After only 2 weeks of school, we had another lengthy break, allowing kids' brains to marinate in all the chemistry glory they have learned... right?! Assuming many students didn't get to much chemistry during the break, I will allow students time to get back into the groove on Tuesday... but it is a very important lesson, so hopefully they will be ready and willing to take it all in!
This week, the chemistry 20s will have their first lab report due... and this may cause a little bit of stress in the class. Many students are afraid of the "Mogck Chem Lab" and feel they are not prepared for the expectations. This stress should be alleviated slightly, as the expectations are clearly outlined in the Science Department wide Lab Rubric. All science classes use this rubric to evaluate lab reports, however, obviously it is impossible to mark exactly the same for all classes. For this reason, the first lab report is to be taken with a grain of salt... I will ensure plenty of comments will allow clear understanding of my expectations for the following labs, and if students follow the guidelines and comments, it is impossible to do worse on the following labs. At the same time, chemistry 20 labs do require a relatively high level of understanding and application of the learning to the concept being analysed in the lab, which many students struggle with. The application and description of why they saw the results they did seems to be a difficult concept to express for the 20s. Obviously, lab reports and scientific writing is a work in progress, and by the end of semester, after performing 2-3 labs per unit, students will better understand lab concepts (and hopefully be able to apply this to lab specific final exam questions - and be prepared for chem 30!) Soo.... after all of that... what's up for this week?!? This week in Chem 30 Monday: still off... kids never seem to be at school anymore ;) Tuesday: Finish Lab 1 Inquiry Wednesday: Lewis Diagrams and VSEPR (topic 4) Thursday: Forces in Molecules (topic 5) Friday: Unit A Quiz 1 (topic 1-4) Upcoming Due Dates Friday February 27 - Unit A Quiz (1-4) Tuesday March 3 - Bonding Inquiry Lab due Wednesday March 4 - Unit A EXAM Monday March 9 - Meet my Molecule Project due REMINDER: PLEASE SIGN UP FOR PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11 FROM 5PM-8PM!
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![]() Last week, the chemistry 20s reviewed what they knew (or didn't know) from Science 10... and they will be quizzed on that Tuesday! This week we are beginning the real chemistry 20, with a unit based on bonding. Often times, students feel this unit is very similar to science 10 learning, with a little bit of theory added on. There is minimal math in this unit, however students will require a quality scientific calculator for the rest of the chemistry 20 curriculum (so if you don't have one, please pick one up!) This week, the chem 20s will also be introduced to their first chemistry lab of the semester. This lab is important for students to understand how to create a proper lab report, and it allows me the chance to return it with a vast amount of informative reflective comments that the students will be able to use for their lab reports through the semester! Being a large class of 37, it may take me a while to return the lab reports with comments, but when the students get them back they will be extremely helpful! A quick note: this semester I have started to do Friday Exit Slips that are a really great tool that allow me to see what students are understanding from the week. The Exit Slips are (mainly) open book, and between 1-4 questions long. Overall, these slips will be worth less than 4% of the total mark, and are an excellent indicator of student understanding as time goes by! I feel these are an excellent indicator for me as the teacher, and great help for studying for students, as they will be comprised of exam style questions to study from! This week in Chem 20: Monday: Ionic Molecular lab Tuesday: Topic 1 Bonding Theory & Review Quiz Wednesday: Topic 2 Ionic Bonding Theory Thursday: Covalent Bonding Theory Friday: Work Period Upcoming Due Dates: Tuesday Feb 10: Science 10 Review Quiz Wednesday Feb 25: Ionic Molecular Lab due |
AuthorMs. Kendra Mogck Archives
January 2017
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