Counting Atoms & Elements Complete Lesson Plan - MS

Make chemistry meaningful for your students with this engaging, ready-to-teach unit on chemical formulas, subscripts, and coefficients.
This fully editable, multiday lesson includes presentations, worksheets, student-choice projects, and assessments—everything you need to help students confidently identify elements and count atoms within chemical formulas.

Built around student-led, differentiated learning, this resource allows you to spend less time prepping and more time supporting student success.

Essential Questions

• How are chemical formulas used to identify substances?

• How do subscripts, coefficients, and parentheses determine the number of atoms of each element in a chemical formula?

Texas Teachers: This lesson aligns with the 2017 TEKS and will not be updated for the 2021 standards.

Why Teachers Love This Kesler Science Complete Lesson

• Differentiated materials to support all learners

• Multimodal learning to keep middle school students engaged and curious

• Maximum flexibility – printable, digital, or both

• Editable PowerPoints so you can customize for your classroom

• Spanish translations for vocabulary, reading passages, and interactive notebook pages

This resource follows the **research-based 5E Instructional Model—Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate—**to help students develop lasting understanding through inquiry and application.

What’s Included in Each 5E Stage

Engage

Kick off your lesson with activities that build curiosity and connect prior knowledge:

• Objectives and Word Wall Cards in English and Spanish

• Teacher guide featuring engaging class discussion ideas, activities, and common misconceptions

Explore

Students take charge of their learning through a student-led, differentiated station lab that supports all learners and styles.
With nine interactive stations, students explore how to read, interpret, and count atoms in chemical formulas using subscripts, coefficients, and parentheses.

Input Stations help students absorb information in multiple ways:

• Explore It! – Hands-on demo or experiment that makes abstract concepts concrete

• Read It! – Short, accessible passage with comprehension questions (English and Spanish versions included)

• Research It! – Guided online investigation with structured prompts

• Watch It! – Short, engaging video paired with lab sheet questions

Output Stations give students opportunities to demonstrate understanding:

• Organize It! – Sort and classify examples using printable or digital tools

• Write It! – Respond to open-ended prompts using complete sentences and key vocabulary

• Illustrate It! – Create drawings or diagrams to reinforce understanding

• Assess It! – Apply knowledge and demonstrate mastery through formal questions

Bonus Station – Challenge It!
A fun extension station for early finishers and advanced learners, offering enrichment activities such as puzzles, mini-projects, and reinforcement challenges.

Explain

Guide your students to deeper understanding with structured instruction and resources:

• Editable PowerPoints in standard and interactive formats for flexible teaching

• Interactive Notebook Templates in digital and printable formats (English and Spanish)

• Note-taking templates to help students organize information effectively

Elaborate

Encourage creativity and critical thinking with student-choice projects focused on counting elements and atoms.
Students extend their understanding by creating projects that demonstrate how to analyze and interpret chemical formulas.

Evaluate

Assess mastery and reinforce learning with:

• STAAR 2.0–style assessment questions in both standard and modified versions

• Review worksheets for class discussion, test prep, or homework

Perfect for In-Class or Virtual Learning

This lesson is designed for maximum flexibility, making it ideal for in-person, hybrid, or virtual classrooms.
Both the station lab and PowerPoint/interactive notebook materials are fully compatible with PowerPoint and Google Slides, ensuring that students can engage and learn effectively wherever they are.

This is a finished product; it will be updated with formatting or corrections as needed. Future improvements and new features will be sold as a separate product.