Matter and Interactions

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Matter and Interactions

michael.hughes
What were some new learnings, something that you may have already known, or some questions you still have?  I was surprised by how deep the content and application was by the 12th grade.  I feel we are on target with our teaching at the middle school.  I also believe most teachers are comfortable with this content at the elementary levels.  Although there were no 4-ps1 standards, I did use the 5th grade standard.

What preconceptions do you anticipate your students will have about topics found in this standard?  The students may struggle with just how small atoms and molecules really are.  They may also think that cells and atoms are comparable.   They may think the particles get bigger as they heat up.  They may struggle with the differences between elements and compounds.

What are some ways you plan on addressing these preconceptions? This will be a bit more challenging than the previous lessons as this is something that is much more abstract and difficult to physically see.  This may actually include using dry ice or heat to demonstrate concepts such as expansion and contraction.  Then we can discuss that the number of atoms does not change as they are in a closed system (or as close as we can get in an elementary classroom setting.)