Landmark Lesson Plans
High School Lesson Plans Based on ACS National Historic Chemical Landmark Subjects
The following inquiry-based student activities are designed for use in high school chemistry and history lesson planning. Based on material from the ACS National Historic Chemical Landmarks program, the lessons, reading materials, videos and student activities are designed as ready-to-go lessons, easily implemented by a chemistry teacher or substitute, to supplement a unit of study.
Radiocarbon Dating and Willard Libby
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Chemistry and history
The handout and activities will help students understand how we know the age of artifacts containing carbon. Students will practice critical reading and writing skills as they develop a deeper understanding of the carbon cycle and radiocarbon dating. The final activity integrates writing as students are asked to summarize what they have learned about radiocarbon dating.
Steroid Medicines - A Profile of Chemical Innovation
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Organic chemistry, green chemistry, medicine and history
The activities, videos and article will help students understand the timeline and innovations involved in developing steroid medicines — including cortisone — and in devising a practical, affordable way to make them.
In organic chemistry, the activities relate to steroid structures. In green chemistry, the activities connect several principles of sustainability to past steroid research. In medicine, the activities relate to the medical use of steroids. In history, the activities highlight the multi-decade path of steroid research.
Discovery of Ivermectin - Preventing Blindness and Heartworm
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Chemistry, medicine and history
The handout and activities will help students learn about the history of ivermectin as a groundbreaking medical treatment, including its current and future use in eliminating river blindness and treating heartworm and other parasites in pets and livestock, understand its chemical structures, and describe its various impacts.
In chemistry, the activities relate to chemical structures and how they can be represented. In medicine, the activities relate to how small changes to a molecule can have a large impact on its effectiveness as a drug and the multiple areas of impact of ivermectin. In history, the activities highlight the people and organizations involved in developing and using ivermectin, and also the past, present, and future of the drug.
Mars Exploration with Infrared Spectrometers
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Chemistry and history
The lesson plan will help students understand the importance of instrumentation on space probes.
The chemistry activities relate to infrared (IR) spectrometry and how it works. The history activity covers the chronology of Mars exploration and asks students to think about the future of Mars exploration. Students also practice critical reading and writing skills in the lesson.
The Periodic Table & the Transuranium Elements
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Chemistry and history
The handout and activities will help students learn about the people and discoveries that led to the development of today’s periodic table, with a focus on the transuranium elements. The final activity integrates writing as students are asked to summarize what they have learned about the periodic table.
Students will practice critical reading and writing skills as they develop a deeper understanding of the development of the periodic table.
Climate Change and the Keeling Curve
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Atmospheric chemistry, chemical reactions and history
The handout and activities will help students learn how scientists came to understand global warming using evidence collected over decades.
Students will practice critical reading and writing skills as they develop a deeper understanding of how scientists found evidence for climate change. The final activity in particular integrates writing as students are asked to explain our current understanding of climate change and relate what they have learned to their lives.
Chlorofluorocarbons and Ozone Depletion
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Atmospheric chemistry, chemical reactions and history
The handout, activities and videos will help students understand the timeline and reasons for the initial development and use of chlorofluorocarbons as refrigerants, but also their eventual banning due to their damaging effect on stratospheric ozone. Students will also explore the chemical reactions related to this damage and the challenges faced by atmospheric researchers.
In atmospheric chemistry, the activities relate to the different regions of the atmosphere and the different roles that the same chemical can play depending on its location, and the work of atmospheric chemistry researchers to educate others about the harmful effects of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). In chemical reactions, the activities relate to CFCs and stratospheric ozone. In history, the activities highlight the process of change connected with the use of refrigerants throughout history. An additional science-related concept is the perception of chemicals as positive or negative.
The Legacy of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Chemistry, biology and environmental science
The handout, activities and video will help students understand the reasons for the widespread use of the insecticide DDT earlier in history as well as its subsequent banning. They will be able to see the lasting effect Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring has had on chemistry itself, our view of the environment and how we weigh the benefits and drawbacks of new materials and technology.
In chemistry, the activities relate to concentration, with units as small as parts per million; solubility of compounds in water versus fat; and decision-making based on green chemistry principles. In biology, the activities relate to the effect of a contaminant on a food chain and bioaccumulation of a fat-soluble contaminant. In environmental science, the activities highlight the weighing of benefits versus drawbacks in the use of a material or technology, and the effect of Silent Spring on our views of humans and nature. Other science-related concepts include the types of information that can support a rigorously researched scientific argument.
Setting the Standards of Excellence
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Chemistry and history
The handout and activities will help students understand the need for standards in all areas of science as well as how standards have evolved during the past two centuries. The last activity in the lesson plan invites students to reflect in writing on how standards relate to their lives.
The chemistry activities relate to physical and chemical properties of substances. The history activities connect the chronology of standards development with the need for standards. Students also practice critical reading and writing skills in the lesson.
Isolation of Phytochrome
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Chemistry, botany and physics
The handout, activities and videos will help students understand the progression of several decades of research leading to the discovery and isolation of phytochrome. The phytochrome system in plants serves as a control mechanism for plant development such as germination and flowering. It is triggered by specific wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation.
In chemistry and botany, the activities relate to making chemical predictions based on observations of plant physiology, then analyzing the accuracy of those predictions. In physics, the activities relate to the electromagnetic spectrum. Other science-related concepts are the importance of collaboration in the scientific process, and how research builds knowledge over long periods of time.
Norbert Rillieux, Thermodynamics and Chemical Engineering
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Chemistry, Engineering, Thermodynamics and History
The handout and activities will help students understand the chemical engineering advances of Norbert Rillieux (1806-1894). Rillieux, an African American inventor and one of the earliest chemical engineers, had a major impact on how sugar was produced on Southern plantations during the time of slavery. The basic design of his multiple-effect evaporator is still being used today.
In chemistry, the activities relate to engineering practices and thermodynamics. In history, the themes are the Industrial Revolution, the status of African Americans during slavery and the American Civil War.
Man and Materials Through History
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Chemistry, Materials Science, Polymers and History
The handout, video and activities will help students gain insight into the connection between materials science and cultural and technological developments, specifically relating to the development of the world's first synthetic plastic, Bakelite.
In chemistry, the activities relate to the definition of polymers and polymerization reactions. In history, the themes are the periods of human history and the chronology of technological and materials science developments.
Development of Baking Powder
Grades: 9-12
Subject Areas: Chemistry and History
The video and handout will help students understand the chemistry and gain insight into the history featured in the development of baking powder.
In chemistry, the activities relate to nomenclature, formula writing, reactions and organic functional groups; in history, the theme is the interdependence of science and industrialization.
Discovery of Fullerenes
Grades: 9-12
Subject Area: Chemistry and Nanotechnology
The video and handout will help students understand the chemistry of fullerenes and to appreciate the events that led to their discovery.
In chemistry, the activities relate to measurement, diatomic molecules and allotropes, nanoparticles, the relationship of molecular structure to properties of substances, and scientific discovery through collaboration and serendipity.
Joseph Priestley, Discoverer of Oxygen
Grades: 9-12
Subject Area: Chemistry and History
The handout will help students understand the historical context and how chemistry was practiced during Joseph Priestley’s time (1733-1804).
In chemistry, the activities relate to identifying physical and chemical properties, nomenclature, and the scientific process. In history, the activities relate to chronology of scientific discoveries and the relationships between England, France and America in the late 1700s.
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