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final exams -- end of year preparation

6/8/2014

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It's that time of year, preparing for final exams.  There may be a state exam (for example, the New York State Regents Examination), or your school might have its own final exam. 

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has a Chemistry Olympiad Exam every year -- the test consists of 60 multiple choice questions, and sections of ACS give it throughout the country, and give prizes to the winners. 

Here's the link to view old exams with the answers:
http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/students/highschool/olympiad/pastexams.html

The NYS Regents Examination used to consist of 100 multiple choice questions, but it was changed in 2003 to consist of 50  multiple choice questions  and 50 points worth of short answer questions where partial credit can be earned.

Here is a link to several NYS Regents Chemistry Examinations:
http://www.nysedregents.org/Chemistry/

This is Mr. Kent's website with NYS Regent Examinations with answers and explanations:
http://www.kentchemistry.com/RegentsExams/regentsexams.htm

At the end of the school year you don't want to teach the course again, but brief lectures about select subjects would be useful to your students.  A full class of lecture is only going to help so much -- your students will just suffer through it but most won't get too much as summer is whispering in their ears.

One thing I did was have old final exams the students could work together on in groups.  This way they can talk freely and you can respond to individual questions.  At the end of the class, or at the beginning of the next class session, you can share the answers and respond to questions.

One school allowed students to bring in a handwritten note card to the exam -- the students worked very hard to write as much information on the card -- they didn't realize that they were reviewing for their exam by preparing the card!  It was turned in to the teacher before the exam (I actually gave homework credit for it, to encourage participation) so the teacher could verify that it's handwritten (not just a photocopy).


I'd love to hear your strategies for preparing for a final exam! 


Check out my lab book "Chemistry on a Budget" at amazon.com -- it's only $20! 
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

Each lab is presented with two possible report formats -- both labs use the same procedure but each has a different conclusion -- one with 10 questions to be answered as a conclusion, the other with a full laboratory report required.  This gives the teacher the option of what type of report is desired, and each version is designed to be just two pages.  This way the teacher can photocopy just one 2-sided page per student (saves paper).  


*I'd love to hear from you!  Your feedback would really help me to focus on your needs!  There should be a "Contact" form below, or click on the "Contact" tab on the top right of this page.  

Have a good week!


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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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