Engage! Explore! Explain! Elaborate! Evaluate!
5E science lessons sounded great to me when I began teaching but I wasn't quite sure what each of the sections were, how long they should take (it seemed like too much to fit into one class period!), how to get students to explore before explaining the concepts, etc.
It took me a while to figure out how to adapt the 5E format for my students and myself. This is how I use the 5E format to teach atomic structure and the periodic table aligned to the NGSS HS-PS1-1 Matter and its Interactions performance expectation:
Engage
This is where I try to get student buy in and to start making connections to their prior knowledge. In this specific lesson, I start off with an anticipatory guide or pre-assessment. I ask students a series of questions about atomic structure and the periodic table like Agree or Disagree: Electrons are located in the nucleus of the atom. I like to have students complete the questions individually and then discuss in a small group. Then, I open up a class wide discussion. I ask students to vote on the answers by standing on one side of the room or the other. After each vote, I call on at least one student on each side to explain why they choose the answer that they did. Discussions can get pretty passionate!
Explore
To explore atomic structure and the periodic table, I give students mystery element cards to sort and group working in pairs or threes. Each card has physical and chemical properties of the element but not the name or true symbol (element Aa for example). I ask them to group cards by the element properties. Some students group by state of matter and physical appearance, some students may use valence electrons-any of these are great choices! Students are working on the Science and Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models and the Cross-Cutting Concepts: Patterns from the NGSS. Students are exploring and there are no wrong answers! I do not expect students to perfectly recreate the periodic table!
Explain
One of my goals when teaching is for me to be talking very little and that the students are talking a lot. Sometimes though I need to present some material to discuss with students. In this lesson I use slides and have guided notes for students. We go through some definitions and ideas about atomic structure and how they could use that information in finding patterns in their mystery elements. I call on students to share what they think or to add onto the information on the slides.
Elaborate
Here is when I ask students to incorporate the new ideas and concepts and use them to refine the models they created in the explore section. Now they can take the groupings they originally made and consider more thoughtfully the atomic structure and element properties when working with the mystery elements. I also ask for their models to be more sophisticated and include rows and columns to tie all the element cards together.
Evaluate
When assessing students, I would be looking at their models at the different stages, their responses on their guided notes, and also calling on students (volunteer and cold calling) to share their thoughts and work.
Their final model could be used as a more formal assessment if you like. I also like to have students respond to the same questions that were in the Engage section. Having students then reflect on changes they made to their answers and why allows them to self evaluate and see their growth.
Check out our 5E on Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table and 5E Lesson on Periodic Table Trends on Teachers Pay Teachers!
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