Teacher Resources for Instructional Planning


Grade 8, Science Std 2.0: Describe the atomic structure of atoms, including the location of protons, neutrons, and electrons. • Identifying the charge of each subatomic particle • Identifying Democritus and Dalton as contributors to the atomic theory

Lesson Plans: Yumminium Students think about the periodic table and new elements that are being discovered all the time. Students will be asked to calculate the atomic mass and number of neutrons of Yumminium. Isotopes of Pennies Demonstrate that isotopes of an element have different masses; that isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons; and that atomic mass is the weighted average of the naturally occurring isotopes of an element. The Human Atom Students will act out the role of atoms by dressing up as the atoms of designated elements. They will wear costumes with balloons representing valence electrons. The “atoms” will gain or lose valence electrons in order to achieve chemical stability. The students must then identify the charges of the ions formed. The Numbers Game Find the atomic number, mass number, proton number, neutron number, and electron number. Introducing Atoms Explore atomic structure. Atomic Exploration Students will express their current knowledge of atomic structure. Groups of students will then use the internet to learn about different models of the atom, from the Greeks to the wave mechanical model. Atomic Structure The students will understand atomic structure from an historical viewpoint. Atomic Theory The objective of this lesson is for students to become familiar with the historic and scientific development of atomic theory. They will recognize the beginnings of atomic theory with the ancient Greeks, and follow its changes through to modern wave theory. How Small Can You Cut? This lesson explores how small quarks are. What is an atom? Even though we cannot cut aluminum to be a single atom, students will understand that if they have better tools, they would be able to continue the cutting process to get one atom of aluminum. Students will also understand that if they could cut one atom of aluminum, they will no longer have aluminum.

Resources: Great Periodic Table Resource Excellent resource for element properties. Chem4kids Great tutorials and activities. An Interactive Periodic Table of the Elements From Chemical Elements.com
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