Grade 5: Introduction to Atoms & Electrons

December 1, 2015

Goals/Key questions
Goals: Students will understand atoms as the building blocks of all things, and the
components of atoms (electrons, neutrons, and protons) and
their characteristics.
Objective (connected to PofS):
GLO 5-4 Demonstrate positive attitudes for the study of science and for the
application of science in responsible ways.
SLO: Students will show growth in acquiring and applying curiosity, flexibility
in considering new ideas, perseverance in the search for understandings and for
solutions to problems.

Pre lesson Considerations

Materials needed/preset up required/logistical considerations needed
(seating arrangement):
Atoms and Electrons work booklet 1 for each student
Colored markers (students have their own)
Assorted pony beads
Pipecleaners
SMARTnotebook slides/SMARTboard

Content:

Introduct
ion
Lesson
overview &
review

Time
estimation:
15 minutes

What is the teacher doing?

Include Key questions, logistics, key
concepts that will be addressed, methods
of formative assessment
Introduction to tie back into last lesson
about electrical safety (and formative
assessment): I will distribute sticky notes,
1 for each student. One the SMARTboard, I
will show students 3 pictures of unsafe
electrical practices. Students will write 1
sentence for each picture, stating why it is
unsafe. I will wait until all students have
completed it before I collect them. This will
act as an entrance slip.
Todays Lesson: learning about atoms,
which are important for understanding

What are the

students doing?

Students are filling

out their sticky notes
about unsafe
electrical practices.
Students listen as I
overview todays
topics.
Students watch a
BrainPop video.

electricity.
- Watch a video about atoms
- Work on some fill-in-the-blank
notes/drawings
- Activity: Building Atoms

Transition
considerat
ions

Activity 1
Fill-in-theBlank Notes
20 minutes

Transition
considerat
ions
Activity 2
Building
Atoms
20 minutes

Watch a BrainPop video about atoms. This

video acts as a great overview for learning
about atoms and the components of
atoms (electrons, etc). It will engage
students in a fun way and introduce them
to the material that we will be looking at.
Ask students to take out a pencil, a blue
marker, a red marker, a green marker, and
a brown marker. I will hand out the Atoms
Worksheet while students do so.
The worksheet that students will be filling
in with me is fill-in-the-blank (to keep
notes neat and speed up the note taking
process). I will have this worksheet up on
the SMARTboard with the correct answers
for the blanks, and it will be covered. I will
slowly reveal the information, section-bysection, for students to fill in on their
worksheet, and explain the information to
them and its importance. Students are to
fill out the blanks with a pencil. Emphasize
neatness.
Students will also be drawing an example
of an atom in their worksheet, using a
picture on the SMARTboard as their
example. Students will have to label the:
electrons, protons, neutrons, and nucleus
all with different colors.
Distribute pipecleaners and bags of beads
to students.
In this activity, students will be building
their own atoms with a specific number of
electrons, protons, and neutrons (in the
worksheet) using pipecleansers and pony
beads, and will draw the atom they just
made (with colored markers) in the
designated space in their worksheet.
Students are to work in pairs with the

Students take out

their writing utensils
as I hand out their
Worksheets.
Students fill-in-theblanks on their
worksheets as I go
through them.
Students draw a
picture of an atom
and its components
from the example on
the SMARTboard.

Students wait quietly.

Students build their

own atoms using
pipecleaners and
pony beads. They will
also draw the atoms
they built in their
worksheet. They will
work in pairs with the

person sitting next to them.

How students will be making atoms (for
example: create an atom with 8 electrons,
8 protons, and 8 neutrons):
1. On the worksheet, it tells the
students which colors (beads and
markers) to designate for each
atomic particle (for example,
electrons are green beads/marker
they will using the same colors as
their previous drawing of an atom).
2. Students will place 8 bead
representing protons and 8 beads
representing neutrons in a small
circle on their desk to represent the
nucleus.
3. Students will place 8 beads
representing electrons on a
pipecleaner and create a circle,
representing how electrons circle
around the nucleus, and place it on
their nucleus to create their atom.
4. Students are to draw their atom in
the designated space in their
notebook.
Before students begin, I will do a few
things:
- I will construct an atom with them
as an example of what they are
supposed to do.
- I will lay some ground rules about
the beads: the beads must remain
on your desk. Pick up any that fall
on the floor. When you are not using
beads, place them back in the bag
they came from.
Formative assessment: while students are
constructing their atoms, I will be
circulating the classroom to assess
whether or not students understand the
concepts. If there seems to be a lot of
confusion, I will draw the class attention
back to the front and re-explain the
concepts and answer questions students

person sitting next to

them.

Conclusio
n
5minutes

may have.
For an exit slip, I will be handing out sticky
notes again, and I will have students
answer 3 Quick Questions, writing the
answers on their sticky note.
These questions are:
- What is the building block of all
things?
- What are the 3 particles that make
up atoms?
- Where are these 3 particles located
in an atom?
Students can raise their hand when they
have completed their questions, and I will
collect their stick notes.
These worksheets are to be handed in to
me for formative assessment.
Formative assessment: these sticky notes
give me an opportunity to see what
students took away from this lesson, and if
I need to go over these concepts again in
detail once more. It also tells me which
students I need to pay closer attention to
and give extra assistance to help them
understand the concepts.

Students answer the

3 Quick Questions
on their sticky note,
and will raise their
hand when they are
done.
Students hand in
worksheets to me for
formative
assessment.