Digital Unit Plan – Goals, Objectives and Assessments

Unit Title: Matter Matters Name: Tom Lux, Beverly

Welch, Jessica Pham

Content Area: Physical Science Grade Level: 8th grade

Next Generation Science Standards/Performance Expectations

THE STANDARDS

PS1.A Structure and Properties of Matter

PS1.B Chemical Reactions
PS3.A Definitions of Energy
LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS

• MS-PS1-1: Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and
extended structures

• MS-PS1-2: Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the
substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.

• MS-PS1-4: Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion,
temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.

• MS-PS1-5: Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not
change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.

• MS-PS1-6: Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either
releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.

• MS-LS1-7: Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions
forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves
through an organism.

Anchoring Activity

The problem to be solved regards how matter is digested through our digestive system and what
happens as matter is digested. A video will be shown by Buzzfeed that describes and shows the
enormity of Michael Phelp’s Diet (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SvIUJVQ3dQ). They will then
spend the rest of the unit figuring out how this relates to chemistry (specifically matter) and why diet
(in terms of matter) is so important. By the end of unit, students will be able to build a comprehensive
model that shows how matter (atoms, molecules) travels through the digestive system, the phases of
matter that result at each digestive state, the energy that comes with matter, as well as the types of
changes (physical or chemical) that happen at specific stages in digestive system. To do this, students
will start with a rough model of the digestive system which they will continually add-on to after each
lesson (refine). However, the epistemic practices of NET and argumentation will also be used.

Driving Question of the Unit

Why does the diet of an Olympic Athlete differ so greatly in size than a normal human being’s?

Unit Goals---Describe what you want students to be able to do. For example, I wanted my students
to be able to know when to use the epistemic practices when I gave them verbal or visual cues.
Students will need to be able to recognize science even if it is not in the verbal form. See the article
“Outside the Pipeline: Reimagining Science Education for Nonscientists. A summary of the article is
in the appendix of this unit plan template.

We want our students to be able to pick appropriate strategies and tools to research a problem and
conduct inquiry to solve that problem. In addition, we also want students to learn the framework for
practicing science (4 practices - negotiation of expository text, argumentation,
experimentation/investigation, and modeling.

Lesson 1 – Atoms, Molecules, and States of Matter

Student Learning Objective: Students will be able to Acceptable Evidence –

recognize what matter is and what it is made up of. Formative and/or
They will able to able to recognize the three states of Summative Assessment:
matter – liquid, solid, and gas using marshmallow
The formative assessment
models. Students should start to question how matter
for the lesson is the
can be digested.
modeling of atom,
molecules, and the states of
matter using toothpicks and
marshmallows. Students will
also have to write summary
cards that are handed in at
the end of the class so that
the teacher can understand
what the student have and
have not learned.

Lesson 2 – Temperature and Energy on Phases of Matter

Student Learning Objective: Students will be able to Acceptable Evidence – Formative and/or
show and explain the effect of temperature on the Summative Assessment:
phases of matter and vice versa using marshmallows as
a model. Students should start pondering about how
food consumption and body temperature can be
related.
Lesson 3 – Physical and Chemical Changes
Student Learning Objective: Students will be able to
explain the differences and similarities of chemical and
physical changes. Students will also be able to identify
physical and chemical changes as given to them.
Students should start to wonder what parts of digestion
are chemical and which parts are physical.
Lesson 4 – Conservation of Mass
Student Learning Objective: Student will understand
and be able to explain or demonstrate how the
conservation of mass works and what is entails.
Students should be questioning how it applies to the
idea of digestion.
Lesson 5 – From Molecules to Marshmallows to Energy
Student Learning Objective: Students will refine their
models for the last time. Students will be able to put
together all the information they learned in previous
lessons into one working model with help with data that
they get from the NET to answer the driving question.
Based off the project, students should be starting to
question more about how food (matter) affects the
human body.
Students will record their observations of
the phases of water before using
marshmallows and toothpicks to model
the phases of matter and how heat is
either absorbed or released. Again,
students will have an exit card to
summarize what they have learned for the
day.
Acceptable Evidence – Formative and/or
Summative Assessment:
Students will have to analyze and interpret
data on the properties of substances
before and after the substances interact to
determine if a chemical or physical change
has occurred by completing a worksheet
(formative). Again, students will have an
exit card.
Acceptable Evidence – Formative and/or
Summative Assessment:
Students will build a model illustrating the
conservation of mass and matter using
marshmallows to represent analogs of
molecules (formative). Again, students will
have exit cards to summarize what they
learned for the day.
Acceptable Evidence – Formative and/or
Summative Assessment: Students will be
engaging in a summative assignment
(Capstone Project) where they will piece
together all of their previous models into
one comprehensive model. Students will
be able to answer the driving question as
they formulate, explain, and defend an
argument for their final model on matter
digestion.
Unit Summative Assessment

Students will take an exam consisting of 25 multiple choice, 5 fill in the blank, and 10 matching
questions. Students will also be given a choice of 2 short written response answers. They will be
given the entire class period to complete the exam. The results will inform the teacher what
adjustments need to be made when teaching the lesson next. Students will receive their feedback
the next class period. Teacher will review the test and student answers with the whole class
informing the students of correct answers and acceptable written response replies.

Useful Websites:

Free School - This is a video that defines the states of matter and its properties. If a student does not
seem to understand the teacher's explanation, perhaps this video will be of great help!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wclY8F-UoTE

Fun Science Demos - In this video by Fun Science Demos, water is used to show the three states of
matter and combines it with the idea of heat or thermal energy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8CTuj78RbY

Ted-Ed - This video by Ted-Ed fits perfectly into our unit. It covers the conservation of matter through
the use of a simple sugar molecule (remember our marshmallows?). Great site if students needs to
see the conservation of matter in real life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S6e11NBwiw

Kids Health - The rough steps of digestion. This is will help students start envisioning what occurs
during digestion and which processes are chemical vs. physical. This will be especially helpful for their
capstone project, just in case students do not remember digestion from last year's life science course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwrsL-lCZYo

Crash Course Kids - A short video that demonstrates the conservation of math with a pun. It is a fun
way to learn about the material and clear up any confusions that may be present.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lHHOiTdmK4

Times - In case students think that Olympians only eat healthy food, this website contains an article
and a quick clip about the athlete's cheat meals and what happens when they do. This is a great site
to get some extra information for the capstone project. http://time.com/5152450/olympics-cheat-
meal/

Bravo - Just in case the video that was shown in class did not have enough information, this site has
10 clips (on various athletes) and an article that can help you to understand the diets of the
Olympians. The site contains a lot of information on their diet and how that helps them perform. If a
 student is struggling on the capstone project, this is definitely a site that students will want to check
out. http://www.bravotv.com/videos/what-olympic-athletes-eat-and-drink-every-day-will-shock-you

PhET - PhET is a great site for all students. It is interactive (meaning you can play around in it!) and so
happens to have an interactive for this unit. This interactive focuses on the states of matter and
physical and chemical changes. It even has variables that students can manipulate so that they can
see the changes in state and matter. https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/states-of-matter-
basics/latest/states-of-matter-basics_en.html

Chem4Kids - A comprehensive site that breaks down the information in our unit of matter. Everything
is explained with the help of graphics so that students can more easily visualize what they are
learning. It is also a great site for students to seek additional information or to solve any of their
confusions. http://www.chem4kids.com/files/matter_intro.html

BrainPop Jr. - A fun site with videos, quizzes, and activities for students to play with. This can be a
good site for students to destress from the serious work and do something fun while keeping in
contact with the material. https://jr.brainpop.com/science/matter/physicalandchemicalchanges/

Review: Outside the Pipeline: Reimagining Science Education for Nonscientists Science, April 19, 2013.

Summary of the Article:

How People Interact with Science

Individuals have different motivations for using scientific information. Factors that influence the use of
science include social, cultural, and demographic differences. In addition, the type of science that is
useful differs from one problem or issue to another. Science comes in a variety of forms such as
experimentation, observational data or simulations or field research. One goal of science education is to
facilitate student understanding of what forms of science are best suited for the problems that we are
trying to solve. Students will need to understand that science is a flexible philosophical and
methodological human endeavor. The sub-goals of this BIG IDEA are as follows:

• Students will need to understand the context of a problem to understand what type of methods
are needed

• Students will understand and interpret the scientific principles that “speak” to the driving
questions and anchoring activities presented in the coursework. The principles will change with
subject matter.

• Students will engage in ill-structured problems, defined in personal and practical terms, to
practice using different principles and epistemic practices.

Knowing Science: From Knowing the Textbook to Accessing the Science you need

Science education should prepare more students to access and interpret scientific knowledge at the
time and in the context of need. Students will need to be able to read articles and the text book, draw
on prior knowledge to interpret the text, and be able to cross reference what is read with other
materials. This is not simply the application of science for a particular problem, this is reconstructing the
science in valid ways to construct solutions. When it comes to planning science for students some sub-
goals of this major goal are as follows:

• To confront students with an ill-structured problem or challenge framed in an anchoring activity

to extend their existing knowledge and develop concrete solutions.

• To create a learning environment where students develop the skills to recognize when and how
science is relevant in their daily lives.

• To be able to cite textual based evidence to support or refute a claim (CCSS ELA)

• To be able to convert a phenomena into a mathematical model (CCSS Math)

Thinking Scientifically: From Practicing Science to Judging Scientific Claims

Students will need to engage in the epistemic practices of science in flexible and creative ways. The
procedures that make up the epistemic practices of argumentation, experimentation, modeling, and the
negotiation of expository text are not static but are guided by the cycle of scientific thinking. Students
will rarely need to go through ALL the steps in a given epistemic procedure in order to engage in
scientific problem solving or research design. However, students will need to make sophisticated
judgments about credibility of scientific claims based on cues like publication venue, institutional
affiliation, and potential conflict of interest. In order to plan lesson that allow students to engage in this
big idea teachers will need to set some of the following goals:

• To help students understand how scientists evaluate evidence and how research is packaged for
presentation. Engaging student in argumentation and negotiation of expository text does this.
Note: expository text will need to be presented in more ways then just the textbook.

• To help students engage in peer review when teachers are planning an argument or negotiation
of expository text.

• Students will engage in epistemic practices to examine a science-inflected social problem, with
the goal of uncovering epistemic and ethical nuances at the interface of science and daily life.

• To help students engage in and interpret scientific text.

Appreciating Science: From Positive Feelings to Deep and Durable Involvement

Teachers will need to create learning environments where students develop an appreciation of science
and recognize how science influences their daily lives. Students will need to connect with science though
interest areas and following their personal curiosities. Therefore, some of the sub-goals of the work
science teachers do will be to:

• Facilitate students pursing their own science related interest, questions, and personal curiosities
through project-based; inquiry-based; and model based learning.

• Facilitate socio-scientific issue discussion in class.

• Help students identify and develop individual interest and expertise in the subject matter.

• Connect students with science resources in the community such as clubs, museums, projects,
science fair, and business that specialize in science outreach.

• Use science-based games to facilitate student interest and curiosity for science problem solving.
Empowering students to use the epistemic practices in their everyday lives and to own the
practices for life long problem-solving.