Description
What our Elements: Lithium lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Elements: Lithium is a high-interest reading comprehension lesson plan. As such, students will practice various close reading and comprehension skills. In addition, they will learn about one of the most common elements in the Periodic Table of Elements. This lesson is for students in 5th grade and 6th grade.
Classroom Procedure
Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the yellow box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand.
Teacher Notes
The paragraph on this page provides a little more information or guidance on what to expect from the lesson. It explains that you can teach this lesson in a whole-class setting or as an independent, small-group activity. You can use the blank lines to record any thoughts or ideas you have as you prepare.
ELEMENTS: LITHIUM LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Discovery and Practical Applications
The Elements: Lithium lesson plan contains two content pages. A Swedish scientist named Johan August Arfwedson discovered lithium in 1817. He found it while studying a mineral called petalite. At first, lithium wasn’t considered very important, but scientists learned more about its special properties over time. It is light and reacts quickly with water, unlike many other elements. The name lithium comes from the Greek word lithos, which means stone. This is because it was first found in rocks, not in plants or animals like other elements.
One of the most common uses of lithium is in rechargeable batteries. Rechargeable batteries can be found in smartphones, tablets, and laptops. These are called lithium-ion batteries. The element is also used in electric cars, which help reduce pollution. Doctors use small amounts of lithium in medicine to help people feel better. It is used to help treat certain medical conditions like bipolar disorder, a mental health diagnosis.
Lithium Facts and Why the Element Matters
Lithium is found in nature, mostly in rocks and underground saltwater lakes, also called brine pools. It is not seen as a pure metal because it reacts too easily with other elements. Countries like Australia, Chile, and China have large amounts of lithium. It is critical in technology because it helps make powerful, lightweight batteries. Imagine how heavy your phone would be if it didn’t have a lithium battery—you would have to drag it around.
Lithium is the lightest metal in the world and can even float on water, just like wood! Even though it’s a metal, it is very soft. In fact, it is so soft that it can be cut with a knife! When lithium touches water, it makes bubbles and gives off heat, which is fun to watch. (But that should only be done in a lab!) Some scientists believe lithium was made during the Big Bang, which means it has existed since the beginning of the universe!
This amazing element helps power the devices we use daily and significantly makes cleaner energy with electric cars. As we look for better ways to care for our planet, lithium helps us by making things more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Even though it’s a small and light metal, it makes a big difference in our lives.
ELEMENTS: LITHIUM LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Elements: Lithium lesson plan includes two worksheets: an activity worksheet and a review worksheet. Each one will help students solidify their grasp of the material they learned throughout the lesson. You can refer to the classroom procedure guidelines to know when to hand out each worksheet.
LITHIUM BATTERY SIMULATION ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
For the activity, students will follow the steps on the page to create a simulation of the lithium battery. There are instructions in the “Prepare Ahead of Time” section on the classroom procedure page for you to review to organize the activity.
REVIEW WORKSHEET
The review worksheet lists 5 questions based on the content. These questions all relate to the content pages, so students will need to refer to them often for the answers. In addition, each question provides which reading tool the question corresponds to, such as text feature, vocabulary, or comprehension.
Worksheet Answer Keys
At the end of the lesson plan document is an answer key for the practice worksheet. The correct answers are all in red to make it easier for you to compare them with students’ responses. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.
