It goes without saying that the periodic table is one of the most recognizable tools used by scientists. Every science student is going to use it in their lessons. A great tool that can be used across all ages is the Periodic Table from the Royal Society of Chemistry.
This versatile tool is available on the website as well as an app. It´s engaging and interactive and contains many useful features: data trends across the periodic table (electronegativity, density, melting point etc.), history, podcasts and many more. Most importantly, it´s easy to use so all students will be able to access it.
In today´s installment of my Monday series, I´d like to recommend a video you could use in your physics lessons. The video is a great resource to introduce the topic of radioactivity as it offers a lot of context. It is also useful at the end of the unit to sum up covered points. To engage the students further, you could ask them to research each location mentioned and find out which radioactive isotope are relevant to each place.
Which topic/s could you use this video with?
- Edexcel - topic 6 Radioactivity
- AQA - 4.4.1 Atoms and isotopes
- OCR - Topic P6: Radioactivity
- Edexcel iGCSE - topic 7 Radioactivity and particles
- Cambridge iGCSE - iopic 5.2 Radioactivity
Students love doing experiments. However, they often tend to waste a lot of reagents. A good way of teaching them to be less wasteful is through microscale chemistry. Here is an example of the worksheet I designed to teach my students to be more conscious of the amounts of chemicals they are using:
In this experiment students conduct 5 precipitation reactions and use 2-3 drops of each reagent. The worksheet is laminated and a paper towel is used to clean up afterwards. Once prepared it will last a long time.
For some students 6 marker questions are a real nightmare and they tend to ignore them during exams. With a bit of regular practice it is easy to develop skills which will allow the pupils to tackle those questions. I went through 3 years of Edexcel Chemistry GCSE papers and put together a document with all the 6 marker questions. I referenced each paper so you can easily find the right mark scheme. These questions can be used as homework tasks, extension tasks and with the mark scheme for peer assessment. The document consists both foundation and higher questions.
I think every single chemistry teacher has done the ammonium dichromate volcano at least once in their career. It's a show stopper at open evenings and the audience is always wowed by it. I came across this great video from the Royal Society of Chemistry showing a different way of doing this experiment which allows you to clean afterwards much easily. All is also done according to the guidance from CLEAPSS.
Which topic/s could you use this video with?
- chemical vs. physical change
- exothermic reactions
- oxidation states
Key words: ammonium dichromate (VI), disposal, safety
I wish you great lessons!
Science Club is for me a place where the students have an opportunity to conduct experiments they wouldn´t normally have a chance to do. It´s an opportunity to further deepen their curiosity and develop lab skills. I created the Book of Achievements to teach my students organisational skills and show them how much they can do. The list of "achievements" to complete is a great starting point to create independent learners who know how to plan.
The reward system is flexible and can easily reflect whatever your school is doing - merits, stickers, postcards home etc.
As a Chemistry teacher I feel confident to deliver demos and practicals within my subject specialism. I always know how to modify the experiments to cater to my students' needs. When I need to deliver Biology or Physics lessons, I always like to do extra research to make sure the lesson is interesting and that my subject knowledge is sound. A few years ago I came across this demo to show how the digestive system works and it's absolutely brilliant!
Which topic/s could you use this video with? - digestive system
Key words: bile, blood, digestion, enzymes, large intestine, mouth, oesophagus, saliva, small intestine, rectum, stomach, teeth, villi
I wish you great lessons!
I have been running after school clubs since I started working as a teacher. I really enjoy the freedom a science club can give you to try experiments that you wouldn't normally have time to do in a lesson. One of the restrains that I had to face, however, was the issue of money to buy the resources I needed. This I managed to overcome by applying for grants and getting free resources (I mentioned some of the places here). After testing a wide range of experiments and getting feedback from my students, I put together this KS3 Science Club Scheme of Work, which I hope is going to be useful for your students too.
Kahoot! gives you an option to engage your students in highly addictive quizzes and learn at the same time. Students absolutely love the competitive aspect of those quizzes. As a teacher, I really like the fact that I can either create my own quiz or browse through the database of thousands of quizzes created by others. Another interesting feature is the option of creating a report which shows you in detail how well your students performed and what are the areas that still need work.
Click here to access my easy Kahoot! quiz on components in electrical circuits.
