Mixing and Separating Lesson Plan

mixing and separating

lesson plan

Lesson	Student Activities	Content Knowledge	Assessment Activities	Resources	SACSA Links
					Key Competencies	Essential Learnings
1	The students randomly pick a name of another student from a brown paper bag. They then spend some time writing down the ‘properties’ that are unique to that particular student. Next, without revealing the student’s name, each student reads out their list of ‘properties’ while the other students try to guess which student these properties belong to.	Examine prior learning of what the students perceive as ‘properties’. Students recognise that ‘properties’ define certain people and that different people have different ‘properties’.	Explore who had correctly guessed the most students. Discuss what ‘properties’ were the most useful and the least useful in identifying the student.	Class list of names cut up in a brown paper bag.	2	Communication The students are verbalising and articulating the properties. Identity The students are exploring, questioning and identifying the unique properties of others around them.
Lesson	Student Activities	Content Knowledge	Assessment Activities	Resources	SACSA Links
					Key Competencies	Essential Learnings
2	The students make a ‘Colour Column’ using 3 different concentrations of coloured sugar water.	Students will need to identify and order the 3 coloured sugar solutions from the most concentrated to the dilute and pour the solutions accordingly into their test tube.	The successfulness of three distinct layers of colour in their test tube. Discussion on why 3 distinct layers are obtained and what properties the solutions possessed which allowed them to float on top of one another.	3 large beakers of different concentrations of sugar solutions all coloured differently. Eg. Beaker 1 contains a 10 % red sugar solution, Beaker 2 contains a 20% yellow sugar solution and Beaker 3 contains 30% green sugar solution.	3, 4, 6.	Thinking The students are drawing on their thinking skills to solve the problem of obtaining 3 distinct layers of liquids.
Lesson	Student Activities	Content Knowledge	Assessment Activities	Resources	SACSA Links
					Key Competencies	Essential Learnings
3-8	Introduce to the students the terms mixtures, solutions, suspensions, colloids and emulsions. Use the textbook to read from and to discuss these terms in more detail with the students. Also question the students to help them identify and classify common substances found in their home and environment. The students work their way through the exercises, activity and experiment.	The students need to explain and identify examples of mixtures, solutions, suspensions, colloids and emulsions. The students need to understand and use appropriately the following terms: Solute, solvent. Solution, soluble, insoluble, dilute, concentrate, saturated and unsaturated.	Completion of written ‘Exercises’ on page 2 and 7-8 of the textbook. Performing the ‘Activity’ on an emulsion and colloid on page 4. Performing the ‘Experiment’ on the solubility of various substances (solutes) using both water and alcohol as the solvents. Writing this experiment up using the specific language features and schematic structure of practical report writing. [Click here for students proforma sheet 1] [Click here for sheet 2]	Textbook-ScienceWorld 8 (second edition) written by Peter Stannard and Ken Williamson and published by Macmillan.	2, 3, 4.	Thinking The students are thinking about the properties of various substances and predicting and investigating the behaviour of these substances when mixed together. Communication The students are communicating their understandings of the new terms (Eg, solute, solvent, etc) in a written form and testing ideas on solubility to arrive at conclusions. In addition, they are also using the correct genre for practical report writing.
Lesson	Student Activities	Content Knowledge	Assessment Activities	Resources	SACSA Links
					Key Competencies	Essential Learnings
9-13	Introduce the students to various separation techniques used to separate suspensions, solutions, solids and colours. Use the textbook to read from and to discuss the appropriate technique for a range of common mixtures and solutions. The students work their way through the experiments in the textbook to try the separation techniques of filtration, decanting, evaporation, distillation and chromatography.	The students need to identify and explain filtration, decanting, evaporation, distillation and chromatography.	Participation in the experiments and completion of ‘Questions and Conclusions’ on pages 11 and 14 of the textbook. Completion of written ‘Exercises’ on page 19.	Textbook-ScienceWorld 8 (second edition) written by Peter Stannard and Ken Williamson and published by Macmillan.	2, 3, 4.	Communication The students are communicating their understanding of various separation techniques in the written form and testing their effectiveness on certain mixtures and solutions. They are also comparing the techniques and arriving at conclusions on the appropriateness and efficiency of the techniques.

Lesson	Student Activities	Content Knowledge	Assessment Activities	Resources	SACSA Links
					Key Competencies	Essential Learnings
14-15	Discuss further with the students the techniques for separating suspensions. Ask them to consider an oil and water mixture and what techniques would be appropriate to separate them. Guide them to thinking about marine oil spills and the environmental impact and pollution of this mixture. Then explain to them that you would like them to research a relatively recent oil spill to find out what damage was done and how the experts separated the oil from the water. The students then go to the Resource Centre to collect information in note form on a relatively recent oil spill (no earlier than 1989). Encourage them to use the vertical file, Year Books, appropriate magazines and internet articles.	The students will need to locate, sift and sort information on recent oil spills. In doing so, they will need use the computer to call up appropriate information. Society and Environment link: marine pollution.	Notes on their chosen oil spill.	A collection of articles from appropriate magazines, journals and periodicals need to be placed in the Vertical File in the Resource Centre. It would also be advisable to have some current internet sites available as a starting point for the less able students.	1, 2, 7.	Communication The students are communicating their understanding of a particular oil spill in note form using a range of information and communication technologies.
Lesson	Student Activities	Content Knowledge	Assessment Activities	Resources	SACSA Links
					Key Competencies	Essential Learnings
16-18	Give the students BLM.EB.9.3 sheet (from the ‘Teaching ESL through Science’ reference, DETE 1998) [Click here for student proforma] and discuss the points on note taking. Place on the whiteboard suitable abbreviations for them to use. Encourage them to use the topic sentence of each paragraph in a written text as a method of skim reading. Talk with them about referencing their sources of information. Hand out the sheet to help them with their bibliography. [Click here for student proforma]. Finally, discuss with the students possible paragraph headings or questions to organise their notes under. Point out that they must include how the oil was separated from the water (how the spill was cleaned up). Also, guide them towards thinking about the prevention of oil spills in the future. Type up these headings or questions, spread out on one A4 page and give to each student. [Click here for ‘Suggested Note Taking’ sheet]. Then take the students back to the Resource Centre so that they can continue to collect notes about their chosen oil spill, using all the hints discussed in class and from the sheets. With their notes organised under the different headings or questions, the students are to write their first draft and to complete for homework. Collect and mark before the next lesson.	The students will need to reorganise their collected information, locate, analyse and evaluate more information and present it in an appropriate way using headings and paragraphs.	Completion of their first draft.	Access to the Resource Centre.	1, 2, 7.	Communication The students are communicating their understanding of a particular oil spill both in note and written form using a range of sources including communication technologies. Thinking The students are critiquing information and considering the consequences of an oil spill on the environment and the impact that science has made on clean up procedures. Interdependence The students are discovering how the actions of various oil and shipping companies impact upon global communities. Futures The students critically reflect on, and identify preferable precautionary procedures to prevent oil spills from occurring in the future.
Lesson	Student Activities	Content Knowledge	Assessment Activities	Resources	SACSA Links
					Key Competencies	Essential Learnings
19-21	Hand back the first drafts to the students and point out some good points and common flaws in their reports. Then start to implicitly teach about the structure and features of an information report so that further improvements can be made in their writing. Schematic Structure Following the structure and plan of the layout of the notes, discuss with the students the sequential order of the paragraphs. Point out that each report needs to begin with an orientation or introduction that includes information on how, when, what, where, why the oil spill happened. The subsequent paragraphs should contain information about different aspects or questions on the spill in an orderly progression. Encourage the students to follow the agreed format of their notes. Mention that each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence. Ask the students to devise a topic sentence for the second, third and fourth paragraph. Share some of these responses in class. Finally, point out that the conclusion is the last paragraph and should not only summarise the oil spill and its impact on the environment but also looks at the future issues with the transportation and use of oil in our society. Language Features Start by reviewing that an information report recounts past events, so the *past tense* is used. Also the *tenor is formal* and so it is appropriate to write in the *third person.* Next, discuss with the students the use of conjunctions in an information report. Point out that they are mainly *temporal* and *causal-conditional* since the purpose of the writing is to recount a series of events and the reasons, effects and implications of these events on the environment and to our global communities. Refer the students to the ‘Temporal and Consequential Conjunctions’ sheet. [Click here for sheet]. Then place on the overhead a sample of an article about The Sea Empress oil spill (article was taken off the internet from the address of www.swan.ac.uk) [Click here for excerpt]. Tell them to locate the temporal conjunctions used in the first paragraph. Underline the recognised examples. Then ask them to look at their first draft and identify where they could use temporal conjunctions. Point out that these will be mostly used in the orientation or introduction. Share their responses. Revisit the article and ask the students to locate the consequential conjunctions in the first and second paragraph. Once again underline the recognised examples. Then ask them to look at their first draft and identify where they could use consequential conjunctions. Point out that they will be mostly used in their paragraphs concerning the damage to the physical environment and wildlife. *Nominalisation* should be introduced next. Explain to them that by changing a verb into a noun in a sentence it can lift their writing and make it appear more sophisticated. To practice this, give the students the ‘Nouns from Verbs’ sheet to complete. [Click here sheet 1]. [Click here for sheet 2]. Once completed, go through the correct answers. On the spare lines at the bottom of page 2 ask the students to add more verbs from their first drafts. Then ask them to try to nominalise them. E.g. ‘spilling’ could become ‘the spill or spillage’; ‘transporting oil’ could become ‘transportation of oil’. Finally, revisit the overhead on The Sea Empress and ask the students to identify the nominalisations that are used in the first two paragraphs. Underline the recognised examples and ask the students to add these to their list at the bottom of page 2 of ‘Nouns from Verbs’. Lastly, *modality* should be discussed with the students. Refresh their memory about how modality is used in a practical report. Ask for some examples from them. Then give out the ‘Modal Adjuncts’ sheet and read it through with them. [Click here for sheet]. Show them an excerpt from the Erika’s oil spill and ask them to identify some examples of modality (article was taken off the internet from the address of www.news.bbc.co.uk). [Click here for excerpt]. Discuss with the students where to best use modality in their reports. Point out that it will mainly occur in the prevention and concluding paragraph.	The students will need to understand and follow the guidelines for the schematic structure of their report. In addition, they will need understand, recognise and appropriately apply the following language features: temporal conjunctions, causal-conditional conjunctions, nominalisation and modality.	Participation in discussions, and identifying and recognising the language features in the excerpts and their first draft. Completion of worksheets.	Copies of the student worksheets and overheads of the excerpts.	1, 2.	Communication The students are communicating their understanding of the schematic structure and the appropriate language features of a scientific information report on an oil spill. Thinking The students are critically reflecting on how information is presented on oil spills.

Lesson	Student Activities	Content Knowledge	Assessment Activities	Resources	SACSA Links
					Key Competencies	Essential Learnings
22	Review the language features discussed in the last 3 lessons. Place on an overhead the Sea Prince, which was a student’s first draft from the previous year. [Click here a copy of the Sea Prince]. Ask the students to work in pairs to rewrite certain paragraphs using the language features covered in the last 3 lessons. Share and discuss their responses with the rest of the class.	The students will need to apply their knowledge of the appropriate language features to a paragraph of the Sea Prince.	Completion of the rewritten paragraph.	An overhead of the Sea Prince.	2, 4.	Communication The students are communicating their understanding of the appropriate language features of a scientific information report on an oil spill.
Lesson	Student Activities	Content Knowledge	Assessment Activities	Resources	SACSA Links
					Key Competencies	Essential Learnings
23	Give the students the ‘Year 8 Science Assignment Oil Spill Report’ sheets. [Click here for sheet 1].[Click here for sheet 2].Read through the revised task and content, the points on schematic structure, language features, editing, presentation and assessment. Answer any of their questions that may arise from this review. Then ask them to rewrite their oil spill report using these sheets and their notes and sheets from lessons 19 - 21 as a guide. They are to complete it for homework.	The students will need to understand and follow the guidelines for the schematic structure of their report. In addition, they will need understand, recognise and appropriately apply the following language features: temporal conjunctions, causal-conditional conjunctions, nominalisation and modality.	Completion of their information report on an oil spill.	Copies of the ‘Year 8 Science Assignment Oil Spill Report’.	1, 2.	Communication The students are communicating their understanding of a particular oil spill both in note and written form using a range of sources including communication technologies. Thinking The students are critiquing information and considering the consequences of an oil spill on the environment and the impact that science has made on clean up procedures. Interdependence The students are discovering how the actions of various oil and shipping companies impact upon global communities. Futures The students critically reflect on, and identify preferable precautionary procedures to prevent oil spills from occurring in the future.
Lesson	Student Activities	Content Knowledge	Assessment Activities	Resources	SACSA Links
					Key Competencies	Essential Learnings
24	Before the students pass up their final copy, ask them to check if they have filled out the second page of the ‘Year 8 Science Assignment Oil Spill Report’. Answer any of their questions. Then have them fill out the sheet on ‘Student Reflection and Evaluation’. [Click here for the sheet]. Finally, ask them to hand up their final copy with the assessment and evaluation sheets.	The students need to identify the language features in their final copy and evaluate the task.	Their information report on an oil spill. The assessment will include: Content Schematic Structure Language Features Editing Presentation Completion.	Copies of the ‘Student Reflection and Evaluation’ sheet.	2	Communication The students communicate their understanding of appropriate language features for an oil spill report and reflect on the task.