Learning objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
Plan lessons that help students experience, describe and explain some abstract concepts in chemistry;
Describe ideas about the chemistry of materials in terms of the particle nature of matter;
Be familiar with strategies used in a guided inquiry approach to teaching;
Focus on the use of representations that are particularly suited to the abstract concepts in chemistry to provide learning opportunities; and
Describe some practical examples of the teaching approaches and strategies that can be applied in classroom settings to engage students in learning chemistry.
Introduction
This chapter focuses on the learning and teaching of chemistry in primary school classrooms through the use of representations and appropriate vocabulary. It will examine ways of organising knowledge and linking scientific models and theories to observations and experiences. The Australian Curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2012) and the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education (MoE), 2007) cover common chemical concepts, under the banners of Chemical Science and the Material World respectively, related to the composition and behaviour of substances. Central to this are the ideas of matter, the changes matter undergoes, and the energy involved in these changes (ACARA, 2012; MoE, 2007).
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