April 3

Friday, April 3rd

Phew, we made it to Spring Break!   Hopefully, we will all remain safe and healthy for the next 10 days until we reconvene.  Don’t be surprised when you DON’T hear from me  til April 13th.   Be well my friends!

Thursday, April 2nd

Hello,  so, Governor Whitmer announced this morning that the school building will be closed for the remainder of the school year unless the situation changes dramatically.  We still have no idea what that means for us academically for online learning YET.  The district will be figuring that what it looks like and how it will work.  In the meanwhile, I have some interesting lessons planned for after Spring Break and we will carry on learning chemistry!!

I have also been instructed that Spring Break is a BREAK time and we ALL will be taking a break from our remote learning.   Per Mr. Martin, I will NOT be communicating with students over break.  That means that at 2:15pm tomorrow, I will go offline until Monday April 13.    You are all welcome to do the same.  Stay well my friends!  

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April 1

Wednesday, April 1st

Welcome to April!  

Today, I had a PD on Google Classroom,  I would LOVE to hear your opinions on how ILearn compares to Google Classroom.  Please fill out the Question Forum.  Which one is easer to use for you as a student?  Which one do you prefer overall?  Why?    Thanks. 

Keep working on your projects.  I am finding some WONDERFUL online resources for us after the projects are completed.  Next week, during Spring Break,  I have been advised to NOT check email or ILearn during the break.  If you have questions, please get those in asap.  

Projects are due on April 16.  At that time, new activities will be assigned.

Stay Well!

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March 31

Tuesday, March 31st

Keep working!  There is NO OFFICIAL new information from the State of Michigan, Dearborn Public Schools OR Dearborn High School, as of today.  Please keep checking   https://dearbornschools.org/   for the latest updates.  

As far as I am concerned, we are still doing as we have been instructed.  

NEW OFFICE HOURS:  Starting tomorrow.  I have had requests to make office hours later in the day.  (Sleeping in sounds good!)  So, new office hours are 11am til 1pm.   During those 2 hours, I am ONLINE and available to answer questions and chat.  

Please use the Q&A forum on ILearn for project specific questions and your school email and the chat application through that email for other issues 

Stay Well!     I’m going to draw on the sidewalk with chalk now.  

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March 30

Monday, March 30th

Happy Monday!  

This morning I chatted with several of you about your projects.  Things are going well for some of us and others are having difficulty finding information.  Use the INTERNET to help!  Google the product, the chemical substances and / or simply “how does my product work? ” or “molecular structure of my substance”   

Keep checking ILearn, I am continually adding resources to help you with this project. Keep checking your submissions on ILearn, I am reviewing and commenting as fast as I can.

Keep uploading your questions to the Q&A board   and I’ll keep tabs and answer you asap.

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March 27

Friday, March 27th

This morning’s video class meeting was good for about 20  minutes then the internet crashed at my house : (   I have scheduled another meeting for Monday at 10am.  No new news yet, just want to touch base with you all.  

Keep your questions coming!  Use the Q&A forum in the Capstone Project area of ILearn.  If you send me an email wilth project questions, I will be posting those questions ad the responses on ILearn so everyone can benefit from your question. 

Keep researching!  The chemistry teachers are working onfinding new and intersting activities for us to work on after the project is comleted. 

Stay Well!  

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March 26

Thursday, March 26th

Your Outline / Graphic Organizer is due today.   I am extending the due date til NEXT Tuesday, March 31st because you need more RESEARCH TIME.

I will be setting up a “GOOGLE Hangouts MEET” for all of us to touch base and ask questions LIVE. 

Just had training on doing this, so I will set it up for this afternoon at 3pm.  Hope to see you there!

Many of you have asked GREAT questions about what the outline looks like…here’s what the directions say:

OUTLINE:   This is a plan for how your presentation slides will be put in order.           

 Start with a basic outline:      I.   Introduction

                                                  II. Phenomenon

                                                  III. Structure

                                                   IV. Function

                                                   V.  Connection between structure and function.

                                                  VI. Conclusion

 THEN fill in the outline with details specific to YOUR product.   (Be specific about what you will talk about in each area)  Save as pdf and upload to ILearn FIll in details means:

The project directions say:  

1.   Identify the molecular structure of the substance that is important to the functionality of the chosen material.

 2.   Create a molecular model of your substance (Lewis dot)

3.   On your model, show the intermolecular forces between the surfaces that demonstrate how the substance interacts with the environment to solve the problem.   (We are aware that intermolecular forces have not been discussed this semester, this is something we are expecting you to independently research.  Remember that we are still available remotely to help guide you if needed)

SO…my interpretation:

#1 says pick the substance that is most important to the function of the material.  (What is your product?) ex:  if you chose a water filtration device, the plastic casing is NOT the most important part to the function, the stuff inside that actually removes contaminants is)

#2 says your model should be a LEWIS DOT STRUCTURE   remember those?  seems a long time ago when we did those, but I’m sure you can look in your textbook, notes and the internet to help you remember how : )

#3.  says show the inter molecular forces (IMF) that come in to play when your product functions.  ie:  diapers attract and absorb liquids —there is some IMF at work here.  again, we covered those in class, but I’m sure the internet has some good info on IMFs.  

I personally would show a model of the product AND a model of the molecules (individually and collectively)

Hope this is helpful. 

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March 26

Wednesday, March 25th

Reading your proposals has been great, but the few outlines/graphic organizers that I have received don’t give enough of the CHEMISTRY to prove that you know how the product works.  

Yes, I know that a polymer absorbs liqueds and a baby’s butt stays dry.  HOW DOES THAT WORK on a MOLECULAR level? 

Think like a scientist!  You need to show models of how your product works  MOLECULES by MOLECULE. 

If you don’t know which molecule to model, then you probably don’t fully understand how your product works.  KEEP RESEARCHING!

Tuesday, March 24th

Today, your Consumer Product Proposals are due.  

Here’s an excerpt from the “Details” section of the directions sheet. (Found a the end of the sheet below the rubric and graphic organizer).

Details, Details, Details! 1.  Proposal:  a paragraph or two in which you identify the product you chose for your research.  Give some of your thoughts on why you chose this product (what is interesting about the product/ how it is used in people’s lives, what you hope to find out).  You specifically should identify the problem that this product solves and how this product is important in solving societal or personal issues. You can either attach a pdf OR type right on the assignment (Thanks to the students who taught me that!!). 

Make sure you LOOK for my comments.  Some of us need to refine our thoughts and simplify the way we approach this research.  Don’t make it too coplex…focus on ONE product (Not the combination of many small parts into one big system.)

Let me know what questions you have.  Be specific with your questions, that’s the best way for me to guide your thought process : )

STAY WELL!

Monday, March 23rd

Welcome back to online learning!  Several students alerted me that apple products would not recognize the images in the Project Directions.  I have included a pdf version to alleviate that problem.  

Pay attention to the due dates for each portion of the project.  I have extended the final draft due date until after our “spring break.”   Feel free to submit it early!  

If you would like to research a product that is not found on the suggestion list, make sure you include enough information in your proposal that I can do my own bit of research and OK your choice.  

I’m looking forward to learning about how chemistry saves the world!  

Special Edition:  Saturday, March 21st     Happy Spring! 

Several students have asked some wonderful questions about our project.  I have added more details to the directions page (it’s a section called, “Details!”)    PLEASE email me if you have ANY questions or concerns about your project.  

Stay well and Keep Learning!  

Friday, March 20th

Friday Quiz TODAY!! It is 7 questions and you have 30 minutes to complete it once you have begun.  Beware!  The quiz will not allow you to skip around or revisit questions.  You MUST complete the questions in order…you can’t go back!  

I also posted a “practice” quiz (only 1 question) that will let you experience an ILearn quiz before taking the actual one. 

NEW PROJECT!!    The chemistry department has decided to move your CAPSTONE PROJECT forward to this time.  This is the SAME project that we would have assigned later in the year, just moved forward to this time when you have some time away from daily chemistry work.   YES, that means that I will NOT be giving you any more chemistry work until after the project is due!  

The directions are listed below the topic category.

Project due dates: 

Proposal                                 Tues 3-24-20

Outline / Graphic Organizer  Thurs 3-26-20

Rough Draft                           Tues 3-31-20

Final Draft                              Thurs 4-16-20

I have ideas that I would love to share if you need help brainstorming : )

PLEASE check in on your classmates and friends.  We all need human contact during these unusual times!  Make sure they are getting the support they need, both academically and mentally.  

I’m here for you guys!  Just let me know how I can help : )

Mrs. C

Thursday, March 19th

Look for a Friday Quiz tomorrow!  It will be approximately 10 questions reviewing chemical reactions:  reaction types, predicting products, balancing equations.  

You will have 30 minutes to take the quiz once you start.  You will be locked out of other internet sites while you are taking the quiz.   You will have until Monday 9am to complete the quiz. 

Stay well!  

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March 18

Wed March 18th

Wednesday, March 18th

If I have not had a homework submission from you on ILearn, expect a phone call from DHS admin regarding your ability to do online learning.  They will be helping you access the district’s technology. 

Today – work on the Problem-Solving Lab on page 326 that was assigned yesterday. 

-It is due tomorrow, Thursday, March 18.  That means that to be on time, it must be SUBMITTED BY 11:59 PM TONIGHT. 

-REMEMBER:  you MUST show your work, that means CALCULATIONS!    Just providing an answer will NOT get you full points. 

Unit labels MUST be included as well as showing the correct number of sig figs in your answers.   

-I am working on recording the process of completing the homework and will post that with the assignments asap after the due dates. 

-ALL WORK MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH ILEARN.

-If you have problems submitting your responses, please email me asap and I will walk you through how to submit work. 

-Email is NOT an acceptable way to turn in work while we are doing online learning.  

**I am live online from 9am – 11am every weekday***  

email or google chat to contact me : )

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March 17

Tuesday, March 17th

Tuesday, March 17th

  • Still waiting on submissions of homework from 80+ students.  
  • PLEASE text/email/snapchat/instagram or whatever you do best to help each other to know that they MUST participate in online learning!  

Today’s lesson includes:   

  • -watch the video on molar mass “Chemistry Lesson:  Molar Mass”
  • -READ Chapter 10 section 1 and pages 325 and 326.  (You should have read ch 10.1 for last week’s homework)
  • -Complete the Problem-Solving Lab on page 326.
  • -Upload a photo of your work to the ILearn assignment    **Remember, it is best to upload pdf or jpegs to ILearn ** 
  • *Here’s a video you may enjoy!  (Some of the chemistry is over our heads, but it’s still a fun song!)              The Molecular Shape of You    
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