Chemical magic

If you need to run an open evening and showcase your department it´s good to have a selection of experiments and demos that will leave the audience speechless. I have already discussed the classic ammonium dichromate volcano (click here) and today I would like to share some chemical magic. This simple to set up experiment when paired up with a bit of acting can easily surprise your audience as you turn water into wine:

Then wine into water:

and lastly water into milk:

I tested it in beakers but for your "official" demo I suggest following the instructions and use wine glasses and a glass milk bottle.

If not used as a demo, you could use it in your lessons to discuss phenolphthalein as a narrow range indicator. Furthermore, it could be used in precipitation reactions lesson.

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

Zip Grade - the marking app to make your life easier

Marking takes a lot of time. It's something we all teachers have a love-hate relationship with as we know how important it is for the students' progress but at the same time it can be extremely time consuming. There are tools, however, that can save us a lot of time and provide quick feedback for our students. One of the marking apps that has been working extremely well for me is Zip Grade. It's perfect for marking multiple choice tests.

Once you download the app on your phone or tablet you are given free 100 scans each month. You can, of course, purchase unlimited number of scans. The yearly subscription costs $6.99.

You start by creating the answer key for your test:

Your students answer the test questions on special answer sheets which you can download from the website. It offers grids for 20, 50 and 100 questions. However, you can also create customized answer sheets on your profile and have the exact number of answers your test has.

Scanning a test takes a second. I like to use a highlighter to mark the questions my students got wrong. You can also print out the screen shots of individual review sheets (but that's just being extra :)

I found the app to be extremely useful to mark paper 1 of the IB Chemistry course. After some time of using the app you can easily create a nice bank of tests ready for marking. To find what you need easily simply add a tag while creating the answer key and you can later use it to filter your test bank:

An extremely useful feature is item analysis which allows you to see how your class did as a whole and identify the questions that you need to revisit:

You can also create individual learners' profiles and monitor the progress throughout the year. It also gives you useful data for parents' evening conversations.

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Welcome to "Keep them curious"

Thank you for visiting my blog. Here you will be able to find ideas and tips that will help you keep your students interested in Science. My subject specialism is Chemistry and this is going to be the main focus of my posts. Please check out my Twitter @keep_curious_ as well as Instagram @keep_them_curious

I would love to hear your suggestions so please feel free to comment under blog posts or drop me a line at keepthemcurious@gmail.com

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina