Writing+about+Atoms

Writing about Atoms

Students first heard the excerpt by Bill Bryson after learning about matter. I introduced the idea of atoms with some "black boxes" (closed cardboard boxes with unknown objects in them). Students made observations and guessed the contents but since I don't know what is in them either, I couldn't verify their guesses. I likened this to the mystery of the atom which led to the Bill Bryson excerpt.

Bill Bryson excerpt

After I read the excerpt to them once, I asked them to read it again and to use reader’s marks for their ideas, questions and comments.

Thoughts on the Atom

A class discussion allowed them to compare their ideas on the following day. Many were intrigued by the end of life - Why do atoms shut down? How do we have a conscience if all we're made of is atoms?...

Students then spent the next month or so learning about the history of the atom (Democritus, Crooke, Thompson, etc.), atomic structure (protons, neutrons and electrons), chemical bonding and conductivity of different bond types.

After these units, students revisited the reading and revised their thoughts using the “atom thoughts” worksheet. They were then asked to write about their ideas and how they had changed using the team rubric.

Atom Writing Rubric