Welcome to Understanding Matter for middle school students! This is a 9 week NGSS aligned course designed for 7th grade students to explore matter and its properties. I love to teach with a hands-on, interactive, and engaging approach so all students can have autonomy over their learning experience. 

Students will begin by manipulating virtual simulations to observe changes in the motion of particles in relation to changing pressure and temperature. Students will use these observations to explain why we have different states of matter (solids, liquids, and gases). Once students have acquired knowledge of the states of matter they will model the atoms and molecules that make up matter by using items around the house to represent elements in different combinations and ratios. They will discuss the difference between physical and chemical reactions and demonstrate what happens to the arrangement of atoms and molecules in a chemical reaction. Towards the end of the unit, students will conduct an investigation and gather evidence to prove the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction, also known as the law of conservation of matter. In this investigation students will make predictions, gather evidence, and use evidence to develop a conclusion. 

NGSS standards covered in this course include: MS-PS1-, MS-PS1-2, MS-PS1-4, and MS-PSI - 5

Supplies needed for this 9 week course: toothpicks, baking soda, vinegar, balloon, digital kitchen scale, glass bottle, pencil, and paper. Students will also use extra materials around the house to build a model molecule but these can be items already in the house such as spare erasers, grapes, oranges, play dough, clay, bouncy balls, or whatever items they can find that are round in shape and generally uniform. 

Week 1 - An Introduction to Matter 

1 - Tuesday - Encounter the phenomenon - the triple point of water (3 states of matter)
2 - Thursday - New vocabulary game and start PhET lab investigation on temperature, pressure, and states of matter

Week 2 - Types of Matter - Solids, Liquids, and Gases 

3 - Tuesday - Mini lesson on states of matter and finish PhET lab investigation
4 - Thursday - Discuss PhET lab results and play vocabulary review game

Week 3 - Chemical Formula Writing 

5- Tuesday - Introduce chemical formulas, chemical formula format, and how to use chemical formulas
6- Thursday - Start chemical formula writing - whole group practice 

Week 4 - Using Chemical Formulas for Molecular Modeling 

7 - Tuesday - Chemical formula writing - independent practice and start molecular modeling project 
8 - Thursday - Molecular modeling work time with teacher feedback 

Week 5 - Using Chemical Formulas for Molecular Modeling (continued) 

9 - Tuesday - Molecular modeling presentations and peer feedback
10 - Thursday - Identifying physical and chemical reactions minilesson 

Week 6 - Physical and Chemical Reactions 

11 - Tuesday - Physical and chemical reaction group and independent practice 
12 - Thursday - Law of conservation of matter

Week 7 -  Conservation of Mass

13 - Tuesday - Baking soda and vinegar pre lab - develop a hypothesis and identify variables 
14 - Thursday - Baking soda and vinegar experiment

Week 8 - 

15 - Tuesday - Baking soda and vinegar experiment lab write up 
16 - Thursday - Revisit the phenomenon - the triple point of water (3 states of matter)

Week 9 - 

17- Tuesday - Unit review with Understanding Matter Kahoot!
18 - Thursday - Wrap up lesson and course exit quiz