I love chemistry! We have been looking at the atomic theory in greater detail to prepare my students for high school. They will be learning about it again in 9th and then again in 11th grade. My students have completed two inquiry labs where they used a flow chart that they created from experimenting with chemical reactions and indicators to identify an unknown substance and then to identify a unknown solution’s pH. I found the labs in a book called “Inquiry-Based Experiments in Chemistry”. The labs went really well.

We used well-plates to control our waste and consumption. Using smaller amounts didn’t affect the results at all and my students got a kick out of seeing bubbles and color changes even if they were small. My students had to write a lab report for each lab. It was a good way to review lab reports just before they go on to high school.

We have also been working on a couple of high school Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) modeling activities. These activities are difficult and require a lot of thoughtful reasoning. I usually get them started on the activity and then have them try it in their groups. Some classes did very well and some struggled. For those students ready for this level of instruction, it was very fruitful. For those not ready, the activities gave them a taste of the vocabulary and content they will learn again in 9th grade. All of my students are very proud of their venture into high school science. I am proud of them, too. They are an awesome group of kiddos! Always eager to learn.