Teaching solubility to L2Chem a student asked to see an example of an experiment I was telling them about. With consultation with SGSS we found an example of a non-polar substance requiring a non-polar solute to dissolve it.
The students were happy to be able to see all the range of polar and non-polar subtances acting as solvents and solutes as it rounded out their learning experience.
Monday, 27 March 2017
Friday, 17 March 2017
Student Wellbeing and
The Year 10's did a test last period. Through a concerted push I managed to get the test scripts marked and returned the next lesson and took the time to go through each question explaining how to approach that question and what the answer was.
Afterwards each student was asked to write on the paper their immediate thoughts on the test and the unit it assessed, focussing on how they had worked and how they approached the test. This was then extended with guided reflection set for them on Google Classroom.
Think about the topic so far and write a reflection. Include in your reflection
- How well you worked in the unit ( Did you try your best every lesson or were you goofing off, DId you persevere when it was hard, or give up?)
- How seriously you took the test? Did you persevere and try to figure stuff out
- How well did you do compared to how well you felt about the test when you did it.
- What your goal for the next unit is. Your goal should be challenging but achieveable
- What are you going to do to achieve this goal.
The majority of the class took the task seriously and there were some very good responses. At the end of the unit we will refer back to this to see how they got along and I intend to repeat it each unit to guide them through self-review and improvement cycles. Hopefully it will help them to learn skills in planning and reflection which are vital to self-management.
As a consequence of this I had an interesting conversation with a student who had received distressing news on the day of the test. On confiding to me what the upset was, I reassured her and she seemed fine. I am concerned for her longer term though, so I have let the counsellor who the student is, asking her to keep an eye out.
Afterwards each student was asked to write on the paper their immediate thoughts on the test and the unit it assessed, focussing on how they had worked and how they approached the test. This was then extended with guided reflection set for them on Google Classroom.
Think about the topic so far and write a reflection. Include in your reflection
- How well you worked in the unit ( Did you try your best every lesson or were you goofing off, DId you persevere when it was hard, or give up?)
- How seriously you took the test? Did you persevere and try to figure stuff out
- How well did you do compared to how well you felt about the test when you did it.
- What your goal for the next unit is. Your goal should be challenging but achieveable
- What are you going to do to achieve this goal.
The majority of the class took the task seriously and there were some very good responses. At the end of the unit we will refer back to this to see how they got along and I intend to repeat it each unit to guide them through self-review and improvement cycles. Hopefully it will help them to learn skills in planning and reflection which are vital to self-management.
As a consequence of this I had an interesting conversation with a student who had received distressing news on the day of the test. On confiding to me what the upset was, I reassured her and she seemed fine. I am concerned for her longer term though, so I have let the counsellor who the student is, asking her to keep an eye out.
Friday, 10 March 2017
Student Led learning
During the topic on Acids and Bases one of the content pieces to focus on was Acid Rain. One student was curious about the topic. He did some research on his own, and found a practical to do. He sent me the details and asked if we could do it in class.
The practical was straightforward and was a good illustration of the point. The colour changes using indicators reinforced the idea of indicators while it showed how gases can make neutral solutions acidic.
The rest of the class had greater engagement for this lesson. I had seen this practical before and dismissed it as not very interesting, so it was a timely reminder that our life experiences shape what we think is interesting .
Hi Miss Trewin
I was looking up acid rain recipes because i was bored and found one
that my class could possibly do?
Bromothymol blue
Small clear bowl with a lid
Big glass bowl
Water (10 ml)
Matches (that have a high sulfur content?)
1. Pour around about 10ml of water into the big glass bowl. Add
Bromothymol blue until it makes a light blueish colour.
2. Burn matches and put them into the small glass bowl with lid. Cover
the bowl and let the matches burn out. Collect their emissions and
leave the lid sealed tightly shut.
3. Open the jar and quickly pour in the water/Bromothymol blue
solution. Quickly shut the lid to stop any more of the Carbon dioxide
from getting out. Shake the jar and watch the solution turn a beer
colour!
So yeah. A possible acid rain recipe. I also found some more that
involved spraying plants with acid but that isn't environmentally
friendly and I like my garden so my plants aren't going to die today!
The practical was straightforward and was a good illustration of the point. The colour changes using indicators reinforced the idea of indicators while it showed how gases can make neutral solutions acidic.
The rest of the class had greater engagement for this lesson. I had seen this practical before and dismissed it as not very interesting, so it was a timely reminder that our life experiences shape what we think is interesting .
Hi Miss Trewin
I was looking up acid rain recipes because i was bored and found one
that my class could possibly do?
Bromothymol blue
Small clear bowl with a lid
Big glass bowl
Water (10 ml)
Matches (that have a high sulfur content?)
1. Pour around about 10ml of water into the big glass bowl. Add
Bromothymol blue until it makes a light blueish colour.
2. Burn matches and put them into the small glass bowl with lid. Cover
the bowl and let the matches burn out. Collect their emissions and
leave the lid sealed tightly shut.
3. Open the jar and quickly pour in the water/Bromothymol blue
solution. Quickly shut the lid to stop any more of the Carbon dioxide
from getting out. Shake the jar and watch the solution turn a beer
colour!
So yeah. A possible acid rain recipe. I also found some more that
involved spraying plants with acid but that isn't environmentally
friendly and I like my garden so my plants aren't going to die today!
Thursday, 2 March 2017
L2Chem start to year
I spent the first three weeks of the L2 Chemistry course reteaching ideas from L1 Science. It was brought home to me last year how unprepared some of the students are for L2, and how loose the entry criteria are to get into the class. I pretested and then re-tested the students. There was an improvement, but even so many students are still going to need a lot of extra support.
I have started the year with a letter home to all parents introducing myself and ensuring that they are aware that their student will have to work consistently all year to have a successful year in Chemistry. I also sent the letter by post to a few parents to ensure equity.
A big part of the homework this year is online revision and testing using the website BestChoice. I explained the point of this to parents and asked to be informed if this would be an issue so that I could make alternative arrangements for their child. I have at least one student for whom this will be an issue and have already discussed it with them. They are happy to come in to the tutorial time and have access to laptops then so they don't miss out on the learning opportunity.
I have started the year with a letter home to all parents introducing myself and ensuring that they are aware that their student will have to work consistently all year to have a successful year in Chemistry. I also sent the letter by post to a few parents to ensure equity.
A big part of the homework this year is online revision and testing using the website BestChoice. I explained the point of this to parents and asked to be informed if this would be an issue so that I could make alternative arrangements for their child. I have at least one student for whom this will be an issue and have already discussed it with them. They are happy to come in to the tutorial time and have access to laptops then so they don't miss out on the learning opportunity.
Wednesday, 1 March 2017
School PD to Waitangi
The school trip to Waitangi was an interesting day. I have been to Waitangi a number of time, but not since the museum opened. I felt that the time in the museum was spoiled by the 'homework' we had been assigned as it prevented me fully immersing myself in the information on offer, but instead driving me down the path that had been set. I had hoped to have the time to look around for things that I could incorporate into my classroom practice, but I didn't have the time to do so.
How do we get kids to see that school is in their long term interest when they are only interested in leaving school now to earn money. They do not think longer term as to how the jobs that seem like big money now don't pay enough for a comfortable life when they have dependent or injuries.
Talking to Vinnie who had left school at 13/14 to work in forestry, and bought houses age 17 and 18, brought that home. Vinnie seems happy with his life, but not everyone will have his success, and Vinnie himself says it was at the cost of not seeing his family grow up. I don't know how to compete with that when students have come from a background where "earnings now" are valued over learning or even "earnings later".
How do we get kids to see that school is in their long term interest when they are only interested in leaving school now to earn money. They do not think longer term as to how the jobs that seem like big money now don't pay enough for a comfortable life when they have dependent or injuries.
Talking to Vinnie who had left school at 13/14 to work in forestry, and bought houses age 17 and 18, brought that home. Vinnie seems happy with his life, but not everyone will have his success, and Vinnie himself says it was at the cost of not seeing his family grow up. I don't know how to compete with that when students have come from a background where "earnings now" are valued over learning or even "earnings later".
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