Lessons from the book A Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean (2010)
The description on the back of the book states that "The Periodic Table is one of man's crowning scientific achievements. But it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.
We learn that Marie Curie used to provoke jealousy in colleagues' wives when she'd invite them into closets to see her glow-in-the-dark experiments. And that Lewis and Clark swallowed mercury capsules across the country and their campsites are still detectable by the poison in the ground. Why did Gandhi hate iodine? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium? And why did tellurium lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history?
From the Big Bang to the end of time, it's all in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON."
I found this description to be very true and the book itself to be very interesting. It successfully attached stories to individual elements and clusters of elements and, in doing so, allowed me to come to a better understanding of the Periodic Table of Elements and various chemistry concepts. Stories alway help knowledge to find a solid spot in our memory!
The bell-ringers and lessons below are centered around the stories that I found most interesting and enlightening but there are many others in the book. It is my hope that these lessons can be used to help the Table of Elements become a little more personal and understandable to your students.
We learn that Marie Curie used to provoke jealousy in colleagues' wives when she'd invite them into closets to see her glow-in-the-dark experiments. And that Lewis and Clark swallowed mercury capsules across the country and their campsites are still detectable by the poison in the ground. Why did Gandhi hate iodine? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium? And why did tellurium lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history?
From the Big Bang to the end of time, it's all in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON."
I found this description to be very true and the book itself to be very interesting. It successfully attached stories to individual elements and clusters of elements and, in doing so, allowed me to come to a better understanding of the Periodic Table of Elements and various chemistry concepts. Stories alway help knowledge to find a solid spot in our memory!
The bell-ringers and lessons below are centered around the stories that I found most interesting and enlightening but there are many others in the book. It is my hope that these lessons can be used to help the Table of Elements become a little more personal and understandable to your students.
“The Table is both a scientific accomplishment and a storybook”
-Sam Kean, pg.7
The Galapagos of the Periodic Table
![Picture](/uploads/4/0/4/7/4047750/5998360.jpg?0)
This lesson has students read about the large number of elements that are associated with the town of Ytterby, Sweden and how the Earth's geological processes and the demand for porcelain in the 18th century are responsible for that.
A mini 5E lesson can be downloaded by clicking here.
A YouTube video about Ytterby can be found by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9QmVM536Ks.
A website with a table containing the source of each element's name can be found on Rod Beavon's webpage at http://www.rod.beavon.clara.net/elements.htm
A mini 5E lesson can be downloaded by clicking here.
A YouTube video about Ytterby can be found by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9QmVM536Ks.
A website with a table containing the source of each element's name can be found on Rod Beavon's webpage at http://www.rod.beavon.clara.net/elements.htm
Mendeleev's Eka-Aluminum
![Picture](/uploads/4/0/4/7/4047750/6125553.jpg?0)
This lesson has students watch a video of the disappearings spoon and then read about how important the discovery of Gallium was to Mendeleev's credibility.
A mini 5E lesson can be downloaded by clicking here.
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YouTube videos of the disappearing spoon can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaJ_Yxj9bG8 and ¡ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIbYiO5BRYk.
The online article by Sam Kean can be found by clicking “Gallium: It Proved That Dmitri Mendeleev, Father of the Periodic Table, Wasn’t a Crackpot” .
A mini 5E lesson can be downloaded by clicking here.
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YouTube videos of the disappearing spoon can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaJ_Yxj9bG8 and ¡ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIbYiO5BRYk.
The online article by Sam Kean can be found by clicking “Gallium: It Proved That Dmitri Mendeleev, Father of the Periodic Table, Wasn’t a Crackpot” .
Fritz Haber
![Picture](/uploads/4/0/4/7/4047750/7538927.jpg?0)
In this lesson, students watch a short video on the gas chambers of the Holocaust and read about the development of the chemicals that were used for these horrific events.
A mini 5E lesson can be downloaded by clicking here.
The YouTube video may be viewed by clicking here.
Chemical Warfare Demonstration, WW1. Photography.Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 9 Nov 2012. http://quest.eb.com/images/132_1214587
A mini 5E lesson can be downloaded by clicking here.
The YouTube video may be viewed by clicking here.
Chemical Warfare Demonstration, WW1. Photography.Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 9 Nov 2012. http://quest.eb.com/images/132_1214587
Consumer Responsibility
![Picture](/uploads/4/0/4/7/4047750/7012684.jpg?0)
In this lesson, students will watch a video and read an article on the effects that our demand for elements used in technological devices has had on regions of Africa.
A mini 5E lesson can be downloaded by clicking here.
The video from the BBC can be found here.
The article about accountability for businesses from the Global Post can be accessed here.
Technology. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 9 Nov 2012.http://quest.eb.com/images/158_2463222
A mini 5E lesson can be downloaded by clicking here.
The video from the BBC can be found here.
The article about accountability for businesses from the Global Post can be accessed here.
Technology. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 9 Nov 2012.http://quest.eb.com/images/158_2463222
The Longest Word EVER
![Picture](/uploads/4/0/4/7/4047750/4494641.jpg?107)
This lesson requires students to analyze the longest word to look for reasons why it is spelled like it is. The word is actually the spelled out name of the Tobacco Mosaic Virus and its name is due to its chemical structure. It is a great intro for studying proteins or naming.
A mini 5E lesson can be downloaded by clicking here.
Kean's blog contains an article about this topic titled "Carbon: The source of living things and the longest word"
Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 9 Nov 2012.http://quest.eb.com/images/139_2016308
A mini 5E lesson can be downloaded by clicking here.
Kean's blog contains an article about this topic titled "Carbon: The source of living things and the longest word"
Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 9 Nov 2012.http://quest.eb.com/images/139_2016308
Sam Kean wrote 32 blogs for Slate magazine in which he discussed many of the topics he covered in his book and also some additional information.
Click here to be taken to blog #1. The names and information of the other blogs can be found on the right-hand side of the article.
Below is a table with other interesting topics from the book in it
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Table containing other topics in book and pages they can be found on | |
File Size: | 116 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Other useful sites:
Elementymology- the study of the history of the elements and their names.
Click here for Peter van der Krogt's website that categorizes and lists the source of the element names.
Another great website for researching about the process of how elements are named and the origins of each name is http://h2g2.com/approved_entry/A2654769.
Click here for Peter van der Krogt's website that categorizes and lists the source of the element names.
Another great website for researching about the process of how elements are named and the origins of each name is http://h2g2.com/approved_entry/A2654769.
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This is a list of numerous books, some with a lot of science content and some with just a mention, that you might find useful in your classroom | |
File Size: | 62 kb |
File Type: | xls |