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Suggestion Box
We are all crazy busy as chemistry teachers. Many of us teach other science courses that take significant preparation time as well. We are working to add content that is useful to YOU. We plan to add...
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JCE Special Issue Call For Papers
The College Board released a new framework for the AP chemistry course that teachers are using this year. The new curriculum emphasizes big ideas, enduring understandings, and science practices.The...
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Fluorescent Fashionista
Halloween is a great time of year to do experiments with fluorescence. In the video below, we experiment with some fluorescent yarn.For more simple experiments that you can do with fluorescence, see...
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JCE Classroom Activity #111: Legos and Formulas
I used JCE Classroom Activity #111 in my chemistry classes today. (Subscription to JCE required) What a great way to help students make the connection between number of ions present, the charges of the...
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Particulate Level Conceptual Questions
NGSS and the new AP chemistry curriculum have included modelling in the chemistry curriculum, so it is imperative that we have access to good conceptual questions surrounding modelling. I am in the...
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Particulate Models in Video
We are encouraged to use modelling these days and I have some activities to share along with some videos that might help you in the process.I use a lab for my high school general chemistry course...
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Green Chemistry
This past summer, I took part in an online teaching training offered by Beyond Benign. According to the Web site, “Beyond Benign was created by Dr. John Warner, a founder of the field of Green...
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Student Recommendation Tips
Every year, high school teachers across the country are asked to write college recommendations for their current and former students. With today’s competitive college culture, and an ever-growing list...
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JCE 90.11—November 2013 Issue Highlights
Ninety Years NewThe November 2013 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online. This latest issue of JCE plus the content of all past issues, volumes 1 through 90, are available...
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Greener Replacement Labs and Activities
I am a safety conscience science teacher. I am embarrassed about some of the things that I did in my classes early in my career that I did not realize were unsafe. I saw the demonstrations and...
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JCE Classroom Activity #92: Testing for Iodide in Table Salt
JCE Classroom Activities are a collection of over 100 chemistry experiments and demonstrations that can be carried out using simple materials found around the house or at grocery store and hardware...
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Expo Neon Markers
As the trimester comes to an end, I have the chance to reflect with my chemistry students and ask them about course likes and dislikes. A major "like" that came out was the use of the Expo brand neon...
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Experiments with Expo Markers
Doug Ragan’s post on Expo neon markers got me thinking about how I’ve used these markers in my classroom. By simply using these markers, a small UV/violet LED and a white lightstick, you can teach...
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100 year anniversary of the term "ISOTOPE"
Do you know where the term “isotope” comes from? The term was coined about 100 years ago. Frederick Soddy worked alongside his colleague, Ernest Rutherford, to study radiation. He used chemistry to...
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Chemistree Holiday
My ChemClub students came to my room for a holiday celebration today. We made a batch of seafoam candy. There are many recipes available, but they are all basically the same. I premeasured a cup of...
View ArticleStandards and Inquiry or Standards vs Inquiry?
In my grad program one of our discussions concerned how to teach science the way science is actually done. This seems to be one of the core ideas in the Next Generation Science Standards. The...
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Ice clouds
I get excited when I see the outside temperature drop below 0°F (-18°C). This is not because I enjoy cold weather. It is because when the outside temperature gets this cold, I can conduct a particular...
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Lab Accidents
The US Chemical Safety Board is an independent federal agency in Washington DC. They investigate industrial accidents. They just released a video of a young woman speaking about a high school chemistry...
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Social Media
Chemistry teachers are always looking for new ideas to reach students. Social media is a new frontier to reach students AND collaborate with other chemistry teachers around the world 24/7. I hesitated...
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Stephen Radice Inspires Students and Colleagues
Stephen Radice is a multi-award winning chemistry teacher from Brooklyn, New York. For the past 26 of his 29 years of teaching, he has made chemistry accessible and brought it to life for every level...
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