Summary
Students will investigate different classifications of chemical reactions. This lesson focuses on critical thinking to build context without using any actual chemicals, making it a low-budget option. However, if you have the budget for chemicals, check out the lesson Happy, Sad, Sleepy, Mad for classifying chemical reactions using real experiments – which is, of course, the best approach.
Essential Question(s)
What is the benefit of classifications?
Snapshot
Engage
Students complete a "What is Classification?" Card Sort activity.
Explore
Students predict definitions based on their prior knowledge.
Explain
Students complete a Gallery Walk to learn about the five types of chemical reactions while filling out Frayer Models.
Extend
Students create their own analogies in groups on a poster.
Evaluate
Students share or act out their analogies to the whole class.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Classification Card Sort (attached; one per pair of students; print in color)
Reaction Types Gallery Walk (attached; print one set per class)
Frayer Model handout (attached; cut in half; 10 per group)
Rubric handout (attached; one half sheet per group of 2–3 students)
Chart paper
Sticky notes
Markers
Preparation
Print and cut out the cards in the attached Card Sort for each pair of students. Consider storing them in plastic bags to keep the sets together.
Print the slides from the Reactions Type Gallery Walk and place them around the room to create five distinct stations.
Engage
10 Minute(s)
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the lesson. Use slide 2 to introduce the topic of the lesson. Display slides 3 and 4 to share the essential question and learning objectives with the class.
Display slide 5 and pass out a Classification Card Sort set to each pair of students. Introduce the class to the Card Sort instructional strategy and explain that they are to put the objects into groups that make sense to them.
Once the students are done, have the pairs share out how they grouped and why they grouped them the way they did.
Explore
20 Minute(s)
Display slide 6 with the following words for all the students to see:
Combustion
Synthesis
Decomposition
Single Displacement
Double Displacement
Tell the pairs of students that they need to reflect over everything they know, inside and out of this class, to predict definitions and examples for each of these words. To help the students contextualize, tell them that these are categories in chemistry.
Display slide 7 and introduce students to the Give Me Five instructional strategy. Invite at least five pairs to share out one prediction.
Explain
25 Minute(s)
Display slide 8 and introduce the Gallery Walk instructional strategy to the class. Explain students will go on a Gallery Walk to 'observe' the types of chemical reactions. As they rotate between the stations, students will fill out a Frayer Model for each of the reaction types. Explain that students will have 4 minutes at each station to complete the Frayer Model handout. Inform students they will put the chemical reaction as the vocabulary term and focus on a description, characteristics, example, non-example, and a representing image.
Put students into ten groups. Give each group 10 copies of the half page Frayer Model handout.
Display slide 9 and start the 4-minute timer on the slide. Once the time has stopped, groups rotate to the next poster and restart the timer. Continue this process until all groups have visited all ten posters.
Extend
30 Minute(s)
Display slide 10 and inform students they will create their own analogies to differentiate between types of reactions.
Divide students into groups of 2–4 students. Inform the students they will create a poster that has the following information:
name of each reaction type
at least one analogy for each of the reaction types
at least two chemistry examples of each reaction
Share with the class that the Rubric handout will be used to grade the posters.
Pass out chart paper, markers, and a rubric to each group.
Evaluate
30 Minute(s)
Display slide 12 and inform groups they will present their analogies to the class. Encourage them to include as many motions or skit-like behaviors to make the presentations fun and memorable to the students. Provide the students time to plan their presentation. Once groups are ready, allow each group time to present. Consider providing a time limit to make there is time for everyone.
Resources
K20 Center. (n.d.). Card sort. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/147
K20 Center. (n.d.). Frayer model. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/126
K20 Center. (n.d.). Gallery walk/carousel. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/118
K20 Center. (n.d.). Take five. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/150
K20 Center. (n.d.). K20 Center 4 minute timer [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpCsfuvzQeY