Stoichiometry is the heart of chemistry, but is often a challenging concept for students to grasp. My goal was to generate an informational organizer for students to use to assemble all of the necessary pieces of information in order to successfully solve a gram to gram stoichiometry problem. The resulting algorithm organizer was introduced to students during the stoichiometry unit:
Tag Archives: HLP 12
Reading Fix-Ups Strategies for Better Lab Experiences
Mr. Smith talks to our students about reading techniques on a regular basis. We have only a classroom set of textbooks for Chemistry I, so we don’t request required reading of them very often. However, we do ask them to preview a chapter after an exam, or when there is time after laboratories. When we ask students to read the textbook, we give them specific techniques with which to preview the text:
1) Look at the pictures and figures first.
2) Read any boldface vocabulary words.
3) Skim for key phrases/vocabulary.
4) Read for content.
We give them a specific reading technique, because reading a science text is not as straightforward or easy, as reading for leisure is.
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Kinesthetic Chemical Nomenclature Activity
Traditional methods of practicing chemical nomenclature offer little interactivity among students. I attempted to energize this topic by physically engaging the students with beachballs labeled with chemical compound names that were categorized according to naming type, including Type I & II ionic compounds, as well as binary covalent compounds. Names of each category were written on a particular ball, which was then tossed in the classroom from student to student. Whomever caught the ball then had to properly name the compound where their left thumb landed. The activity continued until all 10 compounds on each ball were named. Student feedback was favorable in that they commented on how “fun” the activity was.