 Prior to the break, we completed the curriculum for chem 20. That's right, the kids have been taught everything they needed to be taught in chem 20! That doesn't mean the work is over! In fact, it means that they have a lab, a project and a lab final to complete prior to their final exam! Luckily, this week is mainly review and exam prep!
You may notice that the chem 20s have a lab final. This is a physical exam in which the students will be asked to perform specific lab tasks important to chemistry. All of the lab procedures have been performed at least once (often more) in class. The reason for the lab final, is to be sure that students are not only successful in the knowledge, but also the skills and analytical thinking important to chemistry. This lab final will take place during FLT time prior to exam break, and will allow for the final exam to be significantly shortended (as many of the outcomes will already have been assessed). This week in Chem 20 Monday: Review of Summative 4 (question be question) Tuesday: Review of Unit A/B Wednesday: Review of Unit C Thursday: Review of Unit D Friday: Lab Review Upcoming Due Dates in Chem 20 Thurs Jan 12: Titration Lab due Mon Jan 16: Industrial Acid Base Project due Mon Jan 16-Thurs Jan 19: Lab Final Wed Jan 25: Chemistry 20 Final Exam
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 Well the weather outside is definitely frightful! And it’s not really going to get much better soooo good thing we are in school until next week! 9 days of school left! But who’s counting!
This week in chem 20, we will finish the entire year’s learning! YAY!!!! We will also have 2 labs this week, maybe 3! Depending on how the kids are feeling. This week in Chem 20 Monday: Indicator Quick Lab Tuesday: Industrial Acid Base Project Wednesday: Topic 30 Titration Analysis Thursday: Quiz Topic 26-29 Friday: Titration Quick Lab Upcoming Due Dates Mon Dec 12: SQA Quick Lab due Fri Dec 16: Molecule Project due Wed Dec 21: SUMMATIVE 4 With the weather coming this week, it's not going to be fun going outside... so the kids have NO excuse not to complete all of their chemistry homework! Yay! This week we will be finishing all but the very final topic of chemistry 20. That's right, we will complete 29 of the 30 topics in chem 20! After that, we will review and perform labs so make sure the chem 20s get their full understanding of the year. This week in Chem 20 Monday: Topic 26 Ionic Bonding Tuesday: Topic 27 Solubility of Ionic Compounds Wednesday: SQA Quick Lab Thursday: Topic 28 pH of Acids and Bases Friday: Topic 29 Measuring pH Upcoming due dates: Mon Dec 12: SQA Lab due Fri Dec 16: Meet my Molecule Project due Wed Dec 21: Summative 4 (ALL TOPICS)   This is a big week for the chem 20s!
On Wednesday, they have summative #3 covering topic 1-25... based on the quiz last Thursday, the students need a little bit of work on these last 3 topics. HOPEFULLY the chem 20s haven't forgotten what they learned in the first half of the semester! Please make sure that your chem 20 student signs up to attend FLT with Ms. Mogck this Wednesday, to give themselves extra time during the test. If they CHOOSE not to attend FLT Wednesday, students will not be provided with extra time after the bell, and may not finish the exam... Before that (although slightly less important) the chem 20s will be given time to study / ask any questions they have on all the learning they have done in the entire semester. They will also be provided time to work on the first half of their molecule project! This is an amazing summary project, demonstrating their complete understanding of the bonding section of chem 20! I love it! After the summative on Wednesday, the chem 20s will learn about ionic bonding and solubility (it's mainly review from science 10, with a little bit of additional awesome!) It is my hope that the chem 20 curriculum will be complete prior to Christmas Break, to allow students' understanding to marinate, and give them time to work and study prior to exam break! (So if class seems a little jam packed, that's why!) This Week in Chem 20 Monday: Work / Study Period Tuesday: Work / Study Period Wednesday: Summative 3 Thursday: Topic 26: Ionic Bonding Friday: Topic 27: Solubility Upcoming Due Dates Wed Nov 30: Summative 3 Topic 1-25  Last week, it finally happened! I saw a few nods. I saw a few lightbulbs. I saw (quite) a few students GET IT! Woohoo!!!! Finally! Let's hope this trend continues! I'm thinking it is because we are now out of the math and into the theory of chemistry, and it seems like this group is less confident in their math skills, and seem to enjoy more theoretical understanding!
This week, we will continue with that trend... and get more into molecular bonding and molecular geometry! Just a reminder: please make sure that the lab that was due last week is handed in by Monday at the start of class. They are all marked, and ready to be handed back. As soon as I do this, that zero (if it hasn't been handed in) stays put. And that would be bad news, as there are only a few projects and labs that account for 40% of the marks in chem 20. Friday is the rewrite for the summative 2 exam. Many students should rewrite this test, however in order to do so, they must have all assignments handed in on time, ALL of their homework complete and they need to have their corrections completed by Thursday after FLT. This may take some time management, however the rewrite is not mandatory. If a student chooses not to rewrite, they will simply keep their mark from Summative 2. I have mentioned to the chem 20s that the practice final exam can replace their lowest summative mark (if it is an improvement) so they should not have an anxiety attack if it is not possible for them to rewrite. If students are not rewriting, they will be given time to work on their Meet my Molecule project :) This Week in Chem 20 Monday: VSEPR continues... Tuesday: Topic 24 Forces in Molecules Wednesday: Topic 25 Ionization Thursday: Quiz Topic 22-23 Friday: Rewrite Summative 2 Upcoming Due Dates Mon Nov 21: LAST CHANCE TO HAND IN GAS LAB Thurs Nov 24: Quiz Topic 22-23 Fri Nov 25: Biomagnification Project due We have now completed MOST of the math-y section of chemistry 20, and are now moving on to the full theory sections of the curriculum! Woohoo! Specifically, we are going to be discussing acids (molecular compounds) and bases (ionic compounds) and why they act the way they act! Many less math oriented students love this part of chem 20! This week in Chem 20 Tuesday: Topic 21 Review of Acids and Bases Wednesday: Biomagnification Project Thursday: Quiz (Topic 19-21) and Topic 22 Molecular Bonding Friday: Lewis Formulas Upcoming Due Dates: Thurs Nov 17: Quiz Topic 19-21 Fri Nov 25: OPTIONAL Rewrite Summative 2 Fri Nov 25: Biomagnification Project due Just a quick note: i have provided each student with a calendar outlining what we will be doing every day for the rest of the semester, so if they are missing, they will know what's happening in class on that specific day! Please encourage your son or daughter to refer to this calendar as needed! 
Many parents, students, subs and even teachers are surprised that we have a flex day this Thursday, November 3. So, what is this flex day all about? The FLT day on Thursday will allow students with half semester courses that required time to study or finish up incomplete assignments prior to starting a new term course. It also allows students in full semester courses a chance to catch up on what they are missing, either in work, or in understanding.
I am not forcing any of my classes to come in for FLT. Students may choose to attend class, to complete the summative #1 rewrite, or they may simply choose not to come to school. I feel by providing the opportunity for ALL students to rewrite on this FLT day, it will force kids to study and write the summative #1 without risk. That way, they are already studying for Summative #2 (the following Monday). Please encourage your son or daughter to put the effort in, correct the original summative #1 and try the rewrite. There is no risk, as if they do worse on the rewrite, the original mark will remain. If they do better, the rewrite mark will replace the original. Free studying and free marks! Come on!  Last week, like the week before, the chem 20s had a quiz on Topic 14-16... and didn't do awesome. So I had to get a little bit angry and point out that since learning these 3 topics, they have had 4 work periods and 10 FLT times, totalling 700 minutes of work time (not including work time after lessons). That's 12 hours of practice time!! So can understand my confusion (and frustration) as to why the students are struggling with these concepts, especially because I have had very few questions being asked!?! Buuuuutttt anyways, I don't want to dwell on the fact that the chem 20s aren't doing their homework, because as I told them, I can teach them all I want, I can't make them practice and learn :(
We ended the week with a very nice lab (set up for Monday) and I provided an assignment to the chem 20s that is mandatory for them to complete by Tuesday. This is a review assignment dealing with titration, and it is my hope that it will clear up many of their questions if they work through the very important topic. So all in all, we had a good week. Next week, the chem 20s will learn the final topic that will be assessed on their summative exam next week - it is also the most difficult topic in chem 20. So hopefully they did some homework this weekend?! After that, the entire week is review and prep for the summative exam. On Friday they will have a lesson, but that topic will not be included on the Summative #2. I should mention, all students are able to rewrite the Summative #1 during the FLT day on Thursday. In order to do so, students will be required to perform corrections on their original test. All corrections must be completed during FLT or lunch. If ALL workbook work has been completed, it is possible for students to complete corrections during work periods. This Week in Chem 20 Monday: % Yield (Topic 18) Tuesday: Work Period / Study Wednesday: Work Period / Study Thursday: FLT Rewrite Summative 1 Friday: Solutions and Dilutions (Topic 19) Upcoming Due Dates Thur Nov 3: FLT Rewrite Summative #1 Mon Nov 7: Summative #2 Topic 1-18 Last week the chem 20s had a quiz on topic 14-16. This encompassed Quantity to Moles, Moles to Quantity, Quantity to Quantity and the Ideal Gas Law. Although this sounds like a lot, the process is exactly the same for all of the concepts. It is simply the stoichiometric process. After (maybe) 5 students being successful on the quiz, I asked the students to show me their work book questions. After looking at the first 3 kids' books in a row with NOTHING completed, I gave up, realizing that clearly the kids are not putting in the work required to be successful for chem 20. Needless to say, I am quite frustrated and concerned with how many students are not successful on simple quizzes, in which the quiz questions are nearly identical to the examples done in class. It was at this point that I made the decision to slow it down and force kids to work. I asked them to create "test questions" with answer keys during class on Friday. After a lot of grumbling, they got to work. I'm not sure what else I can do? The next 2 topics are potentially the most difficult concepts in all of chem 20, but the class is clearly not ready to take this on. I cannot force them to do their practice questions. I provide (minimum) 30 minutes of work time in class EVERY DAY, as well as FLT time. After speaking with other 20 level teachers, this seems to be a common factor in many of the science / math classes. Let me be clear, in order to be successful in chemistry, students need to reinforce the developed pathways in their brains that we have created... by doing practice questions. Chemistry is not the type of science that is simply common sense. It does take work. If these 20s do not step up their work ethic in chemistry, they will not be successful in this class, and will definitely not be prepared for the work required in chem 30. I will ask you as parents to take 3 minutes and ask your fine student to look at their chem 20 booklet. Every question and example from Topic 1-16 should be complete at this point... If not, they are not doing enough... This week in Chem 20 Monday: Review of Stoich / Lab Prep Tuesday: Perform Ideal Gas Law Law Wednesday: Topic 17 Limiting and Excess Reagents Thursday: Quiz Topic 14-16 / Precipitation Prep Friday: Topic 18 Percent Yield Upcoming Due Dates Thurs Oct 27: Quiz Topic 14-16 (2nd time) FLT Thurs Nov 3: REWRITE Summative 1 (optional) Mon Nov 7: Summative 2 (Topic 1-18) Tues Nov 8: Ideal Gas Law Lab due  |
AuthorMs. Kendra Mogck Archives
January 2017
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