Introduction:
My class and I have been given a different kind of project this time. Instead of there being experiments, like in the chemistry movies, we are focusing on something more educational. Our teacher, Mrs. Vogl, wants us to help her sister who is a elementary school teacher on creating a curriculum for her 5th grade chemistry students. Our entire class was divided into new groups, mine being with Amritha S and Dalton S. For the next few weeks, we dove into making the best chemistry curriculum possible, from making slideshows, activities, and projects for them to conduct. There is a lot of information below, so be prepared!
Documents:
The order of all the Documents below is shown in the 5th Grade Curriculum Doc (below this text box). All of them are on lessons and/or work on separate days, aside from the Slideshow Doc, and are in order going down, left to right. I have labeled them so you can scroll to them after looking at the curriculum. Each Doc has a text box below it that explains what they are and briefly what thought process went into it. Another thing to note: not ALL things on the Curriculum have Docs, so those will just be underneath other textboxes.
Curriculum Index:
- Day 1: Introduction to Chemistry (Bill Nye, Elephant Tooth Paste, Flashcards)
- Day 2: Cornell Notes (Intro to Cornell Notes & Slide Show Presentation) ***Slides 1-15***
- Day 3: Chemical vs. Physical Reactions (Experiment Stuff, Vocab, Questions) ***Slides 16 & 17***
- Day 4: Introduction to Atoms (Bill Nye & Atoms Family Song) ***Slides 23-28***
- Day 5: Molecules (Molecules Worksheet & Candy Molecules) ***Slides 29-38***
- Day 6: Periodic Table (Groups, Types, Note Guide) ***Slides 18-21***
- Day 7: Power Point Project (Assigned Groups & Present to Class)
- Day 8: Periodic Table of Food (Activity Project)
- Day 9: Volcano Experiment (Quick fun Project & Talk about Reaction)
- Day 10: Introduction to Matter (Oobleck Lab) ***Slides 39-46***
- Day 11: Open Note Quiz (Cornell Notes & Flashcards)
- Day 12: Curriculum Final Project (Groups, Physical Model of an Element, Present to Class)
- Day 13: Presentation Day (Groups Present [Based off Day 12], Students Write 2 Facts about each Element Presented)
- Day 14: The Final Count Down (Fun Day & Ice Cream in a Bag Experiment)
5th Grade Curriculum:
This curriculum took roughly 3-4 days to set up what we wanted to do. For the next 4 - 5, my group and I established what different things the 5th grades would be doing on different days. We tried to keep the lessons related watching slideshows and taking notes at a minimum, while making group projects and activities a main priority. This is so that the students not only learn, but have fun learning, which in most cases makes memory stronger.
Slide Show Presentation:
This slide show, which is 47 slides, goes into depth with chemistry. My group and I agreed that they needed to know as much as they could, but slideshows shouldn't be abused. That's why, as shown in the curriculum doc, we wanted to use it almost once per day, but keep it brief and to the point. This is so that once students get a brief understanding of what they are learning that day, they will then be thrown into a fun project and/or activity that will teach them the subject better. Other things in the slides include pictures, explanations, and analogies to make the subject more simple to understand.
DAY 1: Flashcards
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DAY 2: Cornell Notes
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This Doc really explains itself. On the first day of the curriculum, my group and I will hand out flashcards and allow students to write down questions they have relating to chemistry. This will be given after the Bill Nye video is shown to them.
DAY 4: Atoms Family On this day, it starts off with a slides 23-28. The students are introduced to Atoms and what they are. After doing a slide show presentation, my group and I would then instruct them how to sing the Atom's Family song! This song will get the information stuck in their heads :]
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This Doc represents what we will be introducing as the note taking practice we want students to do. Cornell note taking is important, and my group and I decided that when we give out quizzes and tests, they will be able to use the Cornell notes, rewarding them for their note taking. After shown, the rest of the class period will be taking notes on the slideshow (more practice!)
DAY 5: Candy Molecules
On this day, students will learn about molecules through the slideshow presentation of slides 23-28, which also include a 23 minute movie of Bill Nye. After the presentation, the students will then be given a molecule worksheet to see if they received the information from the presentation clearly. Once that is set and done, the students will then do a fun project, that involves tooth picks and gum drops, to make their own molecules. This will make learning about molecules more appealing . . . and more delicious :3
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DAY 6: Periodic Table Intro and Project
On this day, students will be introduced to one of the biggest and important things about chemistry; the Period Table! After being shown slides 18-21 what it looks like, how it is set (Doc on Left above), students will then be given their first group project. This project (Doc on Right above) requires groups, which are up to 2 or 3, to pick a specific group of the periodic table, such as transition metals, non metals, halogens, etc. The group will then create a power point and then present it in front of their class. This will teach the students not only the uniqueness of the periodic table, but also how to work together with other students.
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DAY 8: Periodic Table of Food |
DAY 12: Atomic Final Project |
This Doc shows the project that is given to students this day that explains the project. The Periodic Table of Food project requires students to create their own periodic table by using food as elements (pretzels, gum drops, chips, etc.). The students will be given a heads-up on this one, allowing them all to acquire food a few days before. Once everyone has finished their tables in class, they are then able to eat all the food! >:3
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This Doc shows the final project given to established groups of 2-3 students. The groups will choose an element, create a physical representation of it, and present it in front of the class. This will be fun for the students and will teach them more interesting facts about elements of the periodic table. It will also help them with their future presentation performances.
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A Few Quick Thoughts:
When given this project, my group and I discussed what the best ways of teaching these students would be. As seen above, we had introductory to Cornell notes, which will help in the future for better note taking strategy. We also had activities written out on paper for students to read and discover what they need to do, teaching them how, in a sense, to learn on there own.
Although we thought it was important to show them more academic things like note taking and watching a slideshow, we also knew that they were 5th graders. Many usually have a low attention span and struggle to stay focused. The best way in teaching them, we established, was to also incorporating a lot of imagery, fun videos, and simple analogies to explain the chemistry. We also went back to what they learned about chemistry in previous years of elementary school. Another thing was that our class was able to send in a simple test that the students would take, not graded of course, to see if they had some background, and they did! This allowed my group and I to see what topics to review and clarify any mistakes those students made on their test.
Although we thought it was important to show them more academic things like note taking and watching a slideshow, we also knew that they were 5th graders. Many usually have a low attention span and struggle to stay focused. The best way in teaching them, we established, was to also incorporating a lot of imagery, fun videos, and simple analogies to explain the chemistry. We also went back to what they learned about chemistry in previous years of elementary school. Another thing was that our class was able to send in a simple test that the students would take, not graded of course, to see if they had some background, and they did! This allowed my group and I to see what topics to review and clarify any mistakes those students made on their test.
Reflection:
This was a very different project for me. I have done many different kinds of projects over the last few years of high school, but I have never been given one that involved creating a curriculum. Especially to 5th graders. Even though it was a lot of work, it was fun finding ideas to use in the curriculum that we even remembered from when we were 5th graders. For example, one of the first things we thought as a cool way of introducing chemistry was using a Bill Nye the Science Guy video. It was a blast watching that again after all these years. I was also was glad I was able to help a lot with the research and brain storming ideas. Overall, my group members and I really enjoyed conducting this project and hope to do more like it in the future! :D