In this 24-37 day unit, students make sense of 5 phenomena to explore properties, chemical changes, and chemical reactions. Lessons center around the following phenomena: salt, fresh cheese, baking soda, yeast, and popping boba. 
 
This unit is intended to be used to introduce chemical reactions for grades 6-8. It aligns to MS-PS1-1, MS-PS1-2, MS-PS1-3, and MS-PS1-5, as well as other standards that include MS-ESS2-1, MS-LS1-8, MS-LS1-7, and MS-ETS1-3.
 
Science practices are heavily emphasized and include developing models, asking questions, analyzing and interpreting data, engaging in arguments from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
 
Phenomenon 1: Salt (7-11 class periods)
Students explore properties of matter, separation methods, and particle models. Students are introduced to atoms, elements, compounds, and chemical formulas and practice basic lab skills like measuring mass, volume, and density with simple labs.
 
Phenomenon 2: Fresh Cheese & Ricotta (3-5 class periods)
Students further explore properties of matter and particle models and are introduced to chemical changes and evidence of chemical reactions.
 
Phenomenon 3: Baking Soda & Muffins or Pancakes (6-8 class periods)
Students further explore evidence of chemical changes and learn how to identify products of a chemical reaction through evidence and reasoning. They learn about conservation of matter in chemical reactions and are introduced to basic chemical equations.
 
Phenomenon 4: Yeast & Bread (6-10 class periods; optional)
Students further explore another chemical reaction and apply many of the concepts learned in Baking Soda to this new phenomenon. They also learn about cellular respiration and are introduced to balancing chemical equations on a middle-school-friendly level.
 
Phenomenon 5: Popping Boba (2-4 class periods; Assessment)
Students apply what they have learned about properties, evidence of chemical reactions, and ways to identify the products of a chemical reaction. They develop a model to make sense of how a gel is formed when making popping boba. An optional extension encourages students to design their own experiment to further explore factors that impact gel formation.
 
Each Lesson Includes:
Teacher Lesson Plan with Essential Questions, Objectives, and NGSS standards, Lab Preparation (Materials, Ingredients, Amazon Lists when appropriate, and Tips & Tricks) and day-by-day lesson plans
Classroom Slides with directions for lesson flow, turn and talk prompts, illustrations and graphics, embedded videos, and whole group reflection questions
Student Handouts with step-by-step lab directions and other activities
Instructional Lab Videos & "Science Behind" Videos
 
Resources are shared as view-only folders in Google Drive. Classroom slides and student handouts can be downloaded, copied, and adapted for personal teacher use.
 
Teacher lesson plan and lab preparation documents are provided as view-only webpages on the website.
 
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