KS3 ~ Year 7 ~ Word Equations

This lesson is designed for the Activate KS3 Science Course, specifically Year 7 C3 ’Reactions’.

For more lessons designed for KS3 and KS4 please visit my shop at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience.

This lesson begins with a recap on the differences between elements, compounds and mixtures. Students will be given a set of diagrams and will need to decide which is which, they could write their answers down in their books or use mini white boards and complete as a class. The answers can then be revealed using the mark scheme provided and students can check their answers.

Students are then given an explanation of what happens to substances during a chemical reaction, atoms rearrange and new bonds form new substances with different properties. The example of iron sulphide is used, a demonstration could also be carried out to show that iron (in a mixture of iron and sulphur) is magnetic before it is heated. Once iron and sulphur are heated to form iron sulphide, the magnetic properties are now lost.

Students are now shown the basis of a word equation and the difference between reactants and products. They will then be given two word equations and will need to determine which are the reactants and which are the products, the answers will then be revealed. They will then be given four more reactions, students will need to identify the reactants and products of these reactions. Students can then self-assess their work using the mark scheme provided.

Students will now try writing their own word equations using a description provided, students will need to complete a worksheet of these tasks. The answers to these questions are included in the PowerPoint for students to self-assess their work.

Lastly, students will complete an investigation to observe what happens during three chemical reactions. Students will be given the practical worksheet, they can complete the investigation as a group and note down their observations from the reactions. Once the investigation is complete, students will then need to match the reactants from the reactions they carried out with the correct products. This work can then be marked and corrected using the answers provided.

The plenary task requires students to write a twitter message summarising what they have learned today, students should #keywords!

All resources are included at the end of the presentation. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)