Quarter 2 Progress Report Update

Chemistry students and parents,

The first part of our second quarter has been remarkable indeed.  We’ve completed the hardest unit of the year, a flurry of new musical talent has revealed itself, and finally started digging into the atom and what’s inside it. 

Thermodynamics is the most difficult and intimidating unit of the chemistry curriculum.  It requires math to be used to solve difficult problems in an abstract context that most students do not have experience doing before.  Some would describe education as the pursuit of perfection and that chase is never more trying than with thermodynamics. 

But two students in particular didn’t seem to care about that, since they both scored 100% on their calorimetry exams.  Congratulations are in order for Fernanda N. and Albert L.  A whole host of other students scored in the A-range as well-so many in fact that listing them all would make this quite a lengthy post!  Great job on a difficult topic, and we hope to continue that success into the coming new year. 

We also had the opportunity to play some new chemistry songs in class.  Writing a song about thermodynamics is really pretty challenging, but nuclear fission provided a much friendlier context.  We even managed to squeeze on about electrons in there!  It takes a lot of guts to speak up at all in front of your peers, but merits for bravery must be handed out to Michael M., Phil G., Will H., Jennifer G., and Amanda D., who have all risked terrible embarrassment to get up in front of the class and sing one of my chemistry songs with me.  The recordings of these songs make their way onto my Youtube channel, MisterMChem, and are really great fun for the students and myself to perform.  My hope is that by the end of the year we will have a whole class production for one of these songs.  Not sure if we will work up that much courage though!

We’ve also completed our unit on how humans produce energy.  If you’ve been following this blog, you have seen the student posts of the week updated frequently.  My favorite part of this unit is the homework (And every student in the class lets out a collective cringe).  Seriously though, a lot of the homework for this unit is highly enjoyable for a lot of the students because they get to continually research an energy topic they are interested in.  The unit culminates in a brief paper about current issues surrounding a particular energy source, and the student products were exceptional.  Be sure to ask your child to see their informative pieces on energy; I know I learned at least one thing from almost every single paper I read!

We’re finally on to the unit of atomic structure, where students delve into the mysteries of the atom.  This unit consists of a lot of fun and exciting labs, where students get to light things on fire and see a wide range of colors emitted by excited electrons!  I’m sure many of you have heard of this lab already (Practical Chem: you’re doing it this week!) and perhaps even seen some pictures.  Students are becoming exceptional photojournalists of our lab activities in class using their phones and other mobile devices, which is great to see.  They are also getting better at composing multimedia lab reports, which are among the most fun for me to read. 

The holidays are upon us and that means midterms are too.  Blink, and three weeks will go by and midterms will have caught you off guard-again!  The best time to start studying is early and often, little by little, every day.  But there must be time for a little holiday cheer in there and, no matter which way you celebrate, I hope it’s a safe, happy, and relaxing winter vacation.

Until next time,

Matt Meyers    

Blog Post of the Week: A Close Race!

The Universe: The idea of getting electricity from water is not ...: Students are getting better and better and writing these weekly blog posts. There are some typically excellent pieces of work here and here.

But sometimes people need to be recognized for the amount of effort they've showed in improving their work and their writing. Virginia S. requires an honorable mention on this one, but the award must go to Jun Seung, who's piece on hydroelectric power was just that: electric. Both Jun Seung and Virginia's work this week show a great leap forward from previous assignments, and therefore they must be recognized. Great job.

An Inspirational Post

Gratefully Scientific: Hydro-Electric Power In an Unexpected Place: Andre found an absolute gem of an article and wrote an even more excellent response to this article on his blog that I had to post it as a second post of the week! Definitely check this out.

Blog Post of the Week: Patrice D.

Psycho City: Journal #10!: This students only needed to choose one of this week's assignments to complete, but she decided to go the extra mile and complete all three. That seems to merit blog post of the week!

1st Quarter Update

Hello chemistry parents and students!

The first quarter is officially over and I'm having a bit of a panic attack!  No, don't worry, all of my grades have been in for a while.  I'm talking about the fact that I have no pictures for this update!  That's a catastrophe...

We'll have to make do.  I'd like to first congratulate some students for a highly improved performance since the progress report.  When teachers give feedback (aka progress reports and the weekly grade postings in class, among other things) we love to see student response.  Some students have responded incredibly well.  Props to John F., Marie S., Bella M., Ben S., and Ashton A. for some monumental turnarounds in the second half of first quarter.  Some of these students saw as much as a 20 point increase between their scores on exam one and two, which truly must be celebrated.  Well done.

Speaking of excellent student work, in case you haven't been following the student blog posts of the week, take a second to browse some of your students' great responses, thoughts, and essays.  Some students are developing some excellent blogging techniques, but in particlar I'd like to shout out to Mandie C., Andre P., Katie F., Kristen R., Camila D., and Chris R. for some really exemplary blog posts and completion rates.  It's no secret that completing all of your homework is key to getting a good grade in high school and these students are proving it.

Recently, an extra credit project was assigned in which students got to design an iPod, iPhone, or iPad app on a topic we've covered in class so far.  Several students tried their hand at design, although two students in particular deserve special congratulations.  Jack B's iLab app was something that would be extremely useful in a lab where students could practice locating important pieces of lab equipment, and a teacher could keep tabs on which pieces were being used.  Erin W's app describing physical and chemical properties was phenomenal, with such a beautifully designed interface that would be incredibly useful for any chemistry student.  Nice job guys.

Finally, congratulations are in order for students that have been performing well on exams so far this year.  Chemistry is a hard class and my exams are not designed to be easy.  Congratulations to the following students for maintaining an A- or above average on all their exams this quarter:
Kate F.
Gordon H.
Zach M.
Erin W.
Kevin B.
Fernanda N.

Happy thanksgiving, and let's start the second quarter out with a bang: calorimetry exam on monday!

   

Post of the Week: Mandie C.

Changes In My Kitchen?: Mandie posted this great narrative on what's going on in her kitchen. Check it out!

Happy Halloween!

Extra credit may be awarded to whomever can reply to this post and tell me what this awesome pumpkin represents.

The Awesome Blog Of Jakub's Mustache: Journal #6

The Awesome Blog Of Jakub's Mustache: Journal #6: Quite an excellent point is made in the second paragraph of this post. We've been talking about government incentives for certain career tracks and how there aren't that many for scientists. Most people indicated they would pursue a career in science with proper government incentives, however Jakub has completely won his case with the second paragraph here. Excellent job.

Element, Compound, Homogeneous Mixture, Heterogeneous Mixture: Another Great Post!

Another exceptional post on classifying matter, this one from Mandie C. Notice how well she's formatted her post to include the text with the pictures she's found. Great captions too! Overall, very good.

Romeo: Journal #5

This post: is an incredible example of how to classify matter but Chris! Great job Chris!

1st Quarter Update

Hello chemistry students and parents!

The first quarter of school has been a busy one. We conquered a hurricane, our first exam, our first science paper, our first lab report, our first department-wide CAPT task, and a whole other host of firsts and exciting things! Where do we begin?

Let's start by talking about these blogs. Students have been using the blogs to submit homework for the past month or so (as many of you are aware). This is quite a tricky process to get used to for most people new to blogging, but once adopted, it is much more fun and simple to complete written work. On top of this, it allows citation, multimedia inclusion, and an otherwise more presentable piece of work from the student's and teacher's perspective. Case in point: check out Kristen R. and Andre P.'s excellent posts on e-Books in the classroom and the density of liquids. You can find these and other "posts of the week" on my blog every week. Check your student's blog regularly too. If you get really bold, you can even comment on their posts!

Students also completed their first lab report in Chemistry. It was a huge, multi-person task that we are still perfecting in class, but students participated in doing the world's first school lab reports on a Blog. That fact alone is exciting, but when you look at some of the potential excellence (see Katie, Kristen, Kevin, and Bella's post below), it becomes even more exhilarating. The next time we complete one of these will see more students comfortable with what needs to be done to complete such a monumental task.

SMART Board activities have also been plentiful in class. One of the great things about the SMART Board is that it comes with access to the SMART exchange, an online collection and sharing engine for teachers and their SMART Board lessons across the world. I am an active participant in this community and frequently share/download with other members. One particular lesson that the class particularly enjoyed was the one where students had to decide where several substances would layer up in a beaker based on their density. Decisions had to be made with alacrity: the game scores players based on how accurate and quick their decisions are! We had a lot of fun with this one.

Progress reports will be mailed out soon from GHS, and every student has had (and will continue to have) the opportunity to see their grades posted in class weekly and adjust their habits/make up work accordingly. So far, things are looking pretty good and I hope we keep up the great work. As always, please feel free to email me with any comments, questions, or concerns. Thanks!

An Extraordinary Lab Report

What an extraordinary lab report constructed by this group. For the first time doing this, these guys knocked it out of the park. Great job Katie, Kevin, Bella, and Kristen!

Katie's Chemistry Blog: Density Lab Data
Data: PurpleMaterial1234Mass (g)1...

I Was Going to Post A Sample Response But...

Kristen's is excellent so I'll just reBlog her's. Nice job Kristen!

Chemistry: Journal #4 Response to E-book Article

Gratefully Scientific: Densities in the Refrigerator

Gratefully Scientific: Densities in the Refrigerator:

Student blog of the week: Andre P. Check this out for an absolutely exceptional example of how to Blog.

Drinking bird!

This picture was sent to Blogger from my phone. Using your smartphone or digital camera to record lab work and class activities is a great way to use your blog. I hope that when we do more formal experiments, you will incorporate these into your report!

Journal #1: Academic Goals

It's a new school year with a fresh start, so it's time to set some goals! Reminder: This assignment should be at least six sentences long and it's due Friday, September 9th. Here are mine:

This year is my second year teaching so I hope to continue on the success I had last year by bringing more valuable technology to my classroom. I hope to do this through these Blogs, Slate and Tablets, and intriguing SMART Board presentations. I also hope to focus more on writing and the writing process this year by having students complete lab reports and discussions online (through their Blogs, hopefully!) Writing is something so important for any career so students need to practice early and often. Finally, I feel as though I could do a better job preparing students for longer exams, so I will incorporate techniques in my class to help students practice. I felt as though the length of the final last year really impacted some of my students and I could have done a better job preparing them for the length of it.

And those are my goals for this year. I can't wait to read yours!

Elements in the World - Blog Activity #5

Yesterday in class you conducted flame tests of elements using the bunsen burner and your homemade spectrometers. You were asked to pick an element you enjoyed testing on which to do research today.

Your task: You will find four applications of the element you've chosen in the field of science your Blog covers. You will post this list in a "link list" described to you in class. If you can't find four uses of your element, you may choose with another element you tested to finish the activity.

In addition, if you find any other ways chemistry is used in your field that you find interesting, post those up too!

Nuclear Reactor Risk Assessment

Before beginning the task below, please make sure you have finished your letter highlighting your position on nuclear energy. For details on that assignment, see the post below this one. If you are finished, complete the following assignment.

In today's assignment you will be assessing the risks associated with some currently operating nuclear plants.

Part I
Japan's Fukushima Dai Ichi reactor was the one most damaged by the earthquake/tsunami. As you can see in this map, which shows the locations of all major fault lines and operating nuclear reactors, this plant was placed directly in the path of danger.

1. According to the map, which other countries/regions have placed nuclear reactors in potentially dangerous areas? Name at least three.

2. What does this map tell you about the plant designers' assessments of earthquake risk? Do you think this assessment will change with this most recent crisis in Japan?

Part II

There are two maps you will look at for Part II. The first one, here, shows a detailed breakdown of all 144 operating, proposed, and shut down reactors in the US and any problems they have encountered in the past or present. On the right sidebar is a list of possible issues with reactors.

3. Which of these issues do you think is most dangerous and why? Find a reactor which is reporting that issues and say where it is located.

The second map for Part II shows locations of all minor and major recent earthquakes in the United States, located here. Since minor earthquakes offer no threat of damage to reactors, we will only look at recent major earthquakes.

4. Compare the two maps; which US reactors are dangerously close to a recent Earthquake epicenter? Do you think that these reactors should be moved or shut down in light of what happened in Japan? Which reactor do you think is in the most imminent danger of being hit by a damaging earthquake? How do you know?

Thanks to Mrs. Moccio for helping find these awesome maps!

Blog Activity #3: Nuclear Energy

The crisis in Japan is perhaps our generation's most devastating environmental disaster. It raises important questions about the safety and legitimacy of nuclear energy as a power source. We had a small discussion on Friday about this topic and watched a brief video. Today, you will write a letter to the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) taking a position on nuclear energy: are you for or against it? In your response you must use at least two sources of information. One of those sources will be the notes you took on Friday. Another will be what you find today. You will cite your source (from today) based on the brief instruction in the beginning of class today. The minimum length of this letter should be ten sentences.

This website provides good information. Click here. Feel free to use another of your choice.

Blog Activity #2 - Week of February 22nd

For this blog activity, I am asking for you to do three things:

1. First, if you haven't finished re-blogging something from another website (Activity #1) you must do that today as well.

2. Second, following our instruction about adding RSS feeds to your Blog, I would like you to display the RSS feed from my Blog, as well as one other Blog/Website of your choice that pertains to your topic.

3. Third, I would like you to read and comment on at least two classmates' posts for number 1 today. This should all be finished by the end of the Block, but if you have more time, feel free to browse for more websites that pertain to your project!