Activities

The first unit of chemistry, no matter your content sequence, is an opportunity to use formative assessments to identify student prior knowledge. In addition, this is also a time for your students to get an idea of your instructional approach and how they will be participating in class.

Just this week I'm reviewing equilibrium with my IB Chemistry seniors after they finished some summer study on the topic. One of our classes was spent manipulating a classic equilibrium involving copper ions and a copper-chloride complex ion.

This year I received a Hach Grant to purchase new molecular model sets for my classroom. I have been using the same old Sargent Welch model kits made of wood for many years.

For my students and me, the AP Chemistry exam does not mark the end of the school year. Once the AP exam is over, my students are exhausted but our class continues to meet for three more weeks. Each year we complete a qualitative analysis lab, but this year we finished earlier than I anticipated. For the first time all year, I have the luxury of time.

Each spring my Local Section of The American Chemical Society (ACS) hosts a rigorous two part exam as part of the selection process for the The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO).

Using a whiteboard or poster paper each group of students creates their interpretation of the model thus far based on a content unit they are given.

This is my first year of using Modeling Instruction^TM in my chemistry classes. During a fit of productivity, I created some bell ringers for unit one, which is partly about conservation of mass. I hope you will find them useful. 

During the first week of school, I welcome my students to the What Not To Do Lab.

An advantage to teaching on the trimester schedule allows me the opportunity to teach the same course again roughly twelve weeks later.