CSCS Strategies

1/24/23 CSCS Activity

Flippity on Stoichiometry

Link to Data Sheet

Link to Play Game

Students completed a flippity review game in the style of jeopardy to review concepts of stoichiometry. Students really love the ability to work in teams and see their points rise or fall depending on their answers. For a topic with such heavy math usage, I found this to be one of the most engaging ways to get my students to review it!

1/31/23 CSCS Activity

Making Sandwiches Simulation

Link to simulation

In this activity students utilize the PHET simulation for reactants, products, and leftovers to demonstrate limiting reactants. It uses an analogy of making sandwiches with different recipes and quantities of ingredients to get students into realizing that chemical reactions work the same way. The reactants act as their ingredients and the sandwich itself is their products. I found it to be a great way to introduce excess reactants and the concept of a limiting reactant.

2/7/23 CSCS Activity

Collaborative Google Sheets

Link to sheet

In this activity students were to sort out a bag of mixed candies that included M&M's, Skittles, and Reeses Pieces. Students then counted and weighed each group of candy and entered their data into a collaborative sheet. This sheet would then process the data to calculate a relative mass for the made up element "Candium". The collaboration of data really helped with the data collection as it increase the number of responses to the whole class making our relative mass for this made up element closer to the "truth". This activity turns a fairly fun intro lab into a data driven lab that gives students a better idea of how atomic mass is actually calculated.

2/14/23 CSCS Activity

Molview Similarity

Link to Molview

In this activity students got to research the structure of a choice of their own molecule. They then utilize molview to demonstrate the VSEPR shapes within the structure. They also used the "similarity" tool to see if they can find any other molecules that have similar shape and function thus reinforcing the idea that geometric shapes of molecules effect their function and purpose. This was a very engaging activity that had students very excited to find a molecule of their choosing. Many students looked up medicines and found how closely related many medicines of similar function have very similar structures.

2/21/23 CSCS Activity

Google Draw

Link to diagram

In this activity students were using google draw to demonstrate models of phenomenon. The phenomenon in this particular section was to explain the collapsing can demonstration. By using google draw students were able to take a base diagram of the collapsing can experiment and create a digital model instead of having to draw it by hand. While the use of google draw for diagrams may be somewhat limiting in the students artistic design, it allows for a completely digital and virtual adaptation for this particular demonstration.

2/28/23 CSCS Activity

Stop Motion

Link to stop motion video maker

Students were tasked to make a stop motion video to explain a chosen phenomenon that relates to at least one gas law. Students were to model the movement of gas molecules based on the postulates of kinetic molecular theory throughout their video. Stop motion is an excellent tool to show movement among molecules and there are many techniques in stop motion, such as depicting different speeds, that help students connect back to these ideas. While students may initially groan at having to make a complete stop motion video, they end up really engaged in the activity. The students finally present their model as a means of peer to peer teaching.

The+Santa+Ana+Winds.mov

3/7/23 CSCS Activity

Sea Level Projections

Link to sea level projection tool

Students were able to explore sea level rise in this sea level projection tool created by Nasa. The tool allows students to select different emission based scenarios and follow the sea level across the span of a century. This tool was used as an engage for a complete unit on sea level rise and thermodynamics. The students found it to be a very engaging tool as they got to see how different coastal cities may be effected by the dangerous rise in sea level given our current carbon emission output. While it is quite the somber data, it does a really good job at driving home that this is a major issue and is connected to a rise in global temperatures.

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