This lesson is for : Grade 8:
Summary
Families come in all different forms. Some families are nuclear while some are blended. Sometimes members of our families are very similar and sometimes they are quite different. Regardless of how similar or different families are, they all share a special tie that makes them related. Each element on the periodic table is unique. Like human families, elements are organized into families on the Periodic Table. Within each Periodic Table family, elements can share similar properties or seemingly have no properties in common. They do however have one common tie- their number of valence electrons. This integrated lesson allows students to explore all the ways elements and their families model human families, and individuals within those families.
TIPC Ratings
Research & Information Fluency
Rating: Ideal – Explanation: This lesson would score ideal/target for Research and Information Fluency. While student were given suggested links to use in this lesson they were encouraged to go out and find more information as they worked on their products. Students then had to assemble, organize, and synthesize their research to create a family tree for their selected element.
Communication & Collaboration
Rating: Not observed – Explanation:
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
Rating: Approaching – Explanation: This lesson would score approaching for critical thinking and problem solving. In order to complete this assignment students needed to ask questions that would relate their understanding of family structures to that of the group structures on the periodic table. With that information students were then able to create the final product for this assignment.
Creativity & Innovation
Rating: Ideal – Explanation: This lesson would score ideal/target for Creativity and Innovation. Students were asked to develop a family model for one of the groups of elements on the periodic table. This required them to synthesize their existing knowledge and researched knowledge into the analogy that the elements in their selected group were a family. Students then used that knowledge to create a “family” album that incorporated all of the elements of the family.
Student Artifact
Lesson Materials
