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 extra credit II

5/28/2015

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It’s the end of your school year – I hope you had a great Memorial Day Weekend and are ready for the end of your school year!

You might be thinking about labs for the end of this year --my lab Salt and Ice Cream? is a fun way to review freezing point depression.  For inexpensive chemistry lab ideas, buy my lab book Chemistry on a Budget for $20.56 at amazon.com or $23 at lulu.com. It will take a few weeks to get to you, so order now! 

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html

This book contains 13 labs using consumable materials purchased from local stores including Analysis of a Mixture, Paper Chromatography, and Coinium (using pennies to demonstrate half-life).  There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report.  This way the teacher has the option!  Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout. 


Students may be seeking Extra Credit opportunities as the quarter / school year ends.  Research via the Internet is very easy, so many topics can be explored by your students. 

The topic of Climate Change is currently in the news.

There is extreme weather in Texas and very dry weather conditions in California.  The ocean dissolving carbon dioxide and the effects on ocean chemistry are current topics as well.

I did not accept Extra Credit assignments if a student had not completed the current work for the course.  They had to finish anything outstanding before Extra Credit work would be considered.

My approach to Extra Credit assignments was that it would be worth a Homework grade (maybe a Lab grade), just not worth a Test grade – usually it was weighted only enough that it may bring a student’s grade from a B- to a B or a D+ to a C-.  Sometimes it wouldn’t bring the grade up at all  -- imagine a student who turns in every assignment late – Extra Credit is not going to save them – and I tell the students this at the beginning of the year.

I plan to revisit Class Grading Policy later in the summer.

This Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom.  Remember, you can check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.

Have a good weekend!


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    Marjorie R. Heesemann is a chemistry teacher with 15 years of experience who is now working to develop resources for the Chemistry classroom.

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