Today we discussed the importance of process skills or "soft skills"...skills that employers consider vitally important, that are independent of the specific job position.  Examples of these process skills would be communication skills, ability to work independently, ability to work as a team member, dependability, time-management, leadership, critical thinking, ability to troubleshoot, etc.  These are skills that will be built as students work through content-related POGIL activities in a team-based environment throughout the course.

Students had a substitute teacher today.  A segment of the NOVA video "Hunting the Elements" was shown, focusing on the Periodic Table and the elements of Group 1, the Alkali Metals.  Students were able to use the remaining time to practice their elements for Wednesday's quiz using Quizlet.

Today students considered the question "What is Science?"  After some initial brainstorming & sharing, we identified some common themes, such as "study", "questioning", "experiments", and "theories".  We watched a video in which scientists from a variety of scientific disciplines tackled this question and gave their perspectives.  Students did a final reflection afterwards to summarize their answer to the question "What is Science?" into a single, concise statement.  Some of these can be seen in the gallery below:

We introduced the Elements to Be Familiar With packet, which will be the focus of Wednesday weekly quizzes.  Students signed up for a Quizlet account to practice for these quizzes and were oriented to the different features. Students can join their class (if unable to do so today in class) by clicking on the appropriate class link here: Period 1  |  Period 2  |  Period 4  |  Period 8

The first weekly element quiz will be next Wednesday, 9/21/16 on the first set of elements, Group 1 (Alkali Metals) & Group 2 (Alkaline Earth Metals).  Main focus should be on knowing element names (spelling counts) and element symbols (capitalization counts), with a few questions focusing on the element family properties.

As the collaborative Ch. 1 notes are being finalized, students can access them for their own reference/use by clicking on their class link below:
Period 1  |  Period 2  |  Period 4  |  Period 8

Continue Bunsen Burner Practicals & work in small groups to compile the notes for the assigned sections of Chapter 1.

A representative from each section should click on their class period's link below to access the shared Ch. 1 Notes document on OneDrive.

Period 1  |  Period 2  |  Period 4  |  Period 8

Students took their Lab Equipment Quiz and practiced their Bunsen burner skills, in preparation for their Bunsen burner lab practical.

While waiting to be called for their practical, students watched the video below about how to effectively use the course resources (ie-textbook & online video) to "take notes"

Once you've watched the video above, apply what you've learned to a portion of Chapter 1 reading from the textbook.  Use the embedded number generator below to determine which section of the Chapter you should focus on and take notes on.

Record the number that was generated above (you'll need this for our wrap-up activity).  Based on your number, please focus on reading/taking notes on the following sections of Chapter 1 in the textbook:

1. "The People" & "The Ingredients"
2. "The Rules" & "The Industry"
3. "The Process" & "The Practice"
4. "The Reality" & "The Future"
   

We finished our discussion of lab equipment; see yesterday's post for the embedded PowerPoint if you missed any info.  Use the embedded Quizlet exercise below to aid in your review.

We also introduced the Bunsen burner and discussed its operation.  Students will have an individual lab practical in which they must demonstrate their proficient knowledge and operation of the Bunsen burner.

After finishing discussion of the class syllabus/expectations, we moved on to an orientation of laboratory equipment.  There will be a quiz on Friday, with questions focusing on visual identification of the equipment, as well as some dealing with equipment functionality and application.

Lab safety assessment was given today; this was followed by a discussion of the course expectations/syllabus.  A signed copy of this is due back tomorrow (count as a graded homework assignment).

HOMEWORK: Get syllabus signed by parent/guardian

Later this week: Lab equipment & Bunsen burner orientation; Lab equipment assessment on Friday 9/9.

We continued our discussion of the lab safety contract and location/operation of safety equipment in the laboratory.  The parts and operating procedure of a fire extinguisher were described, based on the acronym P.A.S.S. (see the video below).

Lab Safety Test will be Tuesday, 9/5/16.