Chemistry Solutions
September 2020
Featured Article
Tech Tips
My Favorite Technology Tools for Teaching Chemistry — Remotely and In-PersonIn this article, the author highlights her five favorite technology tools for teaching chemistry, both in-person and remotely. She includes examples and tips for effective use — and encourages teachers to incorporate these tools into their own lessons!
Resource Features
Lessons by teachers with their inspiration for the activity or tips for how to implement the lesson.
This article provides an introduction to the ACS lab safety videos and demonstrates ways to implement the videos into a 5E lesson plan. Specific resources and activities are provided to integrate safety into chemistry lesson plans.
In this article, the author describes her use of an online scavenger hunt activity during remote learning. This activity offers students an engaging opportunity for kinesthetic learning and class discussion, while learning about the chemistry in their everyday life.
Classroom Commentary
Reflections and perspectives by teachers about topics that affect chemistry education.
In this article, the author reflects on his experiences related to mentorship and teacher training throughout a 32-year (and counting) career with the Los Angeles Unified School District. He examines several milestone events that led him to serve as a mentor and become involved in teaching training. He emphasizes the importance of both types of support networks, and encourages readers to get involved in their own areas.
Nuts & Bolts
Functional tips you can implement in your classroom.
Sketch noting is an alternate method of flowcharting for chemistry labs. In this article, the author shares about the implementation of sketch notes in her chemistry classroom. Additionally, she highlights specific areas where she has seen improvement by her students, including student safety, laboratory skills, content knowledge, and confidence.
Thinking Routines are an effective way to increase engagement and understanding during distance learning. In this article, the author shares about how she uses this tactic to help students think more deeply about the complex content they are actively learning.
In this article, the author describes the use of mole of reaction in limiting reactant calculations in first-year advanced chemistry. In addition to describing how mole of reaction was used in limiting reactant calculations (including advantages and drawbacks), the author also describes how introducing mole of reaction in first-year chemistry impacts students’ subsequent use of this unit in AP Chemistry.
Teacher 2 Teacher
@AACTconnect asked:
Chemistry teachers, how are you starting the school year? #chemchat
— AACT (@AACTconnect) August 20, 2020
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Editorial
2020-2021 AACT President Jesse Bernstein welcomes teachers to the beginning of an unusual school year. Understanding that every teacher is in a unique situation right now, he encourages educators to share with one another, stay positive, and do their best to adapt during this unprecedented time. He highlights several helpful resources and points teachers to the latest content from AACT.
Simulation
In this simulation, students will play the role of engineer. They will calculate the specific heat capacity of various materials to determine which ones meet stated criteria and then perform a cost analysis to determine which material to use.
Chemistry Fun
In this activity, students will play a Bingo game, crossing out the names of laboratory equipment on their Bingo card that corresponds to the pictures of equipment shown by the teacher. This will help students to identify common equipment found in a chemistry lab.