“Look for the miraculous in the familiar.”
Dr. Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim
CLASS MATERIALS
Every student deserves the best learning experience in every single class. SUCCESS requires PREPARATION. Make sure you have these materials everyday.
SCIENCE JOURNAL
Provided to each student. Your primary body of work.
3 DIFFERENT COLORED PENS + 2 WHITEBOARD MARKERS
For Notetaking and problem solving during classwork
CALCULATOR
For mathematical analysis
CHROMEBOOK
Everyday fully charged. We will use for activities and access to class materials
GOOGLE CLASSROOM
To access materials and documents
MONTHLY LEARNING PROCESS
Study Strategies and Checkpoints
STUDENT-TEACHER FEEDBACK
Communicate via Journaling & Feedback Record
EXPLORE ACTIVITY
Lab experience or investigation
CONTENT REVIEW
Study & Review,
Summarizing where we've been and what we've learned
COLLABORATION EVALUATION
Assessing your teamwork skills
ESSENTIAL SKILLS CHECKLIST
Track your progress and stay on target
SUMMATIVE SKILLS TESTS
Unit Progress Assessments, Investigation Reports, Presentations
INDIVIDUAL MASTERY LEVELS
Challenge yourself, earn experience to reach Level 4
FINAL INDUSTRY LEADER COMPETITION
Class period "companies" face off to demonstrate their best lab skills
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Tips for Success & Essential Skills
“[A] major goal for science education should be to provide all students with the background to systematically investigate issues related to their personal and community priorities. They should be able to frame scientific questions pertinent to their interests, conduct investigations and seek out relevant scientific arguments and data, review and apply those arguments to the situation at hand, and communicate their scientific understanding and arguments to others.” (National Research Council 2012, p. 278)
Reading ALL instructions (repeatedly)
Referring back to resources given and use tools available to you
Seeking out help & maintaining regular communication with the Teacher or TA
Reviewing, Reflecting, Making adjustments to improve
Being responsible for your own learning
Understanding that grades are NOT final until the END. Mastery Scores are reassessed and replaced. If you can prove Mastery, your class grade can improve greatly
Getting regular feedback and challenging yourself to reflect & refine
Being RESILIENT - No giving up.
Based on the Next Generation Science Standards, Science & Engineering Principles, and Environmental Principles & Concepts
Quality, Accountability & Collaboration: I can consistently meet deadlines, follow directions and be productive members of class. I can work effectively with my peers in a respectful manner and contribute to other's learning.
Scientific Investigation & Engineering: I can make observations, ask scientific questions, plan, investigate & collect data to explain phenomena and solve problems. I can develop, revise, evaluate and use a variety of scientific models to represent scientific ideas, explain phenomena and solve problems.
Scientific Literacy: The goal of science is to explain phenomena and to solve problems. Students will gather & analyze evidence from reliable sources, construct explanations and engage in argument in a scientific claims-evidence-reasoning format to communicate knowledge and understanding
CHEMISTRY MAIN TOPICS
Chemistry at its core is an investigation of matter and energy in the world around us. The relationships between the two shape interactions throughout the universe, for better or for worse.
Unit 1: Chem Foundations, Science of Cooking, Particle Theory & Matter
Unit 2: Molecular Interactions & Relationships, Reactivity
Unit 3: Nuclear Power & Society
Unit 4: Chemical Equilibrium, Ocean Acidification, Human Impact
Unit 5: Thermodynamics, Intersystem Effects, Sea Level Rise, Science & Social Justice