Main objectives:
What is pH? What is acid rain? How can acid rain do?
Journal writing
This will help to assess the students’ prior knowledge. The questions will be general so that the students can write whatever comes to mind. Questions can include what is acid rain? How is it formed? What is pH? What are the effects of Acid Rain? Collect journals, read and generate questions for the next class based on responses.
Group Brainstorming
Break students up into groups of three. Give each group a sheet of butcher paper and have them write with a marker all the things that they have heard about acid rain (what it is, what it is not, students can even draw pictures!) Student groups will include a timekeeper, a scribe and a presenter. Each group presenter will stick their butcher paper of ideas on the wall and go through their group’s list. The class will note the similarities and differences in the lists.
Sentence Strip
Each group will be given one sentence strip. The group will generate one question about acid rain that they want answered and write it on the sentence strip. The rule here is that if even one person in the group knows the answer then they cannot use that question.
Closure:
Read off sentence strips and ask students one thing that they learned.
