Tales from the science classroom

 Last week I didn't get to blog so it's time to catch up here.  Week 7:  Chemistry:  Monday/Tuesday: We whiteboarded worksheet 2 which was all on measuring and reading scales. Then we had a lecture on SI units. I discovered that whiteboarding takes far, far longer than I anticipate.  Wednesday/Thursday: We had an assessment on reading measurements and estimating the last number. Then we began a lab exploring mass v. volume. This was a little difficult as I had to explain, repeatedly, how to use a caliper. But we struggled through.  AP Chemistry:  Tuesday: Lecture on electron configuration, Hund's Rule, Aufbau principle, and Pauli exclusion principle. Went through those in some detail.  Thursday: We did some worksheets on the above and got ready to start a lab.  Week 8:  Chemistry:  Monday/Tuesday: We completed the mass v. volume lab and they had to graph out the data. We used two things to do this lab, some density cylinders and den...

 So this week was a 2 day week due to the 5 day weekend. And it was brutal. Getting back into the swing of things after 5 days off takes more than 1 day. But we survived and the week is now over.  Chemistry this week: Over the 5 day weekend, I graded the worksheets they did and was so disappointed in the grades. So I decided, since we only had 1 day this week, to revisit those worksheets. I gave them back with all the red  marks on them. Each group was given a part of a problem and they had to do it up on the white board. I circulated and made corrections or clarifications where necessary. Then everyone got to 'copy' the whiteboards onto a new worksheet and submit that for a grade. I also did the first notebook check. It was worth 10 points and while most students did well, I clearly have to remind them of some things. So I am going to start reminding them of some things daily.  AP Chemistry this week:  We finished up the test that they started last week. It too...

 Yes!!! So the year is off and running. We are already nearing the end of our first unit and I  need to start thinking of the summative task. I believe I have something in mind, I just need to flesh it out. I also need to get the Big Ideas in order and ready to do. So that's what I'm going to work on over the 5 day weekend. I want the entire rest of the first unit laid out and the summative task complete so that I can just deliver the content. Okay, let's get to this week:  Chemistry Monday/Tuesday:  We took our first minor assessment. It was a review of the mass & change lab. I still have to grade it, so I will see how they did this weekend.  After the assessment, we did the cm3 vs mL lab. What a freaking mess. And honestly, I don't think they understood what was going on. They are sometimes so clueless and will just go through the motions rather than try to figure out what is really happening.  Chemistry Wednesday/Thursday:  Today we reviewed the...