 We are officially half finished the curriculum in chemistry 20! Tuesday, we will be having our unit B exam. A reminder that this exam is completely optional, students are able to complete a project to demonstrate their understanding of the unit. The students have had plenty of time to work on their lab which is due Wednesday, including 5 work periods, so hopefully they will all have their lab handed in by the due date. Next week, the Friday before the long weekend, the chem 20s (all of them) will be writing the Midterm exam. This exam is summative learning from the beginning of the year (covering science 10 review, bonding, gases and part of solutions). Students will be given the opportunity to rewrite the unit tests prior to the midterm (as a study opportunity) after they complete their exam corrections. Thursday Friday will be dedicated to corrections and midterm studying, Monday, Tuesday of the following week will be rewrites. After that the chem 20s will be introduced to solutions, and then the midterm. This means most “in class studying” will be done this week and the beginning of next week. It is my hopes that the students will perform well on this midterm.
It should be noted here that although the midterm is a summative exam and cannot be rewritten, should a student do poorly on the exam, yet better on the final exam, the final mark (if higher) will replace the midterm mark. (I swear I have no idea how kids don’t take advantage of all the rewrite opportunities we never had in high school?!?!) This Week in Chemistry 20 Monday – Work period (Ms. Mogck Out) Tuesday – Optional Unit Test / Work Period Wednesday – Work Period (project / lab) Thursday – Corrections / Midterm Review Friday – Corrections / Midterm Review Upcoming Due Dates Tuesday October 28 – UNIT B TEST Wednesday October 29 – Ideal Gas Lab DUE Friday October 31 – Gases Final Project DUE Friday November 7 - MIDTERM EXAM Thursday November 13 – Extra Credit Lab Video DUE HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
0 Comments
Last week chem 20s successfully completed the learning portion of Unit 2: Gases! I have been extremely impressed with the chem 20s work ethic and comprehension of the chemistry. They have been very open to the Project Based Learning and Inquiry Based Learning in this unit. Students performed labs to investigate trends dealing with Gases and we had in class discussions to identify the gas laws: Boyle's Law, Charles' Law, Combined Gas Law and Ideal Gas Law. This week, the chem 20s will have a quiz to assess their understanding, and from there, they will develop their own lab to demonstrate the Ideal Gas Laws. They will also be asked to create a final project that demonstrates the depth of their understanding. It should be noted that students do have the opportunity to write a paper pencil test if they want to (in fact I would encourage students to do both, so that they can get the best assessment possible). After completing unit 2, chem 20s will be reviewing the chemistry we have learned thus far in the course, to prepare for the midterm! Coming Up This Week Monday: Quiz (17marks, 5questions) Tuesday: Review of Quiz, Intro of Final Lab Wednesday: Performance of Final Lab Thursday: Project Work / Final Lab Work Friday: Project Work / Final Lab Work Upcoming Due Dates Monday October 19 - Gas Laws Quiz Tuesday October 28 - Optional Unit B Exam Wednesday October 29 - Ideal Gas Law Final Lab due Friday October 31 - Final Project Due  This week marks one of the shortest weeks this semester! That being said, it will still be busy. Unfortunately, I am being sent to Lethbridge to learn more about High School Redesign and I will be missing Thursday's class :(
This past week, students essentially taught themselves the gases unit. We performed labs together, and analyzed the results, developing the understanding of the trends of gases... through inquiry rather than me (the teacher) standing and delivering the *ahem* boring information! I have been very impressed with students understandings and insight into this unit! In fact, they are ripping through the information! I cannot wait to see what the students develop for their own lab and final project in this unit! Coming Up This Week: Wednesday: Ideal Gas Law Inquiry "Lab" Thursday: Work Period Friday: In Class Assignment / Lab Development Upcoming Due Dates: MONDAY OCTOBER 20: Moodle Quiz Topic 1-5 TUESDAY OCTOBER 28: Optional Unit Exam WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 29: Gs Lab Final Due FRIDAY OCTOBER 31: Final Project Due Thank you to all parents who came to parent teacher interviews! Hopefully I wasn't too hard on your students and we worked out an action plan to better serve your child as a learner! I would like to take a moment and brag about the Chem 20s project based learning. It has been an initiative in RVS for a few years now to implement PBL into our classrooms, and the chem 20s are really starting to do well at it! I am just finishing the marking of the Molecule Project, in which students had to build a molecule and explain a variety of things with regard to the molecule. Overall, the projects were beautiful (as you can see in the pics below) but the depth of analysis left something to be desired! IF students are unhappy with their grade, they are welcome to redo the theory portion of their project at any time! Check out the pictures of the projects below! Happy Thanksgiving EVERYONE!  This week in chem 20 we are changing things up! Due to the fact that none of the chem 30s handed in a lab on time (none, zero, zilch, nadda) I feel like changes need to be made. In order for it to be more efficient, students will now be able to type their labs, however there is a catch. If students choose to type the lab, ALL the lab components must be typed. That includes all graphs, diagrams, and calculations. I will not be taking half the lab on computer and the other half on paper (that would be a marking nightmare). At the same time, this means I will be hyper aware of the possibility of copying, sharing or plagiarism. If the students are found to be sharing work, or blatantly copying (especially without sourcing) then the lab mark will be zero without the opportunity to change the mark. If students choose to hand write, they are welcome to do so as well. This change for the easier is accompanied by a new and improved assessment policy addition. As you are well aware, students are able to rewrite any assessment (big or small) excluding the midterm and the final. In an attempt to get students to hand things in on time (and avoid the stacks of late marking that I currently have due to kids handing in their lab a week late) students will forfeit the opportunity to rewrite labs or exams if their assignments are not handed in on time. This will begin with the start of Unit 2 in chem 20. I have posted the Science Department assessment policy for CHS below. I hope this will not only alleviate stress on the students, but reduce the number of lates without taking off “late marks”.
As for what is going on in class I am VERY excited about this week in chem 20! Rocky View Schools is an innovative district that focuses on the learner, and much research has indicated that students learn better when they inquire into topics themselves (rather than sit and listen to me blab about the chemistry). For this reason, I am introducing Unit 2 in a Project Based Learning format! Students will perform labs every second day, and based on their lab data, develop and understanding of the trends associated with the lab data (and in turn the gas laws). Following their lab, students will discuss the laws, and attempt practice questions to reinforce their learning! This PBL unit will be summed up with a student developed lab and a final project (instead of a unit test). I look forward to what these brilliant young minds produce! This week in chem 20: Monday: Boyle's Law Lab Tuesday: Boyle's Law discussion Wednesday: Charles' Law Lab Thursday: Charles' Law discussion CHEM 20s will have no homework for the long weekend (unless they have not handed in their previously due assignments) Upcoming due dates:
Click to view the SCIENCE DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT POLICY It's that time again! The first parent teacher interviews are coming up Wednesday October 8, from 5pm-8pm. You are invited to book an interview with Ms. Mogck by visiting the SCHOOLSOFT website. If you are unable to attend the PTIs you are welcome to come in at a different time, by contacting Ms. Mogck via email!
|
AuthorMs. Kendra Mogck Archives
January 2017
Categories |
RSS Feed
