Chemistry

Management Tips

  • All chemistry teachers should start the year by having students and parents/guardians sign a Student Safety Contract. I used this (pdf) Flinn safety contract.
  • Show this “Lab Safety” video (requires Windows Media Player 10 or above) that was provided by Renee Diamond of the NSTA Listserve. The music in the video is from a band called “rhythm, rhyme, results.” Spaces in the song are meant for students to fill in the blanks with the correct lab safety procedure.
  • For middle school students, “Science Safety Rules” (pdf) with Sponge Bob will help introduce lab safety rules. 
  • For safety tips on lighting a “Bunsen Burner” this page has videos and good explanations. 
  • Then have students do this “How to use and adjust a Bunsen burner” (doc) lab.
  • For labeling beakers, flasks, etc., I find printing the labels and taping them with “invisible” tape the easiest for removing later. For permanent labels I use transparent tape. Here is the document I use for making the beaker/flask labels (doc) and the dropper bottle labels (doc) (one example left in tables). 
  • This image of a 24-well microplate grid is helpful for labeling materials in the plate. 
  • All my lesson plans are printed using Word as well. Here is an example  and the template 
  • All the chemistry reviews for Glencoe’s Chemistry: Concepts and Applications (2000) are on http://www.quia.com/ and linked to this page
  • This generic graph paper (doc) comes in handy when writing up your own labs. 
  • PowerPoint presentations designed by students are a great alternative to written reports. This (doc) document has written instructions for producing a presentation and this (pdf) is a scoring rubric for the presentation. You will need Adobe Reader to download the rubric. Get it here 
  • Students and especially parents find having a class page with assignments and other class information very helpful. Here is an example of one of my former class web pages. You can create your own website with the free Microsoft Office Live Small Business tools. Just be sure to sign up for the Basic service.
  • Use these tips for “Teaching 90-minute Time Blocks” (doc)
  • Use the ACD/ChemSketch 8.0 Freeware to create your own worksheets with complex chemical structures. 
  • To help in solution preparation, Carolina provides this “Solution Preparation Manual” (pdf)
  • If you don’t have gradebook program, you might want to try the free Engrade online gradebook. It allows students and parents to check grades online.
  • To add color and interest to your worksheets, use some “Chemistry Clip Art.”
  • Use card stock to print colorful chemistry related borders for your bulletin board with these borders (doc).

Games, Puzzles, Songs, and Labs

  • How Do I Homeschool has created this list of great math games to try at home or in the classroom)
  • Peter Lichten has created the online game “ChemGameTutor” to help students refine their chemistry skills. Students can use guest for the Username and Password.
  • Use the “Science Jeopardy” Game (doc) as a review for tests. 
  • Review vocabulary with the “Science Taboo” Game (doc 
  • Create Wordsearches, Criss-Cross puzzles, and many more online with Discovery School’s Puzzlemaker“. 
  • Download a “Virtual Lab” at ChemCollective.org. 
  • Use these “Chemistry Recipes” (pdf) for labs, demonstrations, etc. 
  • A great game to use in reviewing for semester exams is the Science Geeks’s “Chemistry Millionaire” game for first semester and finals
  • “Chemistry As Fun and Games” (pdf) uses several different games to teach chemistry content. 
  • Creative Chemistry” has many games, puzzles, and activties for chemistry students. 
  • Review for tests and quizes with “Science Baseball” (doc)
  • A “Chemistry Jeopardy Game” setup where you input your own questions. The included sounds and pictures make it very realistic.
  • Try these “Sci-Doku” puzzles with science-related clues from Scientific American.
  • Parade of Games” in PowerPoint contains 16 different games with examples and templates to download.
  • Try these “Countertop Chemistry” labs.
  • Play the online “Who Wants to Win a Million Dollars” science game from Jefferson Labs.
  • Rosemarie Smith of the NSTA Listserve contributed this idea for a “March Madness Chemistry Tournament” (doc). I have added the “Abreviated Brackets,” (pdf) blank ones along with full “Brackets”  and an Excel version of full “Brackets”  (xls). Also, Mike Barondeau from the Listserve contributed this blank “Sweet Sixteen Science Tournament” (xls) Excel version.
  • Try some of these “Chemistry Demonstrations” from About Chemistry.

Links

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