Week 15 in Review

Periodic Updates

Week 15 In Review

Important Dates & Assignments:

• Lab Write-Ups:
• Every lab that we do in chemistry has a lab notebook component.
• I have been giving students time to get all the questions and summaries finished.
• I will be reviewing them over Thanksgiving break.
• Chemical Naming and Balancing Equations:
• We have started our last unit before Winter Break.
• Part of this will involve practice to get the process down.
• Please help remind students to do their practice problems.
• Midterm Exam:
• We will be having a midterm exam at the end of this quarter.
• This exam will cover anything and everything from the beginning of the school year.
• Please encourage your student to come to tutoring for help and review.

What happened last week?

• Celebration of Learning:
• The students did an excellent job with the celebration of learning.
• It was great listening to them explain the chemical processes and see them interacting with the lower school volunteers.
• Make sure you let them know how great they did with this presentation.
• Assessment:
• All assessments have been scored. 
• We will have some time on Tuesday to discuss the assessment.
• There is always the ability to go back and learn more about a standard. If your student would like to put the time in reviewing and practicing, I would love to see them show mastery in the standards.
• The scores should be reflected on the progress report card.
• Standards:
• This is all part of our study of the Next Generation Science Standards PS1-3, 1-4, and 1-7. 

From the desk of Mr. Terry:

This week brought a lot of excitement as students were able to showcase their learning Wednesday morning. See the students talk about chemical equations, photography, and the vertebrate survey was very exciting for me as their teacher. The students have been working so hard this year, and I believe they deserved the chance to show others what they have accomplished. With excitement, came some anxiety over the assessment. I know many students were very nervous about how they think they did on the assessment. Overall, I think the assessment helped students realize what they have learned and what they need to spend more time trying to understand. In reality, Chemistry is not getting easier. The content will continue to increase in challenge as we build on the learning that has taken place. If your student didn't do so well on the assessment, please encourage them to come to tutoring or flex during 4th block of "A" days so we can get back on pace. Have a great week!

I am available to help any morning between 7:45-8:15 and during 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 14 in Review

Periodic Updates

Week 14 In Review

Important Dates & Assignments:

• Celebration of Learning:
• This week we will be highlighting 10th grade science program in the Celebration of Learning. We hope to see you Wednesday morning.
• Chemistry Assessment:
• There will be an assessment over material covered since fall break on Monday November 16th.

What happened last week?

• Chemical Bonding:
• Students gave great presentations concerning the different types of chemical bonding.
• Mr. McCarter gave a short presentation on metallic bonding.
• Photography Lab:
• Students had a great time doing this lab.
• To see results, come to the Celebration of Learning Wednesday!
• Standards:
• This is all part of our study of the Next Generation Science Standards PS1-1, 1-2, and 1-7. 

From the desk of Mr. Terry:

We began this week with excitement of trying a new lab on photography. This lab bridged the gap between the reactivity of the periodic table and chemical bonding. Students were able to see real world processes in the lab and the results for some of the students is quite impressive. We will start this next week with an assessment to see our learning. Then we will celebrate all the exciting things from this year in science. Please join us on Wednesday to help the students celebrate their learning. Have a great day!

I am available to help any morning between 7:45-8:15 and during 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 13 in Review

Periodic Updates

Week 13 In Review

Important Dates & Assignments:

• Photography:
• Students are gave presentations on different types of photography as part of this study. The rubric for this presentation can be found by clicking here.
• We will also be developing a photograph in class on Tuesday! Please help your student pick a good idea for this activity.
• Chemical Bonding:
• Students are working on understanding chemical bonding.
• Students gave presentations about different types of bonding with some great skits to help us remember.
• Chemistry Assessment:
• There will be an assessment over material covered since fall break on Monday November 16th.

What happened last week?

• Students gave their presentations on photography and chemical bonding.
• Silver Halide Lab:
• We reviewed the information they should have gained from this lab.
• Chemical Bonding:
• We continued to work on this concept.
• Standards:
• This is all part of our study of the Next Generation Science Standards PS1-1, 1-2, and 1-7. 

From the desk of Mr. Terry:

I am so excited to see what pictures our students develop in the photography lab on Tuesday. This is an experimental lab for both the students and teachers. To be honest, that means neither I nor Kendal McCarter have ever done this lab. The concepts we are discussing in class support this activity and we think the students will have a really great learning experience seeing exactly how this is done. I cannot say with certainty that any picture will be developed well. I guess that is science sometimes! We are learning the value of experimentation. We are teaching students that in the real world you don't always know what the outcome will be. We know the chemistry should work. This type of learning really excites me! It is great seeing students learn when the project could go in various directions. I love not always knowing whether or not an activity is going to be successful because it brings out a real-world adventure in the class. This also supports the idea that sometimes in life we fail. This gives us a chance to learn from our mistakes and make it better next time. I can't wait this week to celebrate with the students on their successes and troubleshoot their failures. Have a great week!

I am available to help any morning between 7:45-8:15 and during 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 12 In Review

Periodic Updates

Week 12 In Review

Important Dates & Assignments:

• Photography:
• In our study of the trends of the periodic table, we have started to look at ways to develop photographs to help us understand how different elements react to produce different results.
• Students are preparing presentations on different types of photography as part of this study. The rubric for this presentation can be found by clicking here.
• We will also be developing a photograph in class soon. More to come on this part!
• Silver Halide Lab:
• The students completed a lab on Thursday involving the reactivity of the halogens.
• This was the first lab in our bigger project on Photography. They learned an important concept concerning silver although they might not fully understand it yet.
• The written part of this lab is due this week.
• To view the rubric used to score lab reports click here.

What happened last week?

• Students presented their Periodic Table projects to the class last week. Their scores are reflected in the progress reports on renweb. Any student that would like to explore this project more to increase their understanding are invited meet with me any morning from 7:45 to 8:15.
• Silver Halide Lab:
• See information and pictures above.
• Chemical Bonding:
• We are starting to look at the chemical bonding of elements.
• Standards:
• This is all part of our study of the Next Generation Science Standards PS1-1, 1-2, and 1-7. 

From the desk of Mr. Terry:

Have you ever wondered how pictures were developed before smart phones and computers? Some of you may remember a time when a picture took longer than hitting print or connecting to a kiosk at Target. However, for most of your students, they don't. In Chemistry that is what we are going to try to learn this week. We started this by looking at the reactivity of silver with a few of the Halogens. We will continue this questioning as we discuss bonding that was going on in the "Silver Halide Lab" this week. By the end of this week, we should have pictures that the students have designed, process, and developed using silver nitrate and salt solutions. Encourage your student to use their lifeskills of curiosity, creativity, and initiative in coming up with a fun picture for this lab. They can print the negative of the image on transparency in the lab to use if they would like. We really want these black and white prints to be good. As always, we want to see the students use their lifeskill of perseverance and lifelong guideline of personal best as we work hard to learn more about our physical world and the reactions that take place. Have a great week!

I am available to help any morning between 7:45-8:15 and during 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 11 in Review

Periodic Updates

Week 11 In Review

Important Dates & Assignments:

• Periodic Table Project:
• Students have been working on creating their own periodic table this past week.
• Click here to see the rubric.
• Photography:
• In our study of the trends of the periodic table, we have started to look at ways to develop photographs to help us understand how different elements react to produce different results.
• Students are preparing presentations on different types of photography as part of this study. The rubric for this presentation can be found by clicking here.
• We will also be developing a photograph in class soon. More to come on this part!

What happened last week?

• Periodic Table Trends:
• We have been discussing the periodic table trends this week.
• Students gave presentations on a period and family of the periodic table. The scores and video of the presentations will become available soon.
• Chemical Bonding:
• We are starting to look at the chemical bonding of elements.
• Standards:
• This is all part of our study of the Next Generation Science Standards PS1-1, 1-2, and 1-7. 

From the desk of Mr. Terry:

This week has been an exciting week for the upper school at CBA. The  engineering day visit to UT was very exciting to see many different fields in engineering. We are continuing to progress through Chemistry by learning the trends of the periodic table. Our focus this last week was on understanding periodicity and how it is seen in the periodic table. The students did great on their presentations and those will be made available to view soon. As you can see from the rubrics above, lifeskills and lifelong guidelines will now be a part of their projects and presentations just like standard scores. I am hoping this will help the students identify which lifeskills and lifelong guidelines they need to work on as they grow and mature into adults. The upcoming photography lab will be fun for the students as well as educational. If you know of anyone that still develops film the "old fashion" way, please send me a contact so maybe we can incorporate a field study into this project. If you have any questions, please contact me. Have a great week!

I am available to help any morning between 7:45-8:15 and during 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 8 in Review

Periodic Updates

Week 8 In Review

Important Dates & Assignments:

• Electron Orbitals:
• We are studying electron orbitals.
• Review sheet of electron orbitals assigned on Thursday.
• Many students completed in class, however, if they are having trouble please have them come to tutoring.
• Atomic Theory Assessment:
• We will have an assessment on Wednesday and Friday.
• This will cover Scientists, atomic structure, and electron orbitals.
• Labs:
• We will be doing a lab on Monday.
• Please remind students to dress appropriately.
• We will be using the bunsen burners, so no loose clothing and all long hair needs to be pulled back for lab.

What happened last week?

• Electron Orbitals:
• We continued to discuss Warner Heisenberg a his contribution to atomic theory.
• We did some practice activities to understand the properties of atoms better.
• This will be assessed this week.

From the desk of Mr. Terry:

This week will bring an end to the 1st 9 weeks! Wow it seems like that went by quickly. As you may know, this week can be stressful for students. They will be finishing projects, giving presentations, and taking assessments in several classes. This week is huge for students to show the lifeskill of perseverance and the lifelong guideline of personal best. Encourage students to push extra hard this week to show their mastery in their classes. I know they have been working hard in Chemistry and this week is so important in showing all that hard work. Help them to keep the end result in mind, and no I don't mean fall break. Help them see where they want to go in life, what do they want to be, and how they are going to get there through hard work and determination. This week is going to be over soon, but our future is what we are preparing for at CBA!

I am available to help any morning between 7:45-8:15 and during 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 7 In Review

Periodic Updates

Week 7 In Review

Important Dates & Assignments:

• Electron Orbitals:
• We are studying electron orbitals.
• This can be challenging for students so there is a web activity for students to do as an introduction that includes a google form.
• There will be more practice problems this week to get students familiar with electron orbitals.
• Labs:
• Many students have been trying to go back and finish labs or redo parts of past labs that they did incorrectly. This is great and encouraged. I will do a lab review this week!

What happened last week?

• Mole Lab:
• Students participated in a mole lab activity on Tuesday and part of Thursday about using mole conversions in the lab. 
• Students learned the importance of accurate math and accurate measurements.
• Kahoot!
• We did a review using Kahoot!
• Each student will get feedback on their results this week.
• This is a great check to make sure they are understanding what is going on in Chemistry.
• Electron Orbitals:
• Students were introduced to the idea of electron orbitals.
• We will continue this discuss this week.

From the desk of Mr. Terry:

We continued our understanding of the mole this week with a lab. The lab was challenging in that it involved two finished products.  The first was using the math involved in mole conversions to figure out how much of an element or compound they needed. Then they had to use accuracy in measurements to give me the exact amount. The students did an excellent job using the lifeskill of perseverance and the lifelong guideline of personal best. The topics we are discussing right now in Chemistry are laying the foundation for the rest of the semester. Encourage your student to make sure they are practicing to master the ideas we are discussing in class. Many of the terms we are using are words they will only use in science related fields. This can be challenging for students to make connections and understandings. As always, bring them to tutoring any morning from 7:45-8:15 if they need help.

I am available to help any morning between 7:45-8:15 and during 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