Description
What our Elements: Phosphorus lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Elements: Phosphorus 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: PHOSPHORUS LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Discovery and Practical Applications
The Elements: Phosphorus lesson plan contains two content pages. Phosphorus was discovered in 1669 by a German alchemist named Hennig Brand. He was trying to turn urine into gold! While experimenting, he heated urine and ended up with a glowing white substance instead. That glowing material was white phosphorus, one of the forms of this element. This discovery was the first time an element was found through a scientific experiment, instead of by accident or from nature. The name phosphorus came from a Greek word meaning “light-bringer” because it glowed in the dark.
One of the most essential uses of phosphorous is in fertilizers, which help plants grow by giving them nutrients. Farmers depend on the element to grow corn, wheat, and rice crops. It is also used in matches. The red phosphorus on the side of a matchbox helps ignite a flame. Phosphorus is found in the detergents we use to clean clothes, too. It even has a job in steel-making to help strengthen the metal.
Phosphorus Facts and Why the Element Matters
Phosphorus is an essential element found in all living things. It helps build DNA, which carries the instructions for every cell, and ATP. This molecule stores and supplies energy like a battery for the body. Plants get phosphorus from the soil, and animals get it by eating plants or other animals. In nature, it moves through the phosphorus cycle, which flows between soil, water, plants, and animals. In technology, it is used in LED lights and fireworks to create bright colors.
There are different forms of phosphorus called allotropes. The most common ones are white phosphorus and red phosphorus. White phosphorus is very dangerous because it can catch fire in the air and must be stored underwater. Red phosphorus is much safer and is used in everyday items like matchboxes. Another fun fact is that phosphorus was once used in early toothpaste to make teeth glow slightly in the dark, which we do not do anymore! Phosphorus doesn’t occur freely in nature. It is always combined with other elements.
Phosphorus is one of the most essential elements for life on Earth. It helps build bones and teeth, especially in humans and animals. Without it, plants wouldn’t grow, and animals wouldn’t have strong bones or energy for their bodies. Scientists study the element to understand how to protect the environment, mainly because too much phosphorus from farms can harm rivers and lakes. Learning about phosphorus helps us better care for nature, our food, and our health.
ELEMENTS: PHOSPHORUS LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Elements: Phosphorus 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.
WHICH IS GREENER? ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
For the activity, students will conduct an experiment to compare how phosphorus affects how well a plant grows. When they finish, they will answer the questions at the bottom of the page.
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.
