When I first introduced this topic to the students and told the students what they are going to be learning, I mentioned the fact that we are standing on the shoulders of giants in that we are always building on scientific knowledge and science involved collaboration. To get the students motivated, I told them that by the end of the topic, they will know more about the atom than the best scientists in the world did 100 years ago!

Nature of Science 10: “Students should be able to appreciate the role of science in society; and its personal, social and global importance; and how society influences scientific research.”

I asked my students if they know why the discovery of the atom and its subatomic particles might be useful for us as humans before giving them some examples such as screens in phones, iPads and TVs, and nuclear energy. 

 

Chemical World 2: “Students should be able to develop and use models to describe the atomic nature of matter; demonstrate how they provide a simple way to account for the conservation of mass, changes of state, physical change, chemical change, mixtures, and their separation.”

When I was teaching my students about atomic structure, I asked them where atoms come from and if they can be destroyed. Using this information, they began to already grasp the conservation of mass and changes of state. 

Physical World 1: “Students should be able to identify and measure/calculate length, mass, time, temperature, area, volume, density, speed, acceleration, force, potential difference, current, resistance, electrical power.”

I briefly touched on the fact that it wouldn’t make sense to measure atomic particles in centimetres or millimetres, grams or micrograms as atoms are simply too tiny. Instead, scientists developed a new measurement; atomic mass unit (AMU) and use nanometres. 

Staying well -  Bringing the students outside sometimes to work, roleplaying as the different atomic particles, building confidence by always praising and giving them the chance to read slides to help improve their literacy. 

Communicating -  Peer work and group work, turn-taking, justifying their reasoning when answering questions to improve their communication skills, friendly debate. Presenting data appropriately using google slides, excel and tables. 

Being creative - Using analogies to help describe the size of atoms, using digital technologies such as PHET simulations.