What happened when the chemistry teacher told a bad joke? There was no reaction! A creative take on the traditional reaction types lesson invites learners to draw their own conclusions about how compounds and elements combine. Groups build on prior knowledge to expand their understanding of synthesis, decomposition, and many other chemical reactions.

Concepts

chemical reactions, scientific classification, making observations, making predictions, chemical elements, precipitates, synthesis reactions, decomposition reactions

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Enhance the lesson by adding precipitation, acid-base, and redox reactions into the mix
• Use the activity to introduce chemical reactions as an inquiry

Classroom Considerations

• Print the Engage cards in color, then laminate them for future use
• Pupils should be somewhat familiar with chemical reactions 

Pros

• You can set up the activity with or without actual chemicals
• The lesson does a great job of incorporating prior knowledge to lead students toward their own definitions of reaction types

Cons

• None