Social

Science
Wetlands
Overview

This 60-minute science lesson will wrap up the chemistry unit by

doing the diet coke and Mentos experiment, and then start
looking at the Wetlands unit.

Objectives
Recognize and describe one or more examples of wetland
ecosystems found in the local area; e.g., pond, slough, marsh,
bog, fen.
Produce carbon dioxide gas through the interaction of solids and
liquids, and demonstrate that it is different from air.
Personal Goal: I think that the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment
will cause a lot of excitement with the students. My goal is to
keep their behavior under control and quickly return them to a
calm and quiet state so that we can discuss our results and
begin our next unit.

Activities
05minutes:Anticipatoryset:IwillgooverourDietCokeandMentos
experiment,andseewhatpredictionsstudentshave.Iwillgooverbehavior
expectationsandmakesuretheclassunderstandsthatpoorbehaviorwillresult
intheabsenceofexcitingactivitieslikethisinthefuture.
5-25 minutes: Students will head outside and we will conduct
our Diet Coke and Mentos experiment as a wrap up to the
chemistry unit.
25- 30 minutes: Closure of Chemistry Unit: Discuss as a whole
class what happened with our experiment and why.
30-40 minutes: Introduction to Wetlands: I will assess students
prior knowledge of wetlands by pairing them up and asking
them to discuss what they know about wetlands, and then share
with the class by writing on the board.
40-55 minutes: Students will each be assigned a pond, slough,
marsh, bog or fen. They will need to research them on a Chrome
book and write down important facts they come across.
55-60 minutes: Closure: I will end the lesson by explaining how
we will continue the lesson in our next class. (Students will finish
researching, pair up

Science Wetlands

in a larger group and come up

Science

with a final report to present to

the class.
Grade
5 On Wednesday, they will
present and write notes from the

Tuesday
February 23rd 2016
others presentations.

Materials
Chrombooks, Diet Coke, Mentos

Assessment of learning
objective:
Students will be informally
assessed based on how well they
work with their partners, and
whether or not they stay on task.

Differentiated
Instruction
Students who are finding the task
too easy can compile their
information into a fluid paragraph.
Students who are finding the task
too difficult may be directed to a
website where they can find the
information they need.