the total number of atoms does not change during a chemical reaction (Conservation of Mass). Chemical reactions give different releases of energy in the form of exothermic or endothermic reactions.
Main Ideas
- Atoms rearrange and form new molecules when substances are involved in a chemical reaction.
- Chemical reactions do not affect the total number of atoms involved (Conservation of Mass).
- Exothermic chemical reactions and endothermic chemical reactions both describe what happens to energy as a result of a chemical reaction. Some reactions release energy, whereas others absorb energy.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards:
MS-PS1. Students who demonstrate understanding can analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances during a chemical reaction, develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved, and show how energy is released or absorbed by chemical processes.
Disciplinary Core Ideas:
Substances react chemically in characteristic ways. In a chemical process, the atoms that make up the original substances are regrouped into different molecules, and these new substances have different properties from those of the reactants. (MS-PS1-2),(MS-PS1-3),(MS-PS1-5)
The total number of each type of atom is conserved, and thus the mass does not change. (MS-PS1-5)
Some chemical reactions release energy, others store energy. (MS-PS1-6)
Common Core State Standards:
ELA/Literacy - SL.8.5. Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.
What is included in this Unit?
Several key pieces are included to help you build your own unit or support a unit you have already created.
Each lesson in this unit contains:
- Essential question for students
- Key Terms
- Resources
- Lesson narrative that follows the 5E model of science instruction
- Corgi guide
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Suggestions
This unit includes a step by step scaffolding that follows the 5E model of science instruction. Please note that we do our best to maintain correct links to resources and materials. If a specific link is no longer working, please don't hesitate to contact us at corgi@cast.org.
Lesson Plans
| Lesson 1 | Atoms, Substances, & Chemical Reactions | Question Exploration Guide |
| Lesson 2 | Conservation of Mass during a Chemical Reaction | Cause & Effect Guide |
| Lesson 3 | Exothermic & Endothermic Chemical Reaction | Comparison Guide |
Methods of Assessment
Option A: Use your district’s current curriculum and suggested assessment designed to consider learner variability.
Option B: Select self-assessments, peer assessments, writing assignments, exams, etc. that allow students to reflect on their learning and demonstrate their understanding.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Suggestions
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for teaching and learning that guides the design of inclusive, accessible, and challenging learning environments. The framework is grounded in three principles:
- Design multiple means of engagement
- Design multiple means of representation
- Design multiple means of action and expression
CAST’s UDL Guidelines were developed to support practitioners to apply these three principles to practice.
While this unit was not explicitly designed through a UDL lens, UDL can be used as a tool to reduce existing barriers and increase access to the unit learning goal as well as to individual lesson goals. Below is an overview of how UDL might be applied to this unit. We’ll also offer more specific ideas for applying UDL at the end of each of the lessons associated with this unit.
Anticipate Potential Barriers
The UDL framework can support educators to reframe their understanding of barriers: from locating barriers within individual students to locating barriers within the design of the learning environment. Here we brainstorm potential barriers that learners may encounter in the design of the unit. Please note that these are just examples to get you thinking about the potential barriers in your own unique context.
Are there barriers to engagement? (connection to students’ lives, location, grouping, noise level, etc.)
The design of the unit/lessons may need to do more to spark students’ curiosity based on their unique interests, goals, and contexts. The design may need to better emphasize why the topics are meaningful and important to explore. The design may also need to more fully support students to make connections to their own lives, communities, and questions they care about.
Categorizing chemical reactions can pose barriers to students due to the molecular nature of the reactions and the need for familiarity with elements.
Are there barriers to the representation of content? (oral, written, etc.)
These lessons consist of multimedia presentations with text, graphics, videos, and infographics. Some videos may need captions, or some captions don’t turn on automatically. The videos may also need a written transcript so students can follow along for key ideas, vocabulary, and note-taking. Further, the content shares mathematical and scientific notation and complex mathematical relationships that may also act as barriers to students engaging with the ideas. Finally, several of the lessons contain non-interactive PDFs that do not allow students to highlight or make comments.
Are there barriers to action and expression? (writing, speaking, planning, etc.)
While the Corgi guides embed multiple options for students to share their ideas (text, images, and speech-to-text), it is important to anticipate barriers to students being able to express their ideas in other associated activities.
Address Learner Variability
Here we brainstorm ways to address the potential barriers described above. Again, please note that these approaches to reducing barriers and increasing access to the learning goals are just examples to get you thinking. We know that every context is unique.
How will you address barriers to engagement?
The Engagement Guidelines prompt us to consider the following questions when addressing barriers to engagement:
- Are there options for choice, relevancy, and minimizing distractions?
- Are there options for sustaining effort and persistence?
- Are there options for supporting and developing self-regulation and self-assessment?
Barriers to learners’ engagement and multiple pathways to engage students will be addressed through the supplementary resources, survey questions, and videos throughout each lesson.
With regard to the anticipated barriers around supporting students to find meaning and relevance, consider creating spaces for students to make connections to their own lives, their communities, and issues that they care about. For example, students could observe the process of oxidation through different materials and the process of rusting, cooking an egg or other protein such as a steak under high heat, or by learning more about the digestive system.
And, to address the anticipated barriers associated with categorizing chemical reactions, consider using everyday examples to support students to conceptualize the process. You could use examples such as:
- Most cars get their power from an engine that uses a combustion chemical reaction. Combustion is a high-temperature chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant. Fire is a chemical chain reaction that takes place with the evolution of heat and light. In order for a fire to take place, there are 3 main ingredients that must be present: oxygen, heat, and fuel.
- Washing your hands with water isn’t a chemical reaction because you are just mechanically rinsing away dirt. But, if you add soap, chemical reactions occur that affect grease and oils in your skin, so you can remove dirt and bacteria. Even more chemical reactions occur in laundry detergent, as substances break apart body soil, dirt, foods, etc. to clean clothes.
We encourage you to collaborate with your students and co-design ways to address other barriers to engagement that may emerge throughout this unit.
How will you address barriers to representation?
The Representation Guidelines prompt us to consider the following questions when addressing barriers to representation:
- Are there options for audio/visual/display of info?
- Are there options to access language, math, and symbols?
- Are there options to build background knowledge, construct meaning, and generate new understandings?
The supplementary resources and videos have been constructed to offer multiple ways of representing information as well as the mixed media within each lesson/activity.
With regard to captions that don’t turn on automatically, support students to learn how to use and turn on/off the closed caption option. Also, transcripts of the videos should be made available for students.
With regard to the anticipated barriers around the lack of captions and transcripts, consider transcribing tools like Otter.ai, rev, and Express Scribe. Further, free screen readers such as TextHelp Read & Write, ChromeVox, or NVDA can assist students with online articles. Finally, to reduce the barriers associated with non-interactive PDFs, consider free PDF tools such as Bit.ai and Jotform.
We encourage you to collaborate with your students and co-design ways to address other barriers to representation that may emerge throughout this unit.
How will you address barriers to action and expression?
The Action and Expression Guidelines prompt us to consider the following questions when addressing barriers to acting on ideas and communicating:
- Are there options for physical action?
- Are there options for multiple communication tools?
- Are there options for varying levels of support?
- Are there options for goal setting, strategy development, and self-monitoring?
The Action and Expression Guidelines can offer ideas for embedding varied ways for learners to communicate ideas, share understandings, and work toward goals in the associated activities throughout this unit.
With regard to the anticipated barriers around physical action and physical space, consider encouraging learners to find learning spaces that work best for them (e.g. a quiet space, a space with natural lighting, etc.) and spaces that offer room to move or stand.
We encourage you to collaborate with your students and co-design ways to address other barriers to action and expression that may emerge throughout this unit.
Review the following link for a complete interactive overview of the UDL Guidelines.
Lesson 1: Atoms, Substances, & Chemical Reactions
Essential Question
What happens to atoms when substances are involved in a chemical reaction?
Key Terms
Atoms
Chemical reaction
Chemical bond
Molecule
Reactants
Products
Precipitate
Compounds
Elements
Resources
Video: Importance of Chemistry in Life, Everyday Uses - Binogi.app Chemistry
Video: Indications of Chemical Change
Video: What is a Chemical Reaction? | Chapter 6
Video: Introduction to Chemical Reactions
Website: ‘Reactants, Products, and Leftovers’
Sample Corgi Guide: Question Exploration - Atoms, Substances, and Chemical Reactions (To be able to view the guide you must be logged in to Corgi)
Lesson Narrative
Engage:
The instructor shares the agenda, learning goal, and assessment criteria with the class.
The instructor shares a link to a blank Corgi Question Exploration Guide with each student via email or Google Classroom.
The class reviews the Question Exploration Guide steps together.
The instructor shares the video, Importance of Chemistry in Life, Everyday Uses - Binogi.app Chemistry with the class. This is a pre-activity for this unit.
For the lesson, the instructor introduces the essential question and key terms to the class and directs each student to complete Steps 1 and 2 in their guides.
The instructor shares the video, Indications of Chemical Change with the class.
The instructor invites students to share their background knowledge and facilitates a whole-class discussion using the prompts:
- Generally: What observations did you make before and after the substances were put together?
- Then ask specifically, if needed: What do you notice about the color of the materials?
- What do you notice about the temperature of the materials?
- Do you notice any bubbling that indicates a gas was produced?
- Did you hear anything?
- Did you notice anything left behind after the reaction that wasn’t there before (a precipitate)?
The instructor divides the class into groups of 3 to 4 students. In small groups, the students complete Step 3 of the guide by applying their understanding from the video.
Explore:
The instructor invites students to interact with 'What is a Chemical Reaction?' that helps students to build their own understanding through common experiences and build vocabulary for whole group discussion.
The instructor reconvenes the class to recap the exploration and invites students to share their findings.
Explain:
To develop an understanding of the relationship between atoms, molecules, substances, and chemical reactions, the instructor directs each student to watch, Introduction to Chemical Reactionsand posts the following inquiries for students to independently explore:
- What is a chemical reaction?
- What signs suggest that a chemical reaction has occurred?
- How can understanding these signs help us identify new substances?
- What does this tell you about energy and matter?
To further enhance students’ understanding, the teacher has the students explore ‘Reactants, Products, and Leftovers’ to understand how atoms rearrange during chemical reaction and further develops vocabulary. The teacher directs them to either independently or in small groups of 2 to 3 complete the Corgi Guide, ‘Question Exploration’ with their new understandings.
Elaborate:
Use the Corgi presentation feature to create a slide deck and have learners present their thinking.
Evaluate:
Option A: Use your district’s current curriculum and suggested assessment designed to consider learner variability.
Option B: Select self-assessments, peer assessments, writing assignments, exams, etc. that allow students to reflect on their learning and demonstrate their understanding.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Suggestions
Here we brainstorm potential barriers that learners may encounter in the design of the lesson. Please note that these are just examples to get you thinking about the potential barriers in your own unique context.
Potential barrier:
- Anticipating the barrier: The activity ‘Reactants, Products, and Leftovers’ does not interact with screen readers or tab navigation.
- Addressing the barrier: Replace the activity ‘Reactants, Products, and Leftovers’ or offer an alternative, Combustion of Methane multimedia presentation.
Potential barrier:
- Anticipating the barrier: The video Indications of Chemical Changepresents several barriers to representation. There are no captions, and the 2nd and 3rd reactions are not fully described.
- Addressing the barrier: To address the lack of captions, consider creating a voice-over or running the video through a free captioning service like Otter.ai to create a transcript. Consider describing the 2nd reaction off-screen to clarify the video. The 3rd reaction is pure sodium (Na) in water. Consider informing students of the water as they observe the reaction.
Lesson 2: Conservation of Mass during a Chemical Reaction
Essential Question
How does a chemical reaction affect the total mass of the system involved?
Key Terms
Chemical reaction
Reactants
Products
Resources
Video: Introduction to Chemical Reactions
Website: Wait, Weight, Don't Tell Me!
Video: Subscripts and Coefficients
Video: Formulas and Subscripts
Handout: Chemical Reaction and Mass of an Atom
Sample Corgi Guide: Cause & Effect - Conservation of Mass during a Chemical Reaction (To be able to view the guide you must be logged in to Corgi)
Lesson Narrative
Engage:
The instructor shares the agenda, learning goal, and assessment criteria with the class.
The instructor shares a link to a blank Corgi Cause & Effect Guide with each student via email or Google Classroom.
The class reviews the Cause & Effect Guide steps together.
The instructor introduces the essential question and key terms to the class and directs each student to complete Steps 1 and 2 in their guides.
The instructor invites students to share their background knowledge and facilitates a whole-class discussion using the prompts:
- What would you expect to happen to the mass when atoms recombine in a chemical reaction?
- What can you hypothesize about the relationship between chemical reactions and their effect on the total mass of an atom?
- In what ways is the mass of a molecule affected?
The instructor shares, Introduction to Chemical Reactions with the class.
The instructor divides the class into groups of 3 to 4 students. In small groups, the students complete Step 3 of the guide by applying their understanding from the video.
Explore:
Option A: Use your district’s current curriculum and suggested activities designed to consider learner variability.
Option B: Use supplemental articles, online simulations or experiments, jigsaw routines, visual thinking routines, etc. to explore.
The instructor invites students to interact with ‘Wait, Weight, Don’t Tell Me!’ that helps students to build their own understanding through common experiences and build vocabulary for whole group discussion.
The instructor reconvenes the class to recap the exploration and invites students to share their findings.
Explain:
To develop an understanding of how the total mass of an atom is affected by a chemical reaction, the instructor shows, Subscripts and Coefficients.
To further enhance students’ understanding, have students review Formulas and Subscripts, and invite them to either independently or in small groups of 2 to 3 explore the following inquiries:
- How can you identify the types of atoms in a molecule?
- What is a subscript? What does it tell you about the atoms in a molecule?
- What is a coefficient? What does it tell you about the number of atoms in a molecule?
The instructor guides each student to the review handout, Chemical Reaction and Mass of an Atom, and posts the following inquiries for students to explore:
- What do you notice about the total number of reactant atoms and product atoms?
- How would the mass of the reactant atoms compare to the mass of the product atoms?
The teacher directs them to either independently or in small groups of 2 to 3 complete the Corgi Guide, ‘Cause & Effect’ with their new understandings.
Elaborate:
Use the Corgi presentation feature to create a slide deck and have learners present their thinking.
Evaluate:
Option A: Use your district’s current curriculum and suggested assessment designed to consider learner variability.
Option B: Select self-assessments, peer assessments, writing assignments, exams, etc. that allow students to reflect on their learning and demonstrate their understanding.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Suggestions
Here we brainstorm potential barriers that learners may encounter in the design of the lesson. Please note that these are just examples to get you thinking about the potential barriers in your own unique context.
Potential barrier:
- Anticipating the barrier: The activity ‘Wait, Weight, Don’t Tell Me!’ may pose a barrier because it asks students to conduct experiments in their home under supervision.
- Addressing the barrier: If there are barriers to conducting the experiment from ‘Wait, Weight, Don’t Tell Me!’, they can watch the video.
Potential barrier:
- Addressing the barrier: The terms’ subscript and coefficient may be unfamiliar.
- Anticipating the barrier: It may be helpful to display or send out a legend describing subscript and coefficient and definitions after a group discussion.
Lesson 3: Exothermic & Endothermic Chemical Reactions
Essential Question
How do exothermic chemical reactions and endothermic chemical reactions compare in relation to the absorption and/or release of energy?
Key Terms
Exothermic chemical reaction
Endothermic chemical reaction
Resources
Video:demonstration of exothermic and endothermic reactions
Website: Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions Experiment | Science project | Education.com
Website: ‘Endothermic vs. Exothermic’
Website: Examples of Physical Changes and Chemical Changes
Handout: Chemical vs. Physical Change
Sample Corgi Guide: Comparison - Exothermic & Endothermic Chemical Reaction (To be able to view the guide you must be logged in to Corgi)
Lesson Narrative
Engage:
The instructor shares the agenda, learning goal, and assessment criteria with the class.
The instructor shares a link to a blank Corgi Comparison Guide to each student via email or Google Classroom.
The class reviews the Comparison Guide steps together.
The instructor introduces the essential question and key terms to the class (without defining them) and directs each student to complete Steps 1 and 2 in their guides with the information.
The instructor invites students to share their background knowledge and facilitates a whole-class discussion using the prompts:
- Can you think of an example of something that gives off heat?
- Can you think of an example of something that becomes cold?
The instructor shares, demonstration of exothermic and endothermic reactions with the class.
The instructor divides the class into groups of 3 to 4 students. In small groups, the students complete Step 3 of the guide by applying their understanding from the resource.
Explore:
The instructor invites students to complete the activity, ‘Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions Experiment’ that helps students to build their own understanding through common experiences and build vocabulary for whole group discussion.
The instructor reconvenes the class to recap the exploration and invites students to share their findings.
Explain:
To develop an understanding of the differences between exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions, the instructor asks the students to read an explanation on ‘Endothermic vs. Exothermic’.
To further enhance students’ understanding of the differences between exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions, have students determine if the exothermic processes and endothermic processes listed in the handout, Chemical vs. Physical Change, are examples of a physical change or a chemical reaction. If additional help is needed, check out ‘Examples of Physical Changes and Chemical Reactions’.
The instructor directs students to either independently or in small groups of 2-3 complete the Corgi Guide, ‘Comparison’ with their new understandings.
Elaborate:
Use the Corgi presentation feature to create a slide deck and have learners present their thinking.
Evaluate:
Option A: Use your district’s current curriculum and suggested assessment designed to consider learner variability.
Option B: Select self-assessments, peer assessments, writing assignments, exams, etc. that allow students to reflect on their learning and demonstrate their understanding.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Suggestions
Here we brainstorm potential barriers that learners may encounter in the design of the lesson. Please note that these are just examples to get you thinking about the potential barriers in your own unique context.
Potential barrier:
- Anticipating the barrier: The activity ‘Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions Experiment’ may pose a barrier because it requires students to conduct experiments in their home under supervision.
- Addressing the barrier: If there are barriers to conducting the experiment (‘Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions Experiment’ ) students can utilize the ck-12 simulation Hot Pack Cold Pack (Conservation of Energy in Chemical Reactions, Heat of Solution, Hess's Law of Heat Summation) | Chemistry | CK-12 Exploration Series as a supplement or learning extension.
Potential barrier:
- Anticipating the barrier: Oftentimes online articles do not include a screen reader built into them.
- Addressing the barrier: A free screen reader such as TextHelp, ChromeVox, or NVDA can assist students with online articles such as ‘Endothermic vs. Exothermic’.
Potential barrier:
- Addressing the barrier: The handout Chemical vs. Physical Change has many complex reactions listed that may be unfamiliar to students.
- Anticipating the barrier: As an alternative, have students circle reactions on the Chemical vs. Physical Change that they can identify and explain to another student.