Sample lesson plan-The Atom

Flipped classroom lesson plan-Chemistry

Lesson Title: The Atom

Subject: Science

Level: 8th Grade

Prerequisite skills or knowledge (connect to prior lesson):
Time Requirements for First Exposure & Incentive: 10-30 minutes
Time Requirement for In-Class Activity: 50 minutes
Time Requirement for Post-Class Activity: 20
Worksheet for preparing what students will do before, during, and after the
lesson
The following worksheets were prepared for students to use:
Before class sheet
In class sheet
Homework sheet
Step 1: Define Content Scope, Learning Objectives, & Instructional Strategies
Main Objective: Students will identify the key components of an atom and create an
atomic model.
Learning objectives:

● Describe the structure of an atom
● Describe the properties of the three main subatomic particles
● Determine the relationship between an atom’s mass number, its atomic number,

and the number of subatomic particles it possesses.
● Create an atomic model.
Step 2: Student’s gain familiarity with new material before class
For students to familiarize themselves with the content prior to class they will have to
watch one the videos bellow and take notes in their notebooks. The videos bellow vary in
duration but also in the information provided, the last two being more advanced. Chose
one that best fits the needs of your students or create your own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhveTGblGHY

https://youtu.be/twqyPTv1raU

or these two

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhveTGblGHY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooWfzpUIoNM&feature=youtu.be

Step 3: Activities that motivate students to prepare before class
An email will be sent to all students containing the links to the video they have to view
before the class and guidelines regarding the notes they should take while viewing it.

Step 4: In-class activities that provide students opportunities to deepen
understanding
Engage - 5 minutes

As students enter the room, they are handed a sticker with either the name of an element,
an element symbol, an atomic number, or the Bohr diagram. The students use their
periodic tables to first find out the missing pieces of information that go along with the
information on their sticker and go find the correct note card to stick it to.

Once all of the students have done this, they find the other three members of their group.
The group checks their answers with the teacher prior to moving on to the next step of
the class. This allows the teacher to ensure that groups have been correctly formed and
helps to prevent confusion.

The students will have an opportunity to show their cards to the class. All of the cards
are collected and put on a board to be used by students later as a study tool.

Figure 1 chemistry card

Explain-10 minutes

Students as they take out their notebooks and together with the teacher they review key
information taken after watching the videos at home. Teacher may answer questions
students might have regarding the new concepts.

Explore-25 minutes

Work will be done in 3 Stations. Rotation will be done after each group has completed
their tasks.

Students are now instructed on the next activity for building atoms. We review the
guidelines as a class and then students work at different stations within the classroom.
Computers or other devices will be used.

Station 1: The students use the Build an Atom simulation, following the given instructions.

● Go to the website: http://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/build-an-atom/latest/build-
an-atom_en.html ,

● Select Atom
● Build a neutral atom of Helium. Take a screenshot and save it on the desktop.
● Select Game
● Pick one of the games to play. What is the objective of the game (how do you

win)?
● Take a screenshot of your final score.

Figure 2 Students work

Station 2: The students work with the teacher in a small group to review basic information
about atomic structure, using pre-constructed atom models.

Figure 3 3D Model of an atom

Station 3: The students choose an element and build a three dimensional model using
provided materials.

● While waiting to work at stations one and two, begin building a model of an atom
for an element of your choice.
o Select an element by marking it off of the class periodic table and writing it
here _____________
o How many protons does a neutral atom of this element have?
▪ How will you represent protons?
o How many neutrons does a neutral atom of this element have?
▪ How will you represent neutrons?
o How many electrons does a neutral atom of this element have?
▪ How will you represent electrons?
o How many energy levels does an atom of this element have?
▪ How will you represent the energy levels?
o Build your atom!

Figure 4 Atom model

All three of these activities are designed to meet the objective - Developing and Using
Models.
Evaluation-10 minutes
Prior to leaving the room, students will take a atom review quiz about the structure of
atoms on Kahoot https://create.kahoot.it/details/atom/8d9d4beb-6f92-4451-a9be-
e2ca6986763a .

Step 5: Post-class activities that extend student learning

Students will receive a worksheet to fill in while at home.

Step 6: Ongoing Evaluation and Assessment
Teacher will review students’ notes and correct the misunderstood information, while
working with them on Station 2. Although the quiz results appear instantly, the teacher
will study analytics after the class in the advanced report, to see what the trickiest
questions were and also track student effort, but most importantly to identify the students
with the smallest score. Charts showing the players progress throughout the game will be
viewed. This graphs will help the teacher understand if a specific student was in the lead
all the time or if they performed more erratically.