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Kristen Drury

William Floyd High School, NY

AP, Honors, General Chemistry

SUNY Stony Brook University

Science Teacher Prep Program

Science Pedagogy and Methods II Adjunct Professor

www.chemisme.com

chemisme@gmail.com

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For slides go to www.chemisme.com/presentations

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Why does sequencing matter?

Chemistry can be a more narrative storyline: Building on topics shows chemistry is a web of information rather than disjointed pieces.
A logical flow can help students’ question generation. Students feel they are steering the instruction.
Teachers can more easily plan instruction when the topics flow into one another.
Models grow from simplistic to more complex throughout the year.

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Sequencing can matter in modeling…

Macro to Micro to Applications: Start with observable phenomena and work towards abstract ideas.

Macro: Measurement, Gases, Heat, Attractions

Micro: Atomic Structure, Bonds, Moles

Application: Acid Base, Electrochem, Organic

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Consider a Historical Sequence

History of Science: The order in which scientist discovered information may be the most logical approach.

But do we have to teach it all at once?

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AMTA is a Major Influence

American Modeling Teachers Association

www.modelinginstruction.org

Year membership for all materials $75

Workshops available

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Measurement and Particles
Gas Laws
Phases and Heat
Matter and Changes (ECM, M/NM/SM, I/C… Lavoisier, Priestley, Dalton)
Attractive Forces (Thomson, LDF, Redox)
Atomic Structure (Rutherford, Bohr)
Periodicity
Bonding and IMF (All forces, Solutions)
Moles and Stoichiometry (revisit gases and solutions)
Organic
Kinetics and equilibrium
Acids and Bases
Electrochemistry
Nuclear Chemistry

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Marble Demo

Draw a marble on your whiteboards.

Draw the marble from the perspective of an elephant.

Draw that marble from the perspective of an ant.

Draw that marble from the perspective of a Ant Man.

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Ant Man goes “Subatomic”

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Marble Demo continued…

Draw a drop of water on your whiteboard.

Draw that drop from the perspective of Ant Man.

Compare the water to the marble: similar? different?

What if I drop the marble into water? Does that change your mind?

How should we model these differences?

Are all “liquids” the same?

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Norms Setting

What are some norms we should set to ensure we can communicate our ideas efficiently?

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Particle Diagram Rules

All particles drawn as circles
Include labels and/or a key
Particles of the same substances have the same size, color, and shape
Particles of a different substance have a different color
Draw a reasonable number of particles to show your argument (or label)
Number of particles = mass
Size of object = volume
Consider how closely packed the particles are
If particles move they should have arrows:

Smaller arrows mean less movement

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Mass and Change Lab

Identify changes in mass relationship to number of particles

Where does the mass go and come from?

Identify system versus surroundings
Discuss errors in mass change due to human error versus precision.

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Unit 1 Activities

Link to my Class packet: Practice and Labs

Mass and Change Lab
Measuring One Place Beyond
Sig Figs, Rounding, Calculating
Percent Error
Mass and Volume Lab
Density Practice
Metric
Density of a Gas Lab
Thickness of Aluminum Foil Lab
Lab Practical

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Unit 1 Teaching Themes

Remove student tools that diminish thinking such as the density triangle
Depict everything with particle diagrams
Utilize qualitative and quantitative reasoning:

Plot mass and volume and derive slope with units before “density” is mentioned
Use of “for every” statements for proportional thinking
Show how graphs are useful for prediction making

Emphasis on Number vs Quantity vs Relationship vs Unit Podcast PPT
Get into uncertainty and sig figs with reasoning - not abstract
Throughout emphasis on “ What is a model? What is a “retrieval cue”?

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“Mass” is a Retrieval Cue

Narrative:
Symbolic: m
Model: Macro versus Micro

The number of particles in a substance
The kilogram was originally defined in 1795 during the French Revolution as the mass of one litre of water. In 1889, a cylinder of platinum-iridium, the International Prototype of the Kilogram (IPK), became the standard of the unit of mass for the metric system and remained so for 130 years, before the current standard was adopted in 2019.

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“Volume” is a Retrieval Cue

Narrative:
Symbolic: v
Model: Macro versus Micro

The entire space a substance takes up
Liter L: The French Academy of Sciences defined the meter in 1791 as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator, measured along a line that passes through Paris. A liter is 10cm x 10cm x 10cm = 1000cm³

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“Density” is a Retrieval Cue

Narrative:
Symbolic: D
Mathematical:
Graphical:
Model: Macro versus Micro

How closely packed or spread out particles are within the substance’s volume

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Chill Log 1 Link

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Unit 2: Gases

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Presenting Whiteboard Work

Ideas

Teacher led board debrief
2 stay 1 stray
Gallery Tour
Board Meeting

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How do we breathe?

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How does a straw work?

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Unit 2 Teaching Themes

Particles have intrinsic motion - nothing is required for them to move
Proportions - PVnT are all proportionally related and this can be used to predict changes, proportionality shapes graphical representations
Collisions - pressure, particle speed, space, particle number influence collisions, veracity and frequency
System/surroundings - the atmosphere exerts pressure and is sometimes ignored by students/people

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Chill Log Unit 2 Link

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Thoughts?

Ideas?

Insights?

Questions?

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