Tales from the science classroom

 Week 12: Chemistry We started Unit 2 by setting up the notebook and doing a phenomenon.  Then there was a demo on thermal expansion and finally we watched a series of  Eureka! videos about solids, liquids, gases, and temperature. That took 2 full days. I'm not super thrilled with how this unit starts and I think I may try to revamp it for next year. It's just kind of slow and boring.  AP Chemistry:   Believe we started Unit 3 this week, not even sure I remember. Oh, I remember now. We finished up the test on Tuesday and then started Unit 3 on Thursday. Nothing exciting, just some lecturing and note taking.  Week 13: Chemistry This week was the gas laws labs. We started the week with a short lecture on pressure. Then proceeded to the first of the gas laws labs - Pressure v. Volume. Then, next class, we moved on to Pressure v. number of particles after whiteboarding the first lab.  AP Chemistry:  I had a meeting on Tuesday so they were given a...

 Since I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, time for a catch up.  Week 10:  This was the week before break and we were all done. Completely. Totally. Done.  Chemistry:  Week 10:  Started dimensional analysis (maybe that is why I was so done - teaching this is far harder than it should be). Did a little work on dimensional analysis. Then, on Wednesday/Thursday, I gave them a catch up day. They could work on their summative task, retake any thing they did poorly on, whatever. I did not feel like jumping into something on the day before break. I honestly didn't feel like working on the day before break.  Over the fall break, I watched a webinar about mathematical reasoning. It really struck home because I realized that these kids had no concept of numbers or what they mean exactly or even really how to use them well. They know the algorithms but they don't really understand what they are doing. So over the break I created a lecture and some notes for th...

 It was a week.  Chemistry:  Monday/Tuesday:  We whiteboarded worksheet #3 and then did worksheet #4. Worksheet #4 was turned in for a grade.  Wednesday/Thursday: We took some notes on density and then did Big Idea #3. The Summative Task was distributed and work began on it.  AP Chemistry:  Tuesday: Lecture on periodic trends and a little practice Thursday: Lecture on PES and then a little practice.  I was very low energy this week and it was reflected in my classes. Also, we are approaching fall break and that is just kind of making things drag a bit. Next week is the week before break and I'm truly looking forward to break. We are going to New Mexico for a few days and I'm super excited about it.  That was it. Not a lot to say. As I said, low energy week and so nothing exciting happened. 

 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...

 So after my brain dump on Thursday things went a whole lot smoother. Let's recap.  Chemistry:  Monday and Tuesday we did our first big lab. I set up the board with the way they were to set up their notebooks - that was their bellwork, setting up their notebooks. Many didn't do that. That means when we started the lab they weren't ready to go. There were 5 things they had to do and collect data on and it took most of the class. As I wrote about on Thursday, some groups didn't finish it because they were goofing off. Others did pretty crappy jobs at it. The bottom line is that I was majorly disappointed in these students as a whole. But all is not lost. I just need to take a step back and keep going step by step until they can do these things on their own. Not a problem. After I lost it on my first class on Wednesday, I had that class write a page on what they found in the lab. But as they were writing I realized that I could give a short lecture as to what I wanted them...