Week 30 In Review

Periodic Updates

Week 30 In Review

Important Dates & Assignments:

• Ocean Acidification:
• We continued our progress towards this PBL with an increased understanding of concentrations both of Molarity and molality.
• Student will continue this progress this week and be getting more information about this PBL shortly.
• STEM Fair
• This week is presentation building. 
• Students should have data collection done by Tuesday.
• We will be spending time in both Chemistry and Math on building great posters or preparing great oral presentations.
• Students have been working so hard and I know this week may seem overwhelming at times. Please help us remind the students of all the hard work they have done and that this will all be over next week!

What happened last week?

• Ocean Acidification:
• This week brought an understanding to Molarity and molality. 
• We did a couple homework activities to work through practice problems and determine values from various starting points. 
• Practice is what brings about Mastery. 
• We started a lab Friday that will finish this week on determining Molarity, mixing different concentrations, and verifying different Molarities. This will be an official lab report when data collection has completed.

From the desk of Mr. Terry:

Crunch time for STEM Fair is upon us. We will be using Tuesday to build great presentations. Our goal is to highlight all the hard work and great projects that the students choose. I personally cannot wait for them to be unveiled May 5 from 6pm to 8pm. I know the students will be relieved when it is all complete. Please help us get through this last stretch of STEM Fair. Help us focus on the great things that have been learned and not get lost in what has to just be finished. The learning that has taken place outside of the classroom as students have researched family histories, computer technologies, engineering design, mathematical models, science processes, and so much more. The independent learning that has taken place is quite amazing. Have a great week! 

I am still available during lunch for tutoring. Tell your student to bring their lunch and we will eat together while we discuss Chemistry!  Have a great week.

I am available to help during lunch and Flex on the "A" day schedule 4th block. Students can make arrangements to miss their 4th block class to meet with me.

terryk@claytonbradleyacademy.org

Week 29 In Review

Periodic Updates

Week 29 In Review

Important Dates & Assignments:

• Ocean Acidification:
• We continued to understand concepts this week for our last major PBL in chemistry.
• This will be focused more on Acids and Bases than other concepts. 
• Currently we are finishing solutions, which will lead into acids and bases.
• More coming on this project in the future.
• STEM Fair
• It is time to start putting the presentations together. 
• All students should begin getting all their information for either the poster presentation or the oral presentation. Students had the option to choose which presentation to give.
• Please encourage them to meet with their advisor this week to begin this process.
• Don't procrastinate!

What happened last week?

• Ocean Acidification:
• We didn't spend much time with this idea last week. 
• We instead focused on solutions and understanding the difference between an ionic salt in water and a covalent molecule in water.
• Solutions:
• The students designed labs to figure out the saturation point of salt in 100 grams of water.
• Then explored the effects of temperature on saturation.
• Finally, students storyboarded a covalent molecule in water and we even looked at conductivity to support our theory.

From the desk of Mr. Terry:

This last week was quite busy for many of the students. Not only were some on field studies but we also got to watch the Navy Seal Leapfrogs descend to our campus. There were several great experiences for our students to be a part of this week. In class, we continued to use the idea of "Storyboards" to show what is going on at the molecular level and allow students to discuss their ideas. I am pushing the students to talk out what they think is happening more so we can explore different ideas and determine which has the most sound science. One phrase that I introduced to the students this week was, "the brain that does the talking, does the learning." In other words, I want them to be an active contributor to the class. When they take risks on explanations and drawings, they learn, especially if they have to go back and rethink their ideas to come up with better solutions. Have a great week!

I am still available during lunch for tutoring. Tell your student to bring their lunch and we will eat together while we discuss Chemistry!  Have a great week.

I am available to help during lunch and Flex on the "A" day schedule 4th block. Students can make arrangements to miss their 4th block class to meet with me.

terryk@claytonbradleyacademy.org

Week 28 In Review

Periodic Updates

Week 28 In Review

Important Dates & Assignments:

• Ocean Acidification:
• We started the introduction of concepts this week for our last major PBL in chemistry.
• This will be focused more on Acids and Bases than other concepts. 
• More coming on this project in the future.
• STEM Fair
• All students should meet with their advisor this week to set a calendar of events for the STEM fair.
• Don't procrastinate!
• Beekeeping:
• We would like to welcome to campus our first two honey bee colonies. 
• They are Italian honey bees.
• We will be using them to teach many different subjects at the high school level.
• If you have any questions, please let me know.

What happened last week?

• Ocean Acidification:
• We begin to explore this idea by reading an article on "Iron Dumping."
• Students developed research questions and helped others in their class find answers.
• We had great discussions concerning this idea.
• Solutions:
• We did a modeling activity on solutions.
• The students helped give visual and written understandings to how salt dissolves in water.
• We began an inquiry lab that challenges students to determine the saturation of salt in 100 grams of water. They have to have data to back up their answers.

From the desk of Mr. Terry:

A new 9 weeks brings a new set of challenges to the chemistry classroom. The students have enough knowledge to start understanding really how the chemical world works. We are going to have a lot of exciting inquiry this semester concerning the ocean acidification project. Many of the students are also very interested in the beekeeping now on campus. We will be giving them opportunities to interact with the bees on a volunteer basis. We want the students to have a great end to their sophomore year!

I am still available during lunch for tutoring. Tell your student to bring their lunch and we will eat together while we discuss Chemistry!  Have a great week.

I am available to help during lunch and Flex on the "A" day schedule 4th block. Students can make arrangements to miss their 4th block class to meet with me.

terryk@claytonbradleyacademy.org