Lesson Plan

Lesson Planning Considerations

CONSIDERSATION RESPONSES
S
Grade (Age) Grade 11 (16-17)
Subject (Course) Chemistry
Unit Topic 8: Acids & Bases
Focus/topic Topic: Acid Deposition (Expectation 8.5).
Focus: What are the effects of acid rain on living and non-living
materials?
Prior Learning As this lesson is at the end of the “Acids & Bases” unit, it is expected
that students would have learned the following from the IB Chem
guide:
 The definition of a base
 The definition of an acid
 The process of corrosion
 An understanding of climate change
 How to use an indicator (litmus paper) to differentiate between
acid, basic & neutral solutions
Next Steps This lesson is leading students toward Assessment 4 – the group
project, which “allows students to appreciate the environmental, social
and ethical implications of science and technology.” The subject of acid
rain is just one cause that leads to Climate Change, and students will
learn about several of these throughout the course. Investigating the
effects of acid rain on different materials will allow students to visualize
what is being done to our earth as a result. This will continue to build a
larger picture in their minds of what climate change is and how we as a
society can work to reverse these changes.

Stage Two: Lesson Plan

Part I: Basics
 Focus/Topic Acid Deposition (Expectation 8.5).
Aims & Objectives See Page 62 of IB Chem Guide
   To investigate the effects of acid rain on living and non-living
materials
 To understand the environment, social and economic impact of
acid rain on different countries
 To brainstorm ways individual citizens can reduce oxide
production

Part II: Key IB Elements

Key IB Element Specific details re: what/how

Concepts: Action Details for this lesson have been developed using the IB Chemistry
Guide (Acid Deposition, Page 62) as a basis of understanding. This
unit seeks to teach students the effects of increasing sulfur oxides
in our environment as a result of industrialization.
Inquiry-Based Learning As specified on the IB Inquiry Chart, Inquiry involves students
developing predictions to questions, researching or experimenting
to record observations, and taking the information they learned
further into real-life contexts. This lesson involves inquiry, as
students are experimenting on what will happen to different
materials when in contact with acid, and thus investigating a real-
world problem – corrosion of the earth from acid rain.
International After learning about the effects of acid deposition and acid rain
Mindedness within different environments, students will brainstorm ways they
can reduce acid deposition as individuals. This strengthens
attitudes of global citizenship by creating an awareness of the
decay of our environment and highlighting the shared
responsibility of those across the world. As said in the IB Global
Citizenship Curriculum (Page 4), we are aiming to lead students
from learning to caring to action.
Part III: Lesson Activities (in sequence)
(assume 60 minutes duration; indicate time allocation breakdown per item below):
i) Opening Acid Rain is Eating Washington, D.C. – Video
10 minutes The students will watch a YouTube video that shows damage to different
limestone buildings in Washington, D.C. The acid rain has dissolved
minerals and created byproducts which trap dirt, and cause the buildings
to turn black and break off, thus destroyed age-old infrastructure. This
allows students to see the effects of acid rain in a real-life context and
captures their attention about this growing issue.
Link (1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqHw1hMEkAQ
ii) Main Part Inquiry Based Activity: Acid Rain Effects
35 minutes Students will conduct an experiment to explore the harmful effects of acid
rain on living and non-living materials (2).
Materials Needed:
 Vinegar (the “acid”)
 Water
 Eggshell pieces
 Fresh leaves or flowers from outdoors
 Paperclips
 Large glass jars
 Masking Tape & Marker for labelling
 Litmus paper
1. Students will be grouped, ensuring varying ability levels are
represented in each group.
2. Students will be required to propose their own research
hypothesis on how acid will affect both living and non-living
materials, metallic vs. non-metallic materials, or anything else
they’d like to test.
 3. Students will label one jar “water” and one jar “vinegar”, and place
all materials inside of each jar, sealing the lid.
4. Students will create their own sheet for recording data. They will
be recording initial observations, then checking their samples after
one day and one week.

iii) Conclusion Following their one-week observations, students will participate in a

15 minutes “concentric circles” discussion on acid rain and its environmental, social
and economic implications. The concentric circle set-up is as follows (3):
1. Students will be required to come to the circle prepared with 1
question that could start a discussion (about the implications of
acid rain OR ways individuals can reduce acid deposition).
2. Students are allowed to choose a partner (this ensures partners
are generally the same skill level).
3. One partner of each pair sits in a circle while the other partners
stand on the outside of the circle. The second partner, on the
outside, is the first partner’s “coach”. They will encourage them to
speak less (if interrupting) or more often (If shy).
4. The partner in the middle is encouraged to share their questions
to start a discussion, and other students are to participate
respectfully. Students do not need to raise their hands, as the
point is to stimulate a professional discussion. As the teacher, the
discussion should be monitored for appropriateness.
5. The group has 5 minutes, and then the partners switch circles.

This discussion technique is designed to allow students to brainstorm the

real-world implications of their experiment, rather than the teacher
explaining it. It is also a peer-teaching technique, which has been shown
to increase student curiosity, motivation and learning.
References:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqHw1hMEkAQ
2. https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_air_lesson06_activity2
3. http://www.movingbeyondicebreakers.org/includes/activity.php?
video=concentricCircles