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Molloy College
Division of Education

Student: Christine Cassese Professor: Dr. Patricia Mason

Course: EDU 5240-01 Date: December 3, 2019
Grade: 2 Topic: Chemical Reactions/Oxidation Content Area: Science

STANDARDS AND INDICATORS

Science Standard
NGSS Disciplinary Core Idea: PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter
Matter can be described and classified by its observable properties

Indicator: This will be evident when students accurately record the effects of vinegar on copper pennies
on the “Why is the Statue of Liberty green?” worksheet using crayons.

ELA Standard: New York State Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standard
Reading Standards (Literary and Information Text)
Key Ideas and Details
2W6
Develop questions and participate in shared research and explorations to answer questions and to build
knowledge

Indicator: This will be evident when students correctly explain why the Statue of Liberty is green on
the “Why is the Statue of Liberty green?” worksheet.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVE(S)
After a class discussion about oxidation, students will perform an experiment and record the effects of
salt and vinegar on copper pennies on the “Why is the Statue of Liberty green?” worksheet, attaining a
score of at least 2 out of 3 on a teacher-constructed rubric.

PRIOR ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE, CONCEPTIONS/MISCONCEPTIONS

Prior Academic Knowledge

Before introducing a science lesson on the effects of oxidation on copper, students must be able to
identify the current color of the Statue of Liberty.

© Molloy College, Division of Education, Rockville Centre, NY 11571

Revised 8/28/19
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Misconceptions

Some students may believe that the Statue of Liberty has always been green. Students may also not be
aware of the significance of the Statue of Liberty.

DEVELOPMENTAL PROCEDURES

1. MOTIVATION

The teacher will show the scrambled Lady Liberty interactive puzzle on the SMART Board and ask

students to make guesses on what American symbol is in the puzzle. (Can anyone guess which

landmark is in the puzzle?) After hearing a few responses, students will be called up to complete the

puzzle collaboratively to see if their guess was correct. [10 minutes]

2. After completing the puzzle, students will be asked to participate in a teacher-led discussion to

explore what they already know about the State of Liberty. At this time, the teacher will pass a small

model of the Statue of Liberty around the classroom for students to look at during the discussion.

(Where is the Statue of Liberty located? Can you describe what the Statue of Liberty looks like? Has

anyone visited the Statue of Liberty in person? What does she represent?) The teacher will record

the students’ answers on the SMART Board. [7 minutes]

3. The teacher will transition into a discussion focusing on the Statue of Liberty’s appearance. What is

the Statue of Liberty wearing? What two objects is she holding? What color is she?) [4 minutes]

4. After the class agrees that the Statue of Liberty is green, the teacher will challenge the students’ prior

knowledge of the Statue. (Was the Statue of Liberty always green? Can anyone guess what color it

was originally?) [4 minutes]

5. After revealing that the Statue of Liberty was originally brown in color, the teacher will explain that

it is made out of copper. (Can anyone tell me which every day object is also made out of copper?)

© Molloy College, Division of Education, Rockville Centre, NY 11571

Revised 8/28/19
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The teacher will begin a discussion on the effects of oxidation on copper over time. The teacher will

ask students to brainstorm and think of reasons oxidation may have occurred. (How old is the Statue

of Liberty? Do you think its age may have caused it to turn green? Does anyone know what the

Statue of Liberty is surrounded by? Do you think the ocean may have caused it to turn green?) [10

minutes]

6. The teacher will record all reasons for oxidation on the SMART Board. The teacher will set up the

penny experiment and present the materials to the class. The teacher will ask the students to infer

what each object represents. (What do you think the pennies represent in our experiment? What do

you think the salt and vinegar represents?) The teacher will then break students into groups of six.

The teacher will distribute the “Why is the Statue of Liberty green?” worksheet to each student, and

experiment materials to each group. [10 minutes]

7. The students will place a paper towel into the craft tray and place six pennies on top. With the
teacher’s supervision, the students will pour white vinegar on top of the paper towel and pennies

until the paper towel is saturated. The students will then sprinkle the pennies with salt. As a group,

students will work together to answer the prediction question on the worksheet. (What do you think

will happen to the pennies?) The students will then use their crayons to color in the Day 1 penny on

the worksheet. [10 minutes]

8. Closure: The teacher will close the lesson by reviewing each group’s prediction of what will happen
to the pennies by the end of the week. The class will observe their pennies over the next four days

and record the pennies’ appearance each day. (Do you think the pennies will turn green by the end of

this week?) [10 minutes]

© Molloy College, Division of Education, Rockville Centre, NY 11571

Revised 8/28/19
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ASSESSMENT
Informal assessment

Teacher-led group discussions

Student responses, questions, and predictions
Monitoring students’ participation

Formal assessment

Students will perform an experiment and record the effects of salt and vinegar on copper pennies on the
“Why is the Statue of Liberty green?” worksheet, attaining a score of at least 2 out of 3 on a teacher-
constructed rubric.

Strong Grasp Progressing Not in Evidence

3 2 1
Student does not
Prediction Student states a clear, Student states a
state a clear or
Statement correct prediction clear prediction
correct prediction
Student neatly and Student did not
Student depicted
accurately depicted the accurately depict the
Recording the appearance of
appearance of pennies appearance of the
Findings the pennies with
throughout the pennies throughout
only one error
experiment the experiment

Student states a Student does not

Student states a clear,
correct conclusion; state a correct
correct conclusion;
demonstrates a conclusion; does not
demonstrates an
Conclusion decent demonstrate an
excellent understanding
Statement understanding of understanding of the
of the results of the
the results of the results of the
experiment and
experiment and/or experiment and/or
oxidation
oxidation oxidation

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

 Group Discussion
o Indicator: This will be evident when students participate in a teacher-led discussion about the
Statue of Liberty.

© Molloy College, Division of Education, Rockville Centre, NY 11571

Revised 8/28/19
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 Cooperative Learning
o Indicator: This will be evident when students work in small groups to perform the penny
experiment and record their initial observations.

 Direct Instruction
o Indicator: This will be evident when the teacher is giving instructions on how the experiment is
to be set up and performed.

ADAPTATIONS
Bryce
 the student who struggles to focus and attend will be re-focused and re-directed though the use of
specific non-verbal cues.
 the student who struggles with spelling will be provided with an opportunity to verbally respond to
the questions, while writing key words and ideas on the worksheet.
 the student who struggles with reading will be verbally presented the questions and instructions on
the worksheet.

Melodie
 the student who impulsively calls out during class discussions will be monitored through a Behavior
Intervention Plan (BIP).
 the student who struggles to focus and attend will be re-focused and re-directed though the use of
specific non-verbal cues.
 the student with emerging literacy skills will be verbally given multiple choice responses to the
questions on the worksheet.
 the student who struggles with reading will be verbally presented the questions and instructions on
the worksheet.

Herbie
 the student who struggles to work in small groups will be encouraged to select his/her own peer
group and be assigned a specific “role” during the experiment.
 the student with emerging literacy skills will be verbally given multiple choice responses to the
questions on the worksheet.
 the student who struggles with reading will be verbally presented the questions and instructions on
the worksheet.

© Molloy College, Division of Education, Rockville Centre, NY 11571

Revised 8/28/19
*edTPA academic language
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DIFFERENTIATION OF INSTRUCTION
Struggling Students
 While completing the “Why is the Statue of Liberty green?” worksheet, students will be reminded of
the definition of the words “prediction” and “conclusion” and be provided with a list of key words to
use in their responses.

Average Students
 While completing the “Why is the Statue of Liberty green?” worksheet, students will be reminded of
the definition of the words “prediction” and “conclusion.”

Advanced Students
 While completing the “Why is the Statue of Liberty green?” worksheet, students will be given an
opportunity to answer the bonus question on the worksheet asking what the green film that formed
on the Statue of Liberty is called.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE
Following the lesson on oxidation, students will brainstorm other natural occurrences of oxidation and
bring in their findings (verbally or written) to informally share with the class, if they choose. Family
involvement will be necessary. Teacher will check for accuracy.

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES:
DIRECT TEACHER INTERVENTION AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT
Direct Teacher Intervention

 The student, under direct intervention with the teacher, will review what happened to the pennies at
the end of the experiment and why this change occurred to reinforce the concept of oxidation.

Academic Enrichment

 The student will visit the following website

https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-the-statue-of-liberty-green/
to identify additional information/facts on the process of oxidation on the Statue of Liberty.

© Molloy College, Division of Education, Rockville Centre, NY 11571

Revised 8/28/19
*edTPA academic language
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INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES AND MATERIALS

SMART Board Lady Liberty interactive puzzle
“Why is the Statue of Liberty green” worksheet pencils
copper pennies craft trays
paper towels vinegar
salt crayons
penny experiment instruction sheet teacher-constructed rubric

© Molloy College, Division of Education, Rockville Centre, NY 11571

Revised 8/28/19
*edTPA academic language
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REFERENCES

American Chemical Society (2019). The Statue of Liberty’s True Colors? Reactions – Uncover the

Chemistry in Everyday Life. Retrieved from

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/reactions/videos/2017/the-statue-of-libertys-true-

colors.html

CoolMathGames (2019). Lady Liberty. Retrieved from

https://www.coolmathgames.com/american-moments/lady-liberty/easy

Kidzfeed (2019). State Of Liberty Facts For Kids – All About Statue Of Liberty. Retrieved from

https://kidzfeed.com/statue-of-liberty-facts-for-kids/

New York State Department of Education (2019). NYS P-12 Science Learning Standards (P-2).

Retrieved from

http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/curriculum-instruction/p-12-science-

learning-standards9-18p2.pdf

New York State Department of Education (2019). New York State Next Generation English Language

Arts Learning Standards. Retrieved from

http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/curriculum-instruction/nys-next-

generation-ela-standards.pdf

Rubistar (2019). Create Rubrics for your Project-Based Learning Activities. Retrieved from

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Rustad, M. E. H., & Conger, H. (2015). Why is the Statue of Liberty green? (Cloverleaf Books: Our

American Symbols) Minneapolis: Millbrook Press.

© Molloy College, Division of Education, Rockville Centre, NY 11571

Revised 8/28/19
*edTPA academic language
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Wonderopolis: Where the Wonders of Learning Never Cease (2019). Why Is the Statue of Liberty

Green? Retrieved from

https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-the-statue-of-liberty-green/

© Molloy College, Division of Education, Rockville Centre, NY 11571

Revised 8/28/19
*edTPA academic language