Topic: Non‑metal – position in the periodic table and states of matter

Target group

Elementary school student (grades 7. and 8.)

Core curriculum:

Primary school. Chemistry.

I. Substances and their properties. The student:

8) classifies elements into metals and non‑metals; differentiates metals from non‑metals based on their properties.

General aim of education

The student discusses the properties and use of non‑metals.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• which non‑metals are in the human body and what role they play;

• which non‑metals are in the periodic table of elements;

• to exchange non‑metal concentrations and give examples;

• to indicate which elements have allotropic variations;

• to distinguish metals from non‑metals based on properties.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion;

  • brainstorming.

• exposing

  • film.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity;

• activity in pairs.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Introduction

1. The teacher hands out Methodology Guide or green, yellow and red sheets of paper to the students to be used during the work based on a traffic light technique. He presents the aims of the lesson in the student's language on a multimedia presentation and discusses the criteria of success (aims of the lesson and success criteria can be send to students via e‑mail or posted on Facebook, so that students will be able to manage their portfolio).

2. The teacher together with the students determines the topic – based on the previously presented lesson aims – and then writes it on the interactive whiteboard/blackboard. Students write the topic in the notebook.

3. Health and safety – before starting the experiments, students familiarise themselves with the safety data sheets of the substances that will be used during the lesson. The teacher points out the need to be careful when working with them.

Realization

1. The teacher asks students what elements we can find in the composition of human and animal bodies. The students give their suggestions during a brainstorming session. Then they verify it and write it on the board. The teacher displays a board with the percentage of elements and then students compare their answers and, if necessary, complete them.

2. The teacher initiates a discussion about the elements necessary for health and the validity of the proper diet. He mentions the role of trace elements (students view the photo gallery about this issue. The teacher also draws attention to the fact of erroneous information appearing eg in advertisements of dietary supplements with magnesium or iron (ions or chemical compounds containing elemental ions, not the elements themselves).

3. Then the teacher instructs the students to execute the task 1. Students in pairs have the task of describing the importance of the elemental ions and compounds present in the selected food product. They search for information in available sources (e‑textbook, internet, etc.). After completing the task, selected couples present their descriptions.

4. The teacher divides the class into 3 groups. Each of them performs part of the task 2: describe the flow of chlorine, potassium or silicon on the body, as well as the effects of their lack and their source in the diet. After the expiration of the time, the representatives of the groups present the results of the work..

5. The teacher discusses the location of the non‑metals in the periodic table. He asks pupils to indicate to which groups the non‑metals belong in the periodic table, and to set the boundary between metals and non‑metals in the periodic table. Then he begins the discussion about physical states and physical properties of non‑metals. Instructs students to perform related tasks in abstract.

6. Students are familiarized with the issue of allotropic varieties of elements. If time allows, the teacher can present videos from e‑textbook discussing these types of sulfur and carbon and containing information about graphene.

7. Students carry out the interactive exercises checking the level of knowledge learned during the lesson. The teacher initiates a discussion during which the correct solutions for all the exercises performed by the students are discussed.

Summary

1. The teacher asks the students to finish the following sentences:

   • Today I learned ...

   • I understood that …

   • It surprised me …

   • I found out ...

   The teacher can use the interactive whiteboard in the abstract or instruct students to work with it

Homework

1. Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

2. Make at home a note from the lesson using the sketchnoting method.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Non‑metal – position in the periodic table and states of matter

Living organisms (including the human body) are built of four elements commonly found in the Universe in approx. 96%. Their average weight in a person weighing 50 kg is:

• 32.5 kg of oxygen,

• 9.25 kg of carbon,

• 4.75 kg of hydrogen,

• 1.6 kg of nitrogen.

The average percentage of elements and selected functions that they perform in the body:

• oxygen (65%) – among others it is essential for the brain's functioning, breathing and combustion in cells;

• carbon (18%) – the building block of all living cells;

• hydrogen (10%) – along with oxygen it forms water, which is 60 - 80% of the body's mass, it is a component of, among others proteins, sugars, fats

• nitrogen (3%) – essential in the process of cell structure, a component of proteins;

• phosphorus (1%) – similarly to calcium (1.5%) it is a component of compounds from which teeth and bones are made of;

In trace amounts:

• sulphur – component of nails and hair;

• iodine – necessary for the production of thyroid hormones.

Currently, 118 chemical elements are known. Recently, 4 of them with atomic numbers 113 (nihonium), 115 (moscovium), 117 (tennessine) and 118 (oganesson) were confirmed in 2015. The left side of the periodic table is occupied by metals, while the right side is occupied by non‑metals. These elements form an oblique line, with the exception of hydrogen located in the upper left corner. The most well‑known are: sulphur, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorus, iodine and chlorine. Some elements may have various forms, e.g. carbon, which occurs in several varieties, including grey‑black graphite and colourless diamond.

• We divide chemical elements into metals and non‑metals.

• Non‑metals form the right part of the periodic table, the exception is hydrogen, which is in the first group.

• Non‑metals occur in all states of matter.

Non‑metals, state of matter, trace elements, allotropes