Let YouTube help you teach Science #16

Naming compounds often proves to be difficult to students. This, however, is an important skill and as chemistry teachers we have to ensure that this is done. Today's video will help your students master naming compounds that end with -ide -ite and -ate.

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #15

You will cover VSEPR with your IB students in chapter 4. This video will help them visualise the geometry of different molecules. It's good to pair up watching the video with showing models of the molecules. This will help those students, who might struggle with 3D animations and are more kinesthetic learners.

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #14

Titrations often cause issues and students find them difficult. With a little practice and time, I'm sure everybody can master this experiment. To help you out, here's a brilliant step-by-step video done by the Royal Society of Chemistry:

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #11

What can you teach with this seemingly useless equipment?

Surface tension of water is one of the options. How? Have a look at the video:

This easy to prep experiment is great to merge fun and learning. Click here to read more about the science behind this activity.

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina 

Let YouTube help you teach Science #10

Throwback to the 80s with the Classification Rap song! I absolutely love to use this video in revision lessons. Added bonus: it´s really hilarious to hear the students humming the song during tests!

Which topic/s could you use this video with?
- AQA - 4.6.4 Classification of living organisms
- Edexcel - Topic 4: Natural selection and genetic modification
- OCR - B5.2b describe the impact of developments in biology on classification systems

Key words: class, classification, family, genus, kingdom, order, phylum, species, taxonomy

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #9

Today I would like to recommend an outstanding YouTube channel called Freesciencelessons. It features a fantastic selection of videos linked directly to the exam papers. Here´s an example of one of their videos:

The channel offers a number of playlists for all sciences. The videos are short and use easy to understand language and good visuals.

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #8

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

Key words: background radiation, ionizing radiation, radioactivity, sieverts

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #7

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!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #6

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!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #5

Today I would like to share a fantastic demo which you can use in your classroom or as a part of an open evening.

The rainbow flame demonstration is easy to set up and gives you an opportunity to have a great show stopper.

Which topic/s could you use this demo with?
- alternative to the flame test
- transition metals

Key words:
- emission spectrum, metal ions, safety, transition metals

Click here to get more information.

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #4

Cells is probably the first topic all students cover in their first biology lesson when they join secondary school. It's often the first occasion when they use the microscope and you get a lot of "wows" in the classroom as they look at different specimens. I like using the video below as fun introduction or in the revision lesson. I like the fact it also reinforces correct spelling of scientific key works with the lyrics coming on the screen.

Which topic/s could you use this video with?
- Biology - cells
- Animal vs. plant cell

Key words:
- animal cell, cell, chloroplast, cytoplasm, membrane, mitochondria, nucleus, organelle, plant cell, vacuole

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Mystery Boxes

I recently came across an interesting hands-on activity which will help the students learn how scientists work and how they come up with different theories.

As you can see from the video it's very easy to set up and extremely engaging. I can't wait to try it soon.

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #3

I really like introducing Science concepts to my students using demos and experiments they can later do at home. This really ensures that the pupils are interested in the subject and maintains their curiosity. Furthermore, if students decide to conduct the experiment at home, it helps to develop their dexterity and lab skills. Here's a simple experiment you can introduce your students to:

Which topics could you use this video with?
- How does soap work?
- How does washing up liquid work?
- Hydrolysis of fats
- Saponification
- Science Club experiment

Key words: hydrophilic, hydrophobic, saponification, soap molecule

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let You Tube help you teach Science #2

In the second installment of my "Let You Tube help you teach Science" I would like to introduce you to the idea of showing experimental instructions through short videos. It's a great visual aid for the students and it allows you to save time on a demonstration. Consequently, the pupils have more time to conduct the experiment. Below is an example of a simple experiment you can use to investigate osmosis:

Which topics could you use this video with?
- osmosis
- lab health and safety
- recording observations

Key words: importance of water, investigation, osmosis, water

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #1

YouTube is a great platform where you can find loads of interesting educational videos. These can become extremely useful to help students visualise complex concepts, revise material learnt and just simply enjoy Science. Here's the first installment of a series I'm going to call Let YouTube help you teach Science. 

Which topics could you use this video with?

- alkali metals
- properties of group 1 metals
- reactivity series
- reactions: alkali metals + water as well as alkali metals + oxygen
- safety precautions during experiments

Key words: alkali metals, corrosion, metallic lustre, lilac flame, vigorous reaction, safety screen

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina