Science Instructional Plans (SIPs) help teachers align instruction with the Science Standards of Learning (SOL) by providing examples of how the content and the scientific and engineering practices found in the SOL and curriculum framework can be presented to students in the classroom.

As technology has evolved over time so has the understanding of the structure of the atom. This module focuses on how the model of the atom has changed over time using The Atomic Theory Timeline including the historical contributions of the scientists involved. This module was developed by Tracey Nipper as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

Students use gumdrops and toothpicks to make lithium atom models. Using these models, they investigate the makeup of atoms, including their relative size. Students are then asked to form molecules out of atoms, much in the same way they constructed atoms out of the particles that atoms are made of. Students also practice adding and subtracting electrons from an atom and determining the overall charges on atoms.

In this lab activity students will try to develop methods of collecting data, other than visual, by trying to determine the contents of several small boxes. They will make connections between this procedure and the procedures scientists used to develop the modern model of the atom.

In this lab activity students will try to develop methods of collecting data, other than visual, by trying to determine the contents of several small boxes. They will make connections between this procedure and the procedures scientists used to develop the modern model of the atom.