In honor of the International Year of the Periodic Table, Tom Kuntzleman decided to write a song, sing it, and shoot an accompanying video to honor 150 years of the Periodic Table of Elements. Enjoy his song and video: Chemistry is Everywhere!
The beginning of the school year is almost here.
I facilitate a working group of chemistry teachers in the New York area and we recently created our own activity surrounding the topic of oxidation. The goal of the probe was to force students to think about what the meaning of oxidation is, as well as to allow students to engage in the science and engineering practice of argumentation. This was an introductory lesson to my oxidation and reduction unit prior to students learning the terms oxidation and reduction.
The thought of being videotaped while teaching could make me break out in a cold sweat. Will I say the right things? Will I stumble over my words? Will I look awkward? Will my students behave the way I hope they will? Aaaaah! Deep breaths!
More students use YouTube than any other demographic. Considering this reality, I began creating my own video content on my YouTube channel, The Science Classroom. As a seasoned YouTube content creator, I offer tips for getting started with your own science tutorials.
Use Mega M&Ms, M&Ms minis, and regular M&M’s in this activity to examine the concept of isotopes and average atomic mass. The color of the M&M’s represent that they are the same element and have the same number of protons. The size represents, in a relative sense, the different numbers of neutrons.
Organic Chemistry is overlooked as a first year chemistry topic in most areas, but it can be a very valuable and fun experience for students. This is an activity that can be used to introduce students to functional groups.
Check out several whiteboarding techniques that can be used to reduce and distribute the cognitive load carried by our students.
Read Charlotte Allerton's career profile describing her background and her current position within Pfizer's Medicine Design organization.
At this point, there doesn’t seem to be a bank of released NGSS assessment items that we can draw from to use in our own classes, especially for traditional Chemistry classes. This means, that we as teachers may need to write some of our own assessment prompts to use in our classes.
