Chemistry Unit

We had a blast doing Chemistry this year to help you plan your own chemistry unit I am going to include an outline below as well as some of the resources we used and loved. I learned a lot by building this unit and changed the outline to reflect how I would do things differently going forward. We met once a week for 2 hours each lesson below is an outline for one week’s worth of lessons/labs. These outlines are to inspire scope & sequence as you plan your own class. Feel free to add ideas in the comments below to help others as they plan their upper elementary chemistry class.

Broad Outline:

  1. Introduction to Chemistry and the Scientific Method

  2. Phases of Matter Review

  3. Elements Atoms and Molecules

  4. The Atomic Structure and Periodic table (the organization of the elements)

  5. Element Reports

  6. Mixtures and Pure Substances

  7. Crystals (Boron Elements)

  8. What is Air (Nitrogen Elements, Halogens)

  9. Molecules, Compounds, and Chemical Bonding

  10. Molecule Building

  11. Unique Properties of Water

  12. Chemical and Physical Changes

  13. Oxidation (Transition metals, Oxygen Elements)

  14. Acids & Bases

  15. Large Chemical Reactions (Alkali Metals)

  16. Alkaline Earth Metals (Fireworks)

  17. Organic Chemistry (Carbon Elements)

  18. DNA & RNA

  19. Marie Curie (Lanthanides & Actinides)

  20. Element Game

 

Favorite Resources:

Click the images for links.

 

Extended Outlines

I may one day expand on this with step-by-step instructions, video and experiment links, etc. but for now, I hope this helps you as you put your plan together.

Week#1 Introduction to Chemistry and the Scientific Method

  1. What is Chemistry

  2. Safety Equipment and Practices

  3. Review of Measuring

  4. Scientific Method

  5. Chemist: Mikhail Tsvet bio

  6. Lab: Chromatography with markers, and coffee filters

Week #2 Phases of Matter Review

  1. “What is the World Made of?” by Kathleen Weider Zoehfeld

  2. States of Matter video demo

  3. Glue solids, liquids, and gas poster in the science notebook

  4. Science Demo of solids, liquids, and gases

  5. Changes in the state (melting, evaporating, condensation, sublimation) with demo

  6. Water cycle review with mat

  7. Effects of Pressure on states of matter

  8. Dry ice fun

  9. Chemist: Jabir Ibn Hayyan's bio

Week#3 Elements, Atoms, and Molecules

  1. Magic School Bus Molly Cule Episode

  2. Define Elements with legos

  3. Define Atoms and their parts

  4. Chemist: Maria Goppert-Mayer bio

  5. Make an edible model of an atom

  6. Isotopes with free isotope game from elemental science

Week #4 Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table

  1. Review Subatomic particles

  2. Chemist: Neils Bohr bio

  3. Orbitals from Theodor Grey’s Molecules book

  4. Bohrs model of the atom with Mirus Toys

  5. Chemist: Dmitri Mendeleev's bio

  6. Mendeleev’s Organization

  7. Build a periodic table with Mirus Toys

  8. Element Families with The Lesson Hub

  9. Element Report Assignment found here

Week #5 Element Reports

  1. Element Reports

  2. Build Models of Atoms

  3. Explore the table of the elements/ Elements book

Week #6 Mixtures and Pure Substances

  1. Define Mixtures, solutions, and pure substances

    1. Make lunch that has a mixture and a solution

      1. A salad for a mixture

      2. Lemonade for a Solution

  2. Separating Mixtures

    1. Evaporation

    2. Filtration

  3. Chemical & Physical properties

    1. Sorting game

  4. Lab: Sugar Crystals to be continued until next week

Week #7 Crystals

  1. What are Crystals?

  2. Chemist: Margaret Cairns Etter bio

  3. Boron Elements

    1. Define, and color the periodic table

    2. Lab: Boron crystals

  4. Open Geodes

  5. Particulate is a sign of Chemical Change

    1. Lab: Milk & Coke-a-cola experiment

Week #8 What is Air?

  1. Elements found in the air we breathe

  2. Air has mass

  3. Air density

  4. Lab: Helium car experiment

  5. Plant Respiration vs Human Respiration

    1. Demo: Plant respiration underwater or in a spinach container

  6. Nitrogen Elements

    1. Define

    2. Color periodic table

  7. Halogens

    1. Define

    2. Color Periodic Table

    3. Go downtown to see neon lights and identify different halogens used for the different colors

Week #9 Molecules, Compounds, and Chemical Bonding

  1. Molecules, compounds, and ions review

  2. Types of Bonds

    1. Covalent, Ionic, and metallic bonding

    2. Polar vs Nonpolar

  3. Noble Gases

    1. Define

    2. Color in the periodic table

  4. How to graph a chemical bond

Week #10 Molecule Building

  1. Happy Atoms Set

  2. Molecule Book

Week #11 Unique Properties of water

  1. Water as a solvent

    1. Dissolve candy

  2. Surface tension

    1. Floating paper clips

    2. Pond Skitters walking on water video

  3. Attractive properties of water

    1. Cohesion (water dropper and penny)

    2. Adhesion (make a star out of toothpicks and drop water until it sticks to each other and the toothpicks)

  4. Less dense as solid than liquid

    1. Ice floats in water…but why? (Critical thinking question)

  5. Chemist: Anges Pockels bio

Week# 12 Chemical and Physical Changes

  1. Review Chemical and Physical Properties

  2. Physical vs Chemical Changes

    1. Physical changes

      1. Break up cookie

    2. Chemical changes

      1. Make cookies

  3. Chemist: Joseph Priestly bio

  4. Types of Reactions

    1. Synthesis

    2. Decomposition

    3. Combustion

    4. Single Replacement

    5. Double Replacement

  5. Law of Conservation of Mass memory work

Week #13 Oxidation

  1. Transition Metals

    1. Define

    2. Color periodic table

  2. Oxygen Elements

    1. Define

    2. Color periodic table

  3. Why do transition metals react so often with oxygen?

  4. Chemist: Antoine Lavoisier's bio

  5. Oxidation Experiment

    1. Turn a penny green

    2. Statue of liberty video

  6. Catalysts and Inhibitors

    1. Define

    2. Talk about applying zinc to iron, painting metal, etc. to slow rust vs how in wet places like near the ocean things rust faster since water is a catalyst.

Week #14 Acids & Bases

  1. Review chemical reaction evidence

  2. Review law of conservation of mass

  3. Chemist: Svante August Arrhenius bio

  4. Define acids and bases

    1. Lab: Baking soda and vinegar experiment

  5. Chemist: S.P.L. Sorensen bio

  6. PH scale

    1. Lab: Red cabbage as a PH indicator

  7. Salt Ions

Week #15 Large Chemical Reactions

  1. Alkali Metals

    1. Define

    2. Watch videos of reactions to water

    3. Color on the periodic table

  2. Acids and Bases Review

    1. WHY are they so reactive?

  3. Nuclear Bombs

    1. How they are made, why they are so violent

  4. Lab: Elephant Toothpaste experiment

    1. identify the acid, base, catalyst, and product in the reaction

Week #16 Alkaline Earth Metals

  1. Catch up on Element families on the periodic table if you missed coloring any so far

  2. Alkaline earth metals

    1. Define

    2. Color in the periodic table

  3. Fireworks history and display (or video)

  4. Optional time filler: Magic School Bus: Ready, Set, Dough episode

Week #17 Organic Chemistry

  1. Define organic chemistry

  2. Atoms to humans (atom, element, molecule, compound, cell, tissue, organ, being)

    1. Map it out in the science notebook cut/glue activity

  3. Biomolecules (macronutrients)

    1. Carbohydrates

      1. Quick energy Source

    2. Lipids

      1. Long term energy Source

      2. Define Hydrophobic

    3. Proteins

      1. Building blocks, enzymes, etc

    4. Nucleic Acids

      1. DNA & RNA

  4. Chemist: Gerty Cori bio

    1. Lab: Cori Cycle Experiment

  5. Alcohols & Esters

    1. Happy Atom Set

  6. Hydrocarbons

    1. Often used as fuels, colorless, odorless, and combustible!

    2. Teach kids how to identify a gas leak and the importance of carbon dioxide detectors as some harmful gases are not detectable to our senses.

  7. Bonus: Fun with bubbles

    1. How bubbles work

Week #18 DNA & RNA

  1. Review biomolecules

  2. Define DNA & RNA

  3. Make a model of DNA

    1. Gumdrops and toothpicks

  4. Lab: Milk into “plastic” experiment

  5. Polymers and Plastics

    1. Pencils into a plastic bag full of water demo

Week #19 Marie Curie

  1. Documentary or biography

  2. Define Radioactivity

  3. Half-Life demo with cereal being divided in half and eaten every 1 minute.

  4. Lanthanides and Actinides

    1. Define

    2. Color on the periodic table

Week #20 Element Game

  1. Play Periodic and Ion games for review

  2. Recite memory work



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