1. Modeling Unit Presentation
Sample PowerPoint
This PowerPoint is intended as a guide for unit presentations on July 26th. It is has been created around the Physical Properties of Matter Unit that you participated in during the first week of the workshop.

2. Physical Properties of Matter
Modeling unit 1
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to convince the class that you have created a high quality Modeling unit that everyone will want to use. Emphasize that your unit contains exciting and engaging activities that will help ALL students develop in-depth understandings of concepts addressed in the standards. It is your job to sell your unit so that all will look forward to using it. Everyone in your group should share responsibility for the presentation and the quality of the PowerPoint slides.

3. Instructional Goals
Define mass as the measure of atomic “stuff”; contrast with volume - the amount of space an object occupies.
Use a balance to determine the mass of various objects
Record the value of an object’s mass in a manner consistent with the limit of precision of the balance.
Represent class data using a histogram; use the histogram to interpret trends in the data.
Start with Instructional goals. What will students lean by the activities you planned? Highlight the big ideas and essential understandings that all student will achieve.

4. Instructional Goals cont.
Develop, from experimental evidence, the law of conservation of system mass.
Relate the volume of a container (in cm3) to the volume of liquid it contains (in mL).
Recognize that instruments have a limit to their precision; relate the data recorded to the quality of the measurement.
Given a graph of mass vs volume of a various substances, relate the slope to the density of the substances.
Note that in a Modeling unit understandings begin with an inquiry activity.

5. Instructional Goals cont.
Recognize that density is a characteristic property of matter (i.e., it can be used to help identify an unknown substance).
Use density as a conversion factor between mass and volume; apply this to quantitative problems.
Use differences in density of solids, liquids and gases as evidence for differences in the structure of matter in these phases.
Your unit may not contain as many goals as this unit but by combining it with the work of your counterparts at the sister university it may have just as many goals. Be certain the you clearly articulate the goals. Everyone will know that you have been very careful in aligning the goals to the standards so this does not need to be discussed but be prepared to demonstrate that all leaning goals are aligned with stands and to show this alignment should anyone challenge you on it.

6. Sequence Demonstration: Using particles to describe chemical change
Lab: Mass and change
Worksheet 1
Activity: Comparing units of volume
Notes on measurement, precision and accuracy
The sequence is an overview of all the activities in the unit. Be prepared to discuss the amount of time that these activities will take.

7. Sequence cont. Worksheet 2 – reading scales Lab: Mass and volume
Worksheet 4 – applications
Quiz 1
Be clear of the purpose of all worksheets. Modeling worksheets are never “busy work” but are used to continue to develop in-depth understandings. You should always have a good response to the student question, “why do we have to do this?” Don’t be surprised if a fellow participant or an instructor ask this question.

8. Sequence cont. Lab: Density of a gas
Activity: Thickness of a sheet of aluminum foil
Worksheet 5 – Size of Things
Review
Test
How will you evaluate student understanding? Are their quizzes, test and lab pracitcum activities that can be used to provide evidence that students really understand concepts and have not just memorized some facts? How will you know that all students have learned?

9. 1. Exploding Coffee Can Demo
Demo introduces the particle nature of matter
Students whiteboard speculations on what might be happening at the particle level to explain observations
Discuss each of the activities. What is the purpose of the activity? Does it do more than entertain students?

10. 2. Lab: Mass and Change
Students investigate in a six part lab if changing substances results in a change in mass of the substances
Each groups lab data is represented in histograms
Particle models are introduced to explain observations
Concept of law of conservation of mass developed from the lab
What is the purpose of the lab activity. What understandings will student achieve through the lab experience?

11. 3. Worksheet 1
Students continue to build understanding about the concept uncovered in the lab
Sample question:
Draw diagrams (at the atomic level) of the steel wool before and after the change when it was pulled apart and when it was heated
“Why do we have to do this worksheet?” You should know the purpose of each worksheet, and indeed, the purpose of each question on the worksheet. There should be a serious of well thought out questions in each worksheet that challenges students to think deeply and make sense of the content they are learning. Questions should provide a good classroom whiteboard discussion that may be intentionally ambiguous so that students can not give a fact recall kind of answer, but must think to a deeper level. Provide and example of at least one of these questions from the worksheet that you have designed. “What is the charge of an electron?” is not a good question for a modeling worksheet. Rather, ask students to compare and contrast the mass, charge, and location of three subatomic particles in an atom.

12. Activities cont. …
Discuss all activities and worksheets in a similar way

13. Transition to part B Discuss transition and coherence
Discuss the transition from part A to part B topics that your group has planned. Demonstrate a smooth transition and coherence between the work done at both sites. Remember that your task is to convince your colleagues that you have created a high quality unit for them that will be easy for them to implement in their instruction next school year, and that will result in a significant gain of content understanding for all their students. They will thank you for it.
Good Luck! This PowerPoint will self distruct by clicking the x in the upper right corner of the screen.