Science 9-12 Atomic Structure

Science 9-12 Atomic Structure

Standards & Objectives

Essential and guiding questions: 
  • Consider the statement physicist Richard Feynman made about atoms. What was the author’s purpose for including thisstatement in his text?
  • What aspect of atoms makes the author believe we each probably contain up to a billion atoms of Shakespeare?
  • Draw and label a picture that summarizes Ernest Rutherford’s and James Chadwick’s model of the atom.
  • How did the author use biographical information about the scientist to explore our evolving understanding of atomic structure and function?

Activity/Task Variations

Blooms taxonomy level: 
Understanding
Differentiation suggestions: 

Scaffolding and support for special education students, English language learners, and struggling readers:

  • Have a clear reading purpose to help students focus more efficiently on the information they need to extract.
  • Make sure students have the necessary background information before they are asked to read long texts.
  • Pre-teach vocabulary
  • Encourage students to read up about the topic beforehand, or discuss it at home with their parents.
  • Have students predict the information they will find out in the text.
  • Have students predict the vocabulary they will meet in the text
  • Remind students of the importance of looking at headings, diagrams, and illustrations and their captions