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Lesson Plan Design

Subject: Chemistry Grade: 9-12 Lesson Topic: ____Empirical and Molecular Formulas___
Candidate’s Name: Lauren Grokett NU ID 022629849
Site Supervisor: Julie Huffman NU Supervisor: Dr. Michael McGrath
Date: ______March 4, 2015______
1. Introduction: (Identify Grade Level K12 Academic Content Standard(s), rationale, focus learner,
create bridges from past learning, behavior expectations)

3. The conservation of atoms in chemical Rationale:

reactions leads to the principle of conservation
of matter and the ability to calculate the mass
of products and reactants. As a basis for
understanding this concept:
3c. Students know one mole equals 6.02 x 1023
particles (atoms or molecules).
3d. Students know how to determine the molar
mass of a molecule from its chemical formula
and a table of atomic masses and how to
convert the mass of a molecular substance to
moles, number of particles, or volume of gas at
standard temperature and pressure.
This pair of standards are part of the
required and tested standards that would
normally have appeared on the end of year
tests and dovetails with the applicability of
concepts in chemistry. Specifically,
students must relate the abstract concepts of
empirical and molecular formulas to how
scientists analyze unknowns and how
specific proportions of elements (empirical
formulas) are relative to the defined
proportions per molecule or formula unit of
a compound.

2. Learner Outcome(s)/Objective(s): (What will students learn from this lesson? How will you
measure mastery of the outcome?)

Students should be able to take experimental data in the form
of percent composition and reverse engineer the empirical
formula of the original compound. Student must also be able
to use the molecular molar mass of a compound and the
percent composition to derive the actual molecular formula.
They will begin work on a problem set that makes them
practice these new skills.
Rationale:
The skills students are learning in this
lesson directly practice the concepts called
out in state standards 3c and 3d. The
problem set gives student additional
practice working on scaled prompts that
begin simply—converting percent to grams,
grams to moles, and essentially just setting
up the problem—to more complex problems
in which they must begin from only percent
composition and entirely derive molecular
formulas. Students are only expected to
complete the introductory-level problems at
this time.

3. Pre-assessment Activity: (Determine students’ abilities to achieve the learner outcome and
prescribe instruction accordingly. Consider: linguistic background, academic language abilities,
content knowledge, cultural and health considerations, interests and aspirations, physical
development, social development, emotional development. )

The warm-up is composed of two questions: What is the
mass of oxygen in 63.0g of sulfuric acid?; What is the
density of nitrogen dioxide at STP?
I will collect the warm-up and grade it as rapidly as possible
as a formative assessment to provide students with as close
to immediate feedback as possible. Realistically, I probably
won't make it through the entire class but I can get through
about half and address the rest tomorrow in small pull-out
groups.
4. Differentiation, Adaptation & Accommodation Strategies: (Based on the pre-assessments, modify
Learning Activities based on learner characteristics to meet the needs of ELL & special needs
students, highly achieving students and low achieving students)
The pre-assessments will likely have errors in the following
areas: setting up the dimensional analysis, failure to correctly
name the compound (which renders all further calculations
invalid), and inability to correctly apply the density formula.
I am adapting instruction to review the notes from yesterday
and carefully walk through the mathematical processes
required to rework an empirical formula into a molecular
formula beginning from percent composition.
5. Resources: (Identify materials needed for this lesson accounting for varying degrees of skill level)
I will need to use the computer and projector to display the
PowerPoint notes. Students will need their calculators,
handouts, and assorted reference pages (nomenclature
packets, periodic tables, mole maps, and other notes).
Rationale
I begin most classes with a warm-up that
practices skills from the previous day and
sometimes from earlier in the unit. This
warm-up is specifically to see how students
are responding to basic-skills problems that
are based in molar mass and density, which
makes use of molar volume. The current
lesson requires fluency in the
aforementioned skills and by collecting the
warm-up I have formative assessments that
I can rapidly grade and then return to the
students as soon as possible to provide them
with the necessary feedback. Their chapter
10 test is 6 days from this lesson (counting
weekend days) and they need to have as
much time to rework skills and problems as
possible.
Rationale:
Students need extra support learning skills
that are math-heavy and the conversion of
empirical formulas to molecular formulas is
challenging for nearly every student.
Breaking the process into two parts allows
me to scaffold the approach to the process.
I am collecting their warm-ups and grading
them immediately as formal formative
assessments to determine their degree of
skill. I will be able to intervene with the
most direly confused students right away
and sort the rest of the warm-ups into
differentiated groups for intervention
tomorrow.
Rationale:
If I rely on students to write down all the
notes completely it is inevitable that some
students—particularly LTELs and ELLs in
general—will omit key phrases that will
confuse their notes later on. The notes are
written in CLOZE-style such that they will
still need to use complete words and follow

6. Learning Activities: Explicit Teacher Instruction - (Explain, model, demonstrate, check for
understanding)
First, students will do the warm-up so I can collect and grade
it for the formative assessment. Then I will ask students to
pull out their empirical formula and molecular formula notes
for the second half of molecular formula derivation notes.
The lecture will review the notes from yesterday and students
will have multiple opportunities to practice content skills
through practice and example problems built into the lecture.
After students tackle the problems on their own I will show
them the solution logic in the notes so they can correct their
work and verify their reasoning.
Check for Understanding:
As students complete their guided practice problems
interspersed in the lecture I will be circulating to check their
work and answer questions. The problems are structured in
the notes such that I can quickly spot any errors and that
students are guided to correct set-up and solution paths.
7. Learning Activities: Guided Practice/ Collaborative Practice (Check for understanding and
provide feedback and re-teaching)
Students have opportunities for guided practice during the
lecture when I have included numerous practice and example
problems to scale the approach to complex concepts.
Additional guided practice will occur when I hand out the
worksheet 10F, which includes numerous practice problems
regarding empirical formula calculations from percent
composition and molecular formula calculation from percent
composition and molar mass. For the most part, students
will be working in pairs at their desks.
Check for Understanding:
I will be answering questions as students raise their hands or
come up to me to ask for clarification.
along, but it de-stresses verbatim note-
taking. I have a number of classroom
calculators in case students cannot provide
their own.
Rationale:
It would be a mistake to give students
lecture notes in large blocks because they
tend to tune out and get lost. Also, students
really need time to practice new skills one
step at a time to help cement their
understanding before moving on to the next
level of difficulty. This content is especially
challenging and must be carefully
scaffolded to support all learners and
prepare them for more challenging
problems. Building in time to check for
understanding helps me to intervene before
students have internalized incorrect solution
methodology
Rationale:
It's not practical to stop at every desk and
verify that every student, especially when I
must also grade all the warm-ups and
provide feedback to students right away.
Instead, I will give them time to work
together and will spot check certain students
I know to have more trouble and to answer
any other major questions as they arise.
The example problems model the problem
set on WS10F exactly and students will
need to follow the steps in their notes to
solve the problems.
8. Independent Practice: (Provide practice that supports the learning outcome. Note: Independent
activities are assigned assuming that students understand the concept well enough to work on their
own.)

Worksheet 10F gives students the opportunity to work Rationale:

independently if they feel up to it. Other students are still
encouraged to work in partners at their desks without moving
around the room. All students will finish 10F for homework
after having at least 20minutes in class to begin working on it
and to ask any questions they have about the problems, notes
or content.
Check for Understanding:
Because this worksheet will become homework if/when
students do not complete it in class, many of my more
advanced students prefer to work on assignments
independently to reduce their overall homework load to make
more time for their AP and honors classes.
Students who feel up to working on 10F
independently will be free to do so and all
other students will be given the opportunity
to work with partners to make the problems
more accessible. Also, after students are
able to work independently in class they
will be able to practice the skills and
problems at home as they finish the 10F
worksheet for homework. Advanced
learners will probably work independently
anyway to complete the assignment early
and reduce their overall homework load.

9. Assessment and Evaluation: (Describe how you will assess and/or evaluate the students’ learning.
Describe differentiating assessment strategies you will use for ELL, special needs students, highly
achieving students and low achieving students.)

I will be collecting worksheet 10F and grading it both for
completion and for accuracy. Students with special needs
and designations (such as my Goals/intervention students)
will receive extra time to complete the assignment and will
not be penalized for late work. I am available during brunch
and lunch to answer questions about the work and students
are allowed to check their answers against the key because
they must still show all the steps in each problem to receive
credit.
Rationale:
This is the beginning of empirical formula
calculations and most students will be
required to fully complete the assignment in
the time allotted. Advanced learners and
struggling learners especially are told to
include all steps in their work: advanced
students because they tend to be complacent
and make errors based on carelessness and
struggling learners because they lose track
of the steps of the problems without keeping
dimensional analysis in mind. Late work
acceptance is mandatory at Golden Valley,
but I award full credit to students with
designated needs for extra time and for
whom simply turning in an assignment is an
achievement.

10. Closure: (Describe how students will reflect on what they have learned.)

Students will practice the content from this lesson
individually for homework and will be given a warm-
up/formative assessment the following day to see how they
are doing with the calculations—most will be shaky and I
will partner them up to error-check each other's work to help
them figure out how their approach to empirical and
molecular formula calculations and reasoning needs to be
improved.
Rationale:
Students need time to reflect on how they
are learning and to develop the
metacognitive skills to regulate their
progress. Asking them to work individually
and then do peer review—with strict
requirements for civility, upbeat and
positive interactions rather than
hypercritical attacks—helps them to
 develop those skills by helping others. I
explicitly state that the questions and
comments they have for peers can very
easily be directed toward their own work to
help them manage their own educations.

11. Lesson Reflection/Assessment: (Collect student learning data to determine: What went well?
What needs to be changed? Were learning outcomes met? What activities will you add, change,
modify in the future? What can be done to follow up on the learning from this lesson? Who needs
additional help? Who needs enrichment or higher level work?)

The worksheet 10F was moderately challenging for my middle and low students and, frankly, a cakewalk for
my advanced learners. True, this is an introductory assignment and the content itself is advanced and highly
abstract with strong math prerequisites, but in the future I might consider bonus questions that are more
challenging for the advanced learners. My struggling learners and middle students had trouble, but
ultimately did quite well and this worksheet will serve them well as a reference as they study for their
Chapter 10 test on Tuesday, March 10th. The pacing of direct instruction and inclusion of practice problems
seems to have worked well and students were engaged and following along most of the time. Some of my
students in the back like to let their minds wander, but if I can find a remote clicker to progress my slides
during instruction I can circulate more during direct instruction.