Lesson oNE
What is an atom?
Science
Grade 8
A s ki ng Q u es t io n s, C o n st ru ct in g Exp l an a tio ns , an d
O bt ai ni ng , E va lu a ti ng, an d Co m m un ic a ti ng In fo r m at io n
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
90
minutes
R e ad in g I nfo r m at io n a l T e xt , W r it in g an Ex pl a na tio n
PURPOSE
In this lesson, students learn about the basic structure of atoms. Students gather information from a
variety of informational sources, including text excerpts and videos, to answer the question: What is
an atom? Throughout the lesson, students consider these different sources of information to
develop, review, and revise their understanding of atoms and their basic components.
STANDARDS
Com mo n Cor e S ta te S ta n da r ds
•
D et er m i n e t h e c en tr al id e as o r co nc lu s io n s o f a t e xt ; pro vi d e a n a c cu ra t e
su m m ar y o f th e t ex t d i st in c t f ro m p rio r kno w le dg e o r o p in io ns .
C CS S. E LA - LI T ER A CY .R S T. 6- 8.2
•
D ev el o p th e to p i c w it h re l ev an t, w el l -c ho s en fa c ts , d e fi ni tio n s, co nc re t e
de t ai ls , q uo ta ti o n s, o r o th er i nfo r ma ti o n a nd e xa m pl e s. C C SS .E LA LI T ER A CY .W H S T. 6-8 .2 . B
•
Us e pr e ci s e la ng ua g e an d do m a in - sp e ci fi c v o c ab ul ar y to i nfo r m ab o ut o r
e xpl a in th e to p i c. C C S S. ELA -L I TE R A CY. W H S T. 6 -8 .2. D
•
Ga th e r r el e va nt i nfo r m at io n fr o m mu l tip l e p ri nt an d d ig it a l so u rc e s,
us in g s e ar c h te r m s eff e ct iv e ly ; a s s es s th e c r e dib il it y an d a cc ur a cy o f
e ac h so ur c e; an d q uo t e o r p ar ap hr as e t he d a ta a nd co n cl us io n s o f o th er s
wh il e avo id in g p la gi ar i s m an d fo ll o w in g a s t a nd ard fo r m a t f o r ci t at i o n.
C CS S. E LA - LI T ER A CY .W HS T .6- 8.8
Lesson ONE
Formative Assessment
Lesson Plans
W ha t i s a n a t o m?
STANDARDS Continued
Com mo n Cor e S ta te S ta n da r ds
•
Dr aw e vi d en c e f ro m in fo r m at io na l t e x ts to s u ppo r t an al y si s, r ef l ec ti o n,
an d r e s ea r ch. CC S S. EL A -L I TER A CY. W H S T.6 -8 . 9
•
In t egr a te mu lt i m ed i a a nd v i su al di sp l ay s in to pr es e nt a tio n s to c l ar if y
inf o r m at io n, st r eng t he n c l ai m s an d ev id e nc e , an d ad d i nt e re s t.
C CS S. E LA - LI T ER A CY .S L. 8.5
N ex t Ge ne ra ti o n S ci e nc e S ta n da r ds
•
D ev el o p mo d el s to d e s cr ib e th e a to mi c co m p o si ti o n o f si m pl e m o l e cu l es
an d ex t en d ed st ru c tur e s. M S - PS -1 -1
•
Str u ct ur e s an d Pro p ert ie s o f M a tt er . P S1.A
Sub s ta n c es a r e m ad e f ro m d if fe r en t t yp e s o f ato m s , w hi c h co mb in e wi th
o n e a no th er i n v ar io u s wa y s. A to m s fo r m m o l e cu l es t ha t r a ng e in s i z e
fro m two to t ho u s an ds o f ato m s .
So l id s m a y b e fo r m e d fro m mo l e cu l es , o r t h e y m ay b e ex t en d ed
st ru ct ur e s wi th r ep e at i ng su bu ni ts ( e. g. , cr ys t al s) .
S ci e nce a n d En gi ne er i n g Pra cti ces
•
A s ki ng qu e st io n s a nd de fi ni ng pro b l e m s
•
Co ns tr u ct in g exp l an a ti o ns a nd d es ig ni ng so l ut io n s
•
O bt ai ni ng , ev al ua t ing , an d co m m un ic a ti ng in fo r m at io n
LEARNING GOALS
Understand that atoms are made up of three particles.
Explain the basic structure of an atom.
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Lesson ONE
W ha t i s a n a t o m?
Formative Assessment
Lesson Plans
1
Identify the three particles that makeup an atom.
2
Construct a written explanation of the basic make up of atoms.
3
Identify main ideas and supporting details from text.
4
Reference relevant and appropriate evidence from the texts to support
explanation of atomic makeup.
SUMMARY OF LESSON TASKS
1
Read and annotate: Middle School Chemistry Chapter 4.
2
Complete Double Entry Journal and discuss.
3
Watch video and discuss: A Boy and His Atom (1:33).
4
Record conjectures.
5
Watch two IBM Atomic Shorts videos and compare conjectures: How to
Move an Atom (1:55) and Ripples on the Surface (0:57).
6
Write an explanation.
Write a one to two-paragraph explanation in response to the question, “What is an
atom?” Reference and include information from the reading and videos, as well as
your relevant personal experience and knowledge about atoms. Support your claim
with evidence. Cite your sources.
PART I: INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCE THE TOPIC Explain that today students will learn about the basic
structure of an atom. Ask students to think about the question, “What is an atom?” Ask
students to begin a Double Entry Journal in their Science Notebooks, recording what they
know about atoms in the first column and recording the source, or how they know, in the
second column.
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Lesson ONE
Formative Assessment
Lesson Plans
W ha t i s a n a t o m?
READ AND ANNOTATE Provide students with a copy of the text Middle School
Chemistry Chapter 4
(https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKE
wihoqTu7pvNAhUP22MKHY5gAKoQFggcMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.middlescho
olchemistry.com%2Fpdf%2Fchapter4%2Fchapter4_student_reading.pdf&usg=AFQjCNG2S
JtMVr8DTxmdUWqBly4qN_pkQ&sig2=HOQzN9QqOCzsYP0PmfyDaw&bvm=bv.1240881
55,d.cG). The text excerpt provides information about the parts of an atom. Remind
students of the original question for the lesson: What is an atom? Students read and annotate
the text for main idea and supporting details, also using the lesson question to guide their
reading. If this is your students’ first experience with annotation, you will want to spend
some time introducing annotation, its purpose, and the different symbols associated with the
different types of information annotated. Modeling how to annotate the text will also be
important if students are unfamiliar with the process of annotation.
COMPLETE DOUBLE ENTRY JOURNAL AND DISCUSS Students
revisit the Double Entry Journal, recording main ideas and supporting details when they
finish reading and annotating the text. Remind students to paraphrase the information from
the text. Students discuss their Double Entry Journals in pairs or small groups, comparing
main ideas and supporting details in preparation for a whole-class discussion.
•
Identify main ideas and supporting details from text.
While students complete their Double Entry Journals, check that students
have identified appropriate main ideas and supporting details.
ANTICIPATED RESPONSE
PEDAGOGICAL ACTION
If you notice that many students have difficulty identifying main ideas
and/or supporting details, bring the whole group together and model
annotation for a portion of the text.
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Lesson ONE
Formative Assessment
Lesson Plans
W ha t i s a n a t o m?
DISCUSS AS A WHOLE CLASS Have students use their completed Double
Entry Journals to support them in participating in a whole class discussion about the
question, “What is an atom?”
SUCCESS CRITERION
EVIDENCE-GATHERING OPPORTUNITY
Identify the three particles that makeup atoms.
• Reference relevant and appropriate evidence from texts to support
explanation of atomic makeup.
•
During the whole class discussion, check students’ understanding of atomic
makeup, including the use of language: protons, neutrons, electrons. Use
this as an opportunity to assess the degree to which students reference
evidence from the text to support their discussion. You can also observe
how students use the Double Entry Journal as an aid to support their ability
to engage in classroom discussion.
If you notice students require assistance expressing their ideas or using
appropriate evidence, use the following prompts to support discussion:
Help me understand. What information in the text makes you say that?
• What evidence do you have to support your assertion?
• How does your idea connect with
’s thinking?
•
PART II: guided practice
WATCH VIDEO AND DISCUSS Now that students have a basic understanding
of the structure of atoms and an evolving understanding of the role that electrons and
protons play, students engage in a thought exercise involving a short stop-animation movie
made with atoms. Introduce the short film A Boy and His Atom (1:33)
(https://youtu.be/oSCX78-8-q0). The video was created by a group of IBM researchers who
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Lesson ONE
Formative Assessment
Lesson Plans
W ha t i s a n a t o m?
used atoms to tell the story. Tell students to watch the short movie and, as they do, think
about the question, “How did researchers move and capture atoms to create this film?”
RECORD CONJECTURES AND DISCUSS Give students time to work with
their table groups and formulate initial conjectures about what might be happening, basing
these on their current knowledge of atomic structures. In small groups, students record their
ideas and evidence for their ideas in a Double Entry Journal format. They should use this as
preparation for discussing their thinking in a whole group. You may want to assign group
roles, including a recorder, in preparation for discussion. Engage students in a whole class
discussion in response to the question, “How did researchers move and capture atoms to
create this film?” You may choose to chart students’ conjectures in a whole class Double
Entry Journal chart. You can return to the chart later in the lesson to model revision.
WATCH IBM ATOMIC SHORTS VIDEOS AND COMPARE
CONJECTURES Introduce two behind-the-scenes videos: How to Move an Atom
(1:55) (https://youtu.be/rNf-A3m6HVo) and Ripples on the Surface (0:57)
(https://youtu.be/bZ6Hv_du2Zo). Explain that the videos discuss how researchers were
able to capture and manipulate the atoms for the film. Provide time for students to discuss
what researchers did to capture and animate the atoms for the film in their small groups.
Remind students to focus their discussions on atomic structure. Students should then
If students do not readily see how their explanation is different from the
researchers’ or understand how researchers were able to capture and animate
the atoms, support students in making connections to the main ideas of the
text and the notes in their Double Entry Journals.
PART III: culminating task
WRITE AN EXPLANATION All four Success Criteria should be addressed in the
final task. Students write an explanation that demonstrates understanding of the basic
structure of an atom. They use the notes in their Science Notebooks for support as they
write the explanation, making reference to relevant and appropriate evidence from text,
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Lesson ONE
Formative Assessment
Lesson Plans
W ha t i s a n a t o m?
videos, and discussions. Explanation includes:
•
•
a basic description of an atom and the three particles that are part of its basic
structure: protons, neutrons, electrons
relevant and appropriate supporting evidence and reasoning
Vi de os
•
•
Just How Small are Atoms? - http://ed.ted.com/lessons/just-how-small-isan-atom
The Sound of Moving Atoms - https://youtu.be/FbLvy-ayi4A
A u di o a n d T ra ns c ri p t
•
Picturing Atoms - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/atomselectrons.html
S i mu l a ti o n
•
Build an Atom - https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/build-an-atom
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Lesson ONE
W ha t i s a n a t o m?
Formative Assessment
Lesson Plans
DOUBLE ENTRY JOURNAL
What is an atom?
How do you know? What is your
evidence? Cite your source.
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