Kids love rockets. Kids hate math. Kids love competing. Kids hate calculating.                The rocket lab keeps the things that kids love, and then surprises kids with the satisfaction of the things they hate.  It is my favorite lab of the year, making hydrogen and oxygen rockets and launching them down the hall.  But the real magic happens the day after the lab.  I wrote a blog about the lab setup a couple years ago.  You can check it out here.   I’m going to focus on wha

The periodic trends unit can feel a bit repetitive.  I only do one lab to start the unit in which the kids discover the reactivity of the alkaline earth metals.  After that, it can be a bit of a slog through all the different trends.  Until now!                I have started a cycle through this unit that has become very successful.  It only relies on 10-minute lectures and lots of discussion and activity.  The cycle goes like this: 1.       Teach 2.       Model 3.       Play

Don’t you feel a little dumb when you discover a tip or trick that makes your life more efficient, and it was right in front of your nose all along?  Today’s article is super short, but makes a big difference in efficiency.  Here are two simple tricks to make you more time efficient as a chemistry teacher. 1.       Write the formula of the compound on the lid I’m probably going to discover through feedback that all of you have been doing this since the 1980’s and I’m just an

I love competition in the lab.  Especially at the AP chemistry level.  Every year I have the students compete to see who can get closest to the correct molarity in the “Titration of X Molar Strong Acid Lab.”  The kids love competing to see which group can land on the faintest pink solution.  They will fight to the half drop of sodium hydroxide to win that one.  I told them that other teachers post pictures of good results on social media.  They kept asking, “Is this titration

Yesterday, I used flame tests along with a two brief lessons in an effective block period.  I have always felt that flame tests can get lost in the “oooooo, cool colors” caliber of chemistry.  And then they don’t mean anything intellectually to the kids.  This year I combined two short lessons and sandwiched the flame tests in between. I completed it all in one 90-minute block.  It made a more powerful lesson.  Here is how I did it.  Plus, download the free lab write-up here

I was looking for a way to review the periodic table during the atomic structure unit.  And I found it!  A simple game of “Atomic Guess...

Chemistry students can struggle to connect with how the two classic atomic experiments worked, Thomson’s cathode ray tube and...

Beer’s Law is used all over chemistry. This week I used it in both AP chemistry and grade level chemistry.  But in order for my AP kids...

Molecular polarity is an important concept.  It’s also a concept that I have primarily described with words.  This year, my teaching...

I taught density to my grade level chemistry class this week.  Have they learned density before?  Yes.  Do they use the concept of...

To allow retakes on tests or not allow retakes, that is the question. This question stirs up a bunch of deep conversations about...

The first lab of AP Chemistry is special. New surroundings. New expectations. New challenges. Over the years, I have changed how I...

It’s coming.  Classroom management season.  I don’t know if you have noticed, but our classrooms are significantly easier to manage when...

End the Chemistry School Year with a Bang! Every year, kids always ask, “Are we blowing stuff up today?” My answer is always, “We will...

It’s review time.  For those of us who teach AP, it’s the eve of reckoning day.  But for all of us, the students have a final coming up. ...

There is something mystical about hot air balloons.  Yes, the students can say they work because “hot air rises” but sheesh that’s not a...

Ideal gas law.  Avogadro’s law.  Boyle’s law.  Combined gas law.  Graham’s law.  Charle’s law.  Gay-Lussac’s law.  Fred’s second cousin’s...

We as teachers largely use tests as the measuring stick of success for our students.  By proxy, we are measuring the success of our...

Kid’s love solving mysteries.  Kids love competing.  I just tried a coffee cup calorimetry lab that did both!  The kids got to solve for...

It's time to unwind a bit and recharge. Need some ideas? Try Spring Break Teacher Bingo! Extra credit if you black out the board. You...