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TAG Strategy for This Lesson: Creative Problem Solving

Unit Name
Solids, Liquids, & Gases

Lesson Name Time Needed (Hours/Days)

“Deflate-MESS!” 1 90-minute block/period

Grade Subject Course

10th – 11th Science Honors Chemistry

GA Standards of Excellence & TAG Standards

Please include both GSE & TAG Standards

GSE Standards
SC5. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the Kinetic Molecular Theory to model
atomic and molecular motion in chemical and physical processes.
c. Develop and use models to quantitatively, conceptually, and graphically represent the
relationships between pressure, volume, temperature, and number of moles of a gas.

TAG Standards
Advanced Communication Skills Standard:
1. The student uses written, spoken, and technological media to convey new learning or
challenge existing ideas.
2. The student produces written and/or oral work that is complex, purposeful, and organized,
includes relevant supporting examples and manipulation of language.
3. The student creates products and/or presentations that synthesize information from diverse
sources and communicate expertise to a variety of authentic audiences.
6. The student anticipates and addresses potential misunderstandings, biases, and expectations to
communication with others.
7. The student responds contributions of others, considering all available information.
8. The student participates in small group discussions to argue persuasively or reinforce others’
good points.
10. The student supports and defends his/her own opinions while respecting the opinions of
others.

Advanced Research Skills Standard:

1. The student uses a variety of print and non-print resources to investigate a topic of interest.
2. The student formulates original and appropriate questions to test the limits of an existing body
of knowledge.
6. The student develops and uses systematic procedures for recording and organizing
information.
10. The student defends research findings in a presentation or exhibit.

Creative Thinking & Problem-Solving Skills Standard:

2. The student designs, applies, evaluates, and adapts a variety of innovative strategies to when
problem-solving (e.g., recognizes problems, defines problems, identifies possible solutions,
selects optimal solution, implements solution, and evaluates solution).
3. The student incorporates brainstorming and other idea-generating techniques (synectics,
SCAMPER, etc.) to solve problems to create new products.
5. The student develops original ideas, presentations, or products through synthesis and
evaluation.
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6. The student, independently or through collaboration with classmates, clarifies, illustrates, or
elaborates on an idea for product improvement.
8. The student tolerates ambiguity when solving problems.
10. The student monitors and reflects on the creative process of problem solving for future
applications.

Higher Order Critical Thinking Skills Standard:

1. The student asks probing, insightful, and relevant questions.
4. The student makes and evaluates decisions using criteria.
7. The student examines an issue from more than one point of view.
9. The student identifies stereotypes, biases, and prejudices in one’s own reasoning and that of
others.
12. The student evaluates conclusions based upon relevance, depth, breadth, logic, and fairness.

Essential Question(s)
What should students know when lesson is completed?

How do temperature, pressure, and volume affect a given quantity of a gas?

How does Gay-Lussac’s law explain the relationship between pressure and temperature?

Teacher Lesson Preparation

Ensure technology and web sources are functional and accessible for “hooking” video.
Class Set of Each of the Following:
o Deflategate Article
o CPS Graphic Organizer Packets (One for each group.)
o Brainstorming Rules (One for each group.)
o Rules for Consensus Building (One for each group.)
o Choice Assignment Menu
Interactive Whiteboard (To present the assessment choice menu.)

Activating Strategy (For example: Hook/Mini-Lesson/Warm-Up/Connection to Prior Learning)

Teacher will display the word “Cheating” on the whiteboard and ask the students to state the first
feeling/word that comes to their mind. Next, the teacher will explain the severity of cheating and
accusing someone of cheating in any fashion, i.e. in school on assessments, in a game, in a
relationship, etc. prior to drawing their attention to cheating in the realm of sports. Teacher will ask
students if they believe athletes/teams cheat on the national level in sports like NBA & NFL? After a
brief discussion, the teacher will show the students the “Deflategate – The Latest Scandal to Plague
the NFL” video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORzuCnpsQwg) which previews the students to
the alleged cheating scandal of the New England Patriots as they played against the Indianapolis
Colts in January 2015. Afterwards, the teacher will ask the students if any of them changed their
mind about their original position on if they believe cheating occurs on the national level in sports?
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Instructional Sequence and Activities (Including use of technology.)

The teacher will inform the students that, for many years, there has been an ongoing and unsettled
ethical debate about whether or not the New England Patriots cheated during their AFC
Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts in 2015. So far, although Brady still served a four-
game suspension for his possible role in the fiasco, the investigation stated that the researchers could
not “determine with absolute certainty” whether the Patriots’ team balls were tampered with. Teacher
will, then, let the students know that for the day’s activity, they are going to participate in a Creative
Problem Solving lesson that will allow them to creatively think about the whether or not they believe
the New England Patriots deflated their game balls and how the issue at hand ties directly into the gas
law content; more specifically, the Ideal Gas Law and Gay-Lussac’s law which explain how much
the air pressure inside something like a football decreases with colder temperatures.

Students will be divided into heterogeneously formed groups of 4 based on the mastery they’ve
previously showed during the gas law introductory lessons prior to the day. Students will be
instructed to complete all 5 steps of the lesson before the class ends.

STEP 1: Fact Finding

Teacher will provide students with the “Deflategate: A Real Application of the Ideal Gas Law” article
which will be known as “THE MESS”. The student will be instructed to read it and discuss their
finding with their group members. Afterwards, students list all the facts or information they found in
the mess in the provided graphic organizer. Teacher will show model how to read and write down
only the facts – and not opinions. After giving them time to write down as many facts as they can, the
teacher will call on each group to share out 3 of the facts they listed. After each group has shared, the
teacher will instruct the students to discuss the questions they have as a result of the mess presented.
The group will, then, list at least 10 questions in the graphic organizer provided. Once they’ve written
their questions, the teacher will guide them on to Step 2.

STEP 2: Problem Finding

Students will be instructed to brainstorm several different and unusual problems that they see as a
result of the mess and be encouraged to think of problems that people may not usually see. Since this
will be their first time engaging in a CPS lesson, the teacher will probe the students during this step to
ensure they are considering different viewpoints when brainstorming different and unusual problems.
Teacher will provide each group with the “Brainstorming Rules” and “Consensus Building”
worksheets to assist them. After the groups have written at least 7 problems in the graphic organizer
provided and discussed them, the teacher will ask them to pick the most important problem as a
group and create a problem statement using the following structure: “How might we…?” After giving
them time to select their problem and write their statement, the teacher will call on each group to
share out their problem statement.

STEP 3: Idea Finding

Students will be instructed to brainstorm several different and usual solutions that they see as a result
of the problem statement they created regarding the mess and, again, will be encouraged to think of
solutions that people may not usually discover. Teacher will continue to monitor and probe the
students during this step due to it being their first CPS engagement. After the groups have written at
least 7 solutions in the graphic organizer provided for the one problem they’ve selected from Step 2,
the teacher will guide them on to Step 4.

STEP 4: Solution Finding

The teacher will instruct the students to choose their top 5 solutions from the list they created in Step
3 and place them into the Solution Finding Matrix. Then, each group will work together to develop a
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(yes/no) criterion that they can use to evaluate each by brainstorming the many, varied, and usual
criteria that can be used to evaluate the solutions to the problem they chose about the mess. The
teacher will assist students in the process for developing a criterion for a CPS lesson as most, if not
all, will find this the most difficult and complicated part. Each group will have a different problem
statement so their solutions and criteria will be different; therefore, the teacher will circulate amongst
the groups to provide additional assistance throughout their matrix development. Each group will add
up all the “yes” votes for each solution to determine which one is the best for their problem. Once the
best solution is determined, the group will use the space provided on their matrix to describe their
solution in detail.

STEP 5: Acceptance Finding

The teacher will inform students that this step is to “plan for action”. Students will determine what
resources are available for this plan to work, who would be responsible, and etc. They will answer the
following questions:
1. What was the problem your group came up with?
2. What was the creative solution your group chose?
3. For what group of people or audience is this solution for? (Who would you like to hear your
argument?)
4. List the steps you will take in order to implement the solution. (List clear step-by-step
instructions.)
After answering the questions, each student will choose a product from a choice assignment menu
that will show their position on whether or not they believe the New England Patriots deflated their
footballs and ultimately cheated in the 2015 AFC Championship. Teacher will ensure student
understands that their assignment needs to include their problem and solution so that the audience is
able to clearly understand deflategate and their position on the topic. The choice menu includes the
following assignments:
 Create A Headline: Write a headline that summarizes your position and captures a key aspect
of your solution that you feel is significant or important.
 Design a Billboard: Design a billboard that will be on the side of a major highway in Atlanta.
The billboard needs to include your problem and solution so that visitors to and residents of
the area are also aware of what you found.
 Circle of Viewpoints: Write from the viewpoints of each of the following regarding the mess.
1. I am thinking of deflategate from the viewpoint of _________________. (Choose one:
New England Patriots Player/Coach, Indianapolis Colts Player/Coach, Patriots Fan,
Colts Fan)
2. I think…describe deflategate from your viewpoint. Be an actor and fully take on the
viewpoint of your character.
3. A question I have from this viewpoint is…ask a question from this viewpoint.
 I Used to Think…, But Now I Think…: Think about your topic of study and write a response
using each of the sentence stems.
o I used to think…
o But now, I think…
 Tug of War: Address the mess by exploring the complexity of fairness and dilemmas.
1. Present a fairness dilemma.
2. Identify the factors that “pull” at each side of the dilemma. These are the two sides of
the tug of war.
3. Think of “tugs”, or reasons why we should support a certain side of the dilemma.
Also, think of reasons on the other side of the dilemma as well.
4. Generate “What If?” questions to explore the topic further.
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Assessment Strategies

The methods of assessment will come in 3 parts:

1. Their engagement throughout the activity through the use of the strategy will be assessed
(which will also help the teacher gauge efficiency of the strategy implementation).
2. Each group will turn in the CPS packet that should have been completed with maximum,
genuine effort.
3. Each student will choose an assignment from the choice menu to complete. The assignment
they choose must include their problem and solution so that the audience is able to clearly
understand deflategate and their position on the topic.

Differentiation
Scaffolds/ Interventions/Extensions/Enrichment

Differentiation is initially seen in this lesson as students are grouped heterogeneously based on their
previous display of mastery throughout the gas law lessons. Moreover, this lesson, which is based on
the creative problem-solving learning/teaching strategy, is an example of differentiation as it helps
gifted students see the struggles that people deal with all the time by incorporating their various
strength levels of creativity with real-world phenomena to identifying a problem statement and a
solution for that issue (which will be different for every group). Additionally, differentiation can be
seen at the end of the lesson when each student can choose which assignment/product they want to
create based on their interest.

Materials/Links/Text References/Resources

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORzuCnpsQwg
Each of the following additional required documents are included below on pages 6-14:
 Deflategate Article
 Rules for Brainstorming
 Rules for Consensus Building
 CPS Graphic Organizer
 Choice Assignment Menu
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“Deflate-MESS”
The following information was obtained as part of an investigation by the National Football League (NFL) to
determine if the New England Patriots cheated by purposefully deflating footballs during the conference title game
against the Indianapolis Colts on January 18th, 2015 in Foxboro, MA. Th e information provided comes directly from
the “Investigative Report Concerning Footballs Used During the AFC Championship Game on January 18, 2015” that
was commissioned by the NFL. Your job is to analyze the data that was collected and determine if the scientific
evidence suggests that the Patriots purposefully deflated footballs to gain a competitive advantage. Remember to base
all of your conclusions on your analysis of the collected data. Each team in the NFL provides 12 footballs to be used
when their team is on offense. The officials check and approve the footballs before play begins. It is alleged that the
Patriots tampered with the footballs after the official checked the footballs and before play began.

Summarized NFL Rules about Required Football Pressure for Footballs

1. Each team shall provide 12 footballs two and a half hours before the start of the game to be approved by
officials.
2. Each football must be inflated to a pressure between 12.5 and 13.5 psi. Th e pressure listed is a gauge pressure,
meaning that the football must be inflated 12.5 to 13.5 psi above atmospheric pressure.

Official Inspection of Footballs Before the Start of the Game

The head official inspected the footballs for both the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts before the game
began. The official had in his possession two different pressure gauges for checking footballs. Before the game he used
one of the two gauges to measure the pressure of the footballs, but he later could not recall which gauge was used.
During inspection of the footballs, the official did not take any detailed records, but he did recall that most of the
Patriots’ footballs registered at 12.5 psi and that most of the Colts’ footballs measured at 13.0 psi. Some of the
footballs might have been slightly off from these values, but the official could not remember the specifics. These
findings are consistent with statements from both teams. The Patriots aimed to inflate their footballs to 12.5 psi and the
Colts aimed to inflate their footballs to 13.0 psi. Testing of the footballs took about 25 minutes.

Start of the Game and First Half Play

Twenty minutes before the game was to begin the officials could not locate the footballs; the ball boy for the Patriots
had already taken all of the footballs to the field without permission of the officials. Security footage shows that the
ball boy entered a bathroom with the footballs and was inside the bathroom for one minute and forty seconds. It is
alleged that the Patriots footballs were deflated while the ball boy was in the bathroom. The evening football game was
played in Foxboro, MA. The temperature at the time of kick-off was 9 °C. In the first half of the football game the
Patriots quarterback threw a pass that was caught by the opposing team (Colts). The Colts player noticed that the ball
seemed underinflated. The report of the Colts player led to coaches on the Colts alerting officials that the footballs the
Patriots were using could be improperly inflated, violating league rules.
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Rules for Brainstorming

1. Go for quantity.

2. Wild and crazy ideas are okay!

3. Piggy-back on the ideas of others.

4. No judgment – positive OR
negative!
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Rules for Consensus Building

1. Every student in the group gets an equal

opportunity to share information, ideas, and
concerns.

2. Keep in mind that exploring different

opinions helps foster discussion and leads to
more innovative and effective solutions.

3. Work though the impasse by looking for the

most acceptable outcome for everyone. Don’t
give up on your positions simply to avoid
conflict.

4. Avoid taking the easy way out through

arbitrary techniques (e.g., flipping a coin,
picking an idea out of a hat, or taking a
majority vote).
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Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Step 1: Fact Finding

List all of the facts, or information, you found in the mess.

List three questions you have as a result of the mess.

1.

2.

3.
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Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Step 2: Problem Finding

Brainstorm several different and unusual problems that you see as a result of this mess.

Choose one problem from above and create a problem statement.

How might we _______________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________?
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Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Step 3: Idea Finding

Rewrite your problem statement from the end of Step 2.

How might we _______________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________?

Brainstorm several different and unusual solutions to this problem.

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Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Step 4: Solution Finding
Criteria →

Totals

Solutions ↓
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Describe the best solution in detail. ______________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
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Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Step 5: Acceptance Finding
1. What was the problem your group came up with?

2. What was the creative solution your group chose?

3. For what group of people or audience is this solution for? (Who would you like to hear
your argument?)

4. List the steps you will take in order to implement the solution. (List clear step-by-step
instructions.)

5. Your final step is to choose and design a product from a choice assignment menu that will
show your position on whether or not you believe the New England Patriots deflated their
footballs and ultimately cheated in the 2015 AFC Championship. Your assignment needs
to include your problem and solution so that the audience is able to clearly understand
your position on the mess.
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CHOICE ASSIGNMENT MENU
Directions: Choose and design a product from the following menu that will show your
position on whether or not you believe the New England Patriots deflated their footballs and
ultimately cheated in the 2015 AFC Championship. Your assignment needs to include your
problem and solution so that the audience is able to clearly understand your position on the
mess.

1. Create A Headline: Write a headline that summarizes your position and captures a key
aspect of your solution that you feel is significant or important.

2. Design a Billboard: Design a billboard that will be on the side of a major highway in
Atlanta. The billboard needs to include your problem and solution so that visitors to and
residents of the area are also aware of what you found.

3. Circle of Viewpoints: Write from the viewpoints of each of the following regarding the
mess.
a. I am thinking of deflategate from the viewpoint of _________________. (Choose
one: New England Patriots Player/Coach, Indianapolis Colts Player/Coach, Patriots
Fan, Colts Fan)
b. I think…describe deflategate from your viewpoint. Be an actor and fully take on
the viewpoint of your character.
c. A question I have from this viewpoint is…ask a question from this viewpoint.

4. I Used to Think…, But Now I Think…: Think about your topic of study and write a
response using each of the sentence stems.
a. I used to think…
b. But now, I think…

5. Tug of War: Address the mess by exploring the complexity of fairness and dilemmas.
a. Present a fairness dilemma.
b. Identify the factors that “pull” at each side of the dilemma. These are the two sides
of the tug of war.
c. Think of “tugs”, or reasons why we should support a certain side of the dilemma.
Also, think of reasons on the other side of the dilemma as well.
d. Generate “What If?” questions to explore the topic further.