Red: Aly

Blue: Lauren
Purple: Both

Planning Tool for Engagement with Big Science Ideas​*

Note: Before using this tool, please read primer for ​Planning for Engagement with Important Science Ideas​.

The series of prompts below will help you transform common topics found in textbooks, curricula, and standards
into big ideas worth teaching. The purpose of this is NOT for you to justify why you have started out with a
particular topic. It is to help you ​question ​the topic’s importance, to ​learn ​more ​about it, ​compare i​ t against the Next
Generation Science Standards (and your current state standards) and identify the ​core ideas ​you will teach. Two
important notes: (1) In using this tool you will quickly reach the “edge” of your science knowledge. You should take
a break from working on it yourself (after Step 1 is a good time) and start ​sharing your ideas and ​questions ​about
the subject matter with some colleagues. (2) This tool is ​not linear​. You will likely go back to previous steps to
revise what you had recorded there. This is expected and it is a productive way to develop an anchoring event based
on big science ideas for your unit.

1.1 State below what your curriculum currently identifies as the main topic (just a word or phrase), then list between
8 and 10 of the most important curriculum sub-topics you also see. Topics at this stage can initially be expressed as
a process, thing, theory, or concept. For example, a curriculum topic may be the cell in biology under which you
would identify such subtopics, cell organelles, cellular transport, cellular respiration, different cells, etc.

The Atomic Theory

History of atomic model (Models of Hydrogen atom)

Atomic theory
Periodic Table
History of Chemistry/Chemists
Structure of atoms/Monatomic Ions
Chemical Bonding
Chemical Reactions- exothermic, isothermic, and endothermic

1.2 Now identify where the above topics fit with the ​Next Generation Science Standards, and the Sunshine State
Standards​. Copy and paste below all the possible performance expectations that relate to your topic (this is the ​only
part of the tool where you should copy and paste from another source).

CPALMS

S.C.912.P.8.3 Explore the scientific theory of atoms (also known as atomic theory) by describing changes in
the atomic model over time and why those changes were necessitated by experimental evidence.

S.C.912.P.8.4 Explore the scientific theory of atoms (also known as atomic theory) by describing the structure
of atoms in terms of protons, neutrons and electrons, and differentiate among these particles in terms of their
mass, electrical charges and locations within the atom.

*​
Adapted from the Ambitious Science Teaching Project at the University of Washington
http://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/
S.C.912.P.8.5 Relate properties of atoms and their position in the periodic table to the arrangement of their
electrons.

S.C.913.P.8.9 Apply the mole concept and the law of conservation of mass to calculate quantities of chemicals
participating in reactions.

NGSS:

HS-PS1-7 Matter and its Interactions

Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a
chemical reaction.

HS-PS1-1 Matter and its Interactions

Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in
the outermost energy level of atoms.

HS-PS1-2 Matter and its Interactions

Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron
states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.

HS-PS1-5 Matter and its Interactions

Apply scientific principles and evidence to provide an explanation about the effects of changing the temperature or
concentration of the reacting particles on the rate at which a reaction occurs.

1.3 How does the curriculum topic you identified in part 1.1 relate to the NGSS standards you have identified in part
1.2? Which curricular topics fall under which standards? Think about: Might you need to re-cast your curriculum
ideas to better address the NGSS Standards? Might you need to teach some of the curriculum ideas that are not
mentioned directly in the NGSS standards?

HS-PS1-7 Matter and its Interactions

This standard is related to the topics of atomic theory and the structure of atoms. It is also related to chemical
reactions. We will also need to talk about protons, neutrons, electrons and their mass to build students up to this
idea. It may even be nice to tie in conversations about the mole here/talk about conversions.

HS-PS1-1 Matter and its Interactions

This standard ties into our curricular topics of the periodic table, history of the atomic theory, and atomic theory.
Students may also benefit from a discussion of valence electrons and the octet rule.

Topics that fall under HS-PS1-2:

Periodic Table, Chemical Reactions, and Chemical Bonding. At this point in the unit we will have already discussed
protons, neutrons, and electrons in the atomic theory and history of chemistry component. Moreover, a discussion on
monatomic ions would be beneficial to the students.

Topics that fall under HS-PS1-5:

Chemical reactions, more specifically: exothermic, isothermic, and endothermic. However, we will also need to
discuss heat and energy transfer.

*​
Adapted from the Ambitious Science Teaching Project at the University of Washington
http://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/
2.1 ​Which  one of the ideas from the curriculum and standards now seem the most central—meaning they might help 
explain  other  ideas  you’ve  listed  and  explain  a  wide  range  of  natural  phenomena?  You must use more than a name 
to  express  your  idea,  ​express  it  as  a  set  of  relationships.​   Explain  your  choice  clearly  enough  so  a  colleague  could 
understand  why  you  made  the  choice  you  did.  To think about this, imagine filling in these sentences​: If my students 
could  only  understand  core  idea]_,  then  they  could  use  that  to  understand  most  other  ideas  in the unit​. ​And here’s 
why [give reasons for why your big ideas link to other ideas or have explanatory power]. 
 

The Atomic Theory The history of chemistry functions as a great introduction

into the unit of atoms. It also provides a great segway into
History of Chemistry the atomic theory section. Once the students understand
History of atomic model the core idea that all matter is made up of small atoms and
Models of Hydrogen atom make different elements based on the configuration of
Atomic theory subatomic particles, they will be able to successfully
Structure of atoms understand the rest of the unit. The structure of atoms
Periodic Table section takes a closer look at the makeup of an atom and
Monatomic Ions how different configurations relate to one another. After
Chemical Bonding the in depth look at individual atoms, the next part of the
Chemical Reactions unit focuses on how they interact with each other to form
exothermic compounds and further react with each other. Having the
isothermic previous knowledge of atoms characteristics in individual
endothermic elements will prove essential in figuring out how they
react with different elements.

 
You  will  need  to  deepen  your  understanding  of  topics  with  which  ​you  may  think  ​you  are  very  familiar.  You  don’t 
need  college  level  textbooks,  just  use  ​Wikipedia​,  ​How  Stuff  Works​,  the ​National Digital Library, Khan Academy o​ r 
other  reputable  sources.  Read  with  the  expectation  that  you’ll  have  to  generate  a  causal  explanation  (a  “why does- 
it-happen-this-way” story) for some phenomenon related to your topic. 
 
3.1  Create  a  representation  of  how  the  topic  and  subtopics  you  identified  in  part  1  fit  together. This should show a 
deep  understanding of the relationship between the concepts you wish to cover.  ​Do not write definitions or formulas 
or  trivial  details;  you  need  to  UNPACK  the  meaning  of  a  science  idea  in  order  to  consider  how  to  help  students 
reconstruct  the  idea.  This  should  be  detailed  enough  that  someone  who  has  little  understanding  of  the  topic  can 
follow. This will later help you sequence your unit.  
 
Do not copy and paste from any source. 
 
 
 

*​
Adapted from the Ambitious Science Teaching Project at the University of Washington
http://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/
(Lauren)

 
 

*​
Adapted from the Ambitious Science Teaching Project at the University of Washington
http://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/
Now we return to selecting an anchoring event or process (the observable world) and the underlying causal model
for those events (the unobservable world). Complete the following chart:

Phenomenon
Sodium metal block exploding in water
In 1978, my dad was in high school going through a unit on atomic theory and chemical
reactions. Near the end of their unit, a boy in his class stole his teacher’s sodium metal
from behind her desk. He took this block of metal and threw it in the toilet in the boy’s
bathroom. Seconds after doing this, the boy knew he was in trouble. What do you think
would have happened? How much damage was there?

Student Driving What do you think would have happened? How much damage was there?
Question

Causal story https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/ask-ethan-whats-the-quantum-reason-that-sodium-

(Explanatory model) and-water-react-ee1aef6c28ec
Sodium is a corrosive metal that burns up when it hits water. From looking at the periodic
table, one can see that Sodium has one more proton and electron than the inert gas, Neon.
Neon does not react with anything, yet Sodium is explosive in reactions. By understanding
the octet rule, one understands that Sodium is one electron away from being stable. An
atom like sodium is ready to give up its last electron.
Water dissociates into protons(+) and hydroxide ions(-). The negatively charged electron
that wants so badly to leave the Sodium atom. Because unlike charges attract, the electron
will bond with H+. The Hydrogen atom will then combine with another proton to make
H2 (which is also more stable because of octet rule). This H2 combines with O2 in a
combustion reaction, making fire.

This reaction is driven by the transfer of electrons that is most energetically favorable.

sodium

*​
Adapted from the Ambitious Science Teaching Project at the University of Washington
http://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/
What you really want There are patterns in the periodic table that tell us about the properties of atoms and
students to understand possible reactions. Molecules will react with each other if it is energetically favorable.
Students should understand the atomic theory and the structure of atoms, as well as how
this relates to physical and chemical properties.

*​
Adapted from the Ambitious Science Teaching Project at the University of Washington
http://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/