Middle School Introductory Chemistry Wrap-Up...

I remember all too well the struggle Angel had in Chemistry her 11th grade year. We were using Apologia Exploring Creation with Chemistry. A combination of understanding the Periodic Table, math equations, vocabulary, atomic and molecular structure proved to be too much information all at one time. As a result, I vowed to do things differently with my younger students. My aim was to introduce these ideas at an elementary level in order to build a base for upper level Chemistry.

In looking at a variety of resources, I knew I wanted to stick with living books. Ambleside Online offered some suggestions in their Year 6 and Year 7 Science selections, one of which I actually ended up using with Angel once we scrapped the Apologia text. She enjoyed it so I thought it would be a suitable book for our middle school introductory year, where we focused on the elements of the Periodic Table. This week, we wrapped up our Middle School Introductory Chemistry and I'd like to share a few things we used and what I learned.

First off, a confession, I never had Chemistry....ever! I managed to escape it in high school and it wasn't required in college so I didn't volunteer, ahem! One of the many advantages of home educating is the recovery of my own education. There's no better way to develop understanding, compassion, and a love of subject than to study it yourself. For this reason, I decided to include a Chemistry study in our Morning Time (MT). This allowed me the ability to participate and learn with the kids rather than try to find extra time to pre-read or study the subject independently.

For our Morning Time Introductory Chemistry study, I chose The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin D. Wiker and The Elements by Theodore Gray. Wiker's book gave a wonderful introduction to the Periodic Table and how it was discovered. We learned about many alchemists and scientists of the past. Gray's book gives an absolutely stunning look at each individual element. There's a two page spread for every element with photographs of the actual element as well as items made from the element. It's a beautiful book! (Side note - while reading The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly for history, I was making all kinds of connections and gaining ideas from reading The Mystery of the Periodic Table. Although it wasn't planned, the two books complimented each other.)

The Mystery of the Periodic Table has 18 chapters so I read aloud a different chapter every other week throughout our 36-week academic year. On the off week, we studied 1-3 elements from Gray's book, using a schedule I found through Ambleside Online. I then had the kids notebook a page about each element we studied. They also charted each element on a blank Periodic Table. I personally charted and notebooked on each element along side them, as well as taking a few notes on each chapter or Wiker's book.

Overall, we had a great study! I know I personally learned a good deal about the Periodic Table. My one regret is that we didn't read about and complete a notebooking page on each element, or, at least all the naturally occurring elements. Not to say that we couldn't go back and finish it at some point, but we most likely won't. When it's time for Levi to work through an Introductory Chemistry study, I will have him spend more time on each element. As noted above, Gray's book is extremely visually appealing. It's well laid out and notebooking through the elements was one of our favorite parts of the study. Riley agreed that we should have covered all of them. Here are some samples....

I gave a little preview of our MT study in a blog post back in October, of which you can find more sample notebooking pages. In addition, Riley also read The Wonder Book of Chemistry by Jean Henri Fabre independently. She's decided she's not crazy about Fabre, but she was able to add to the MT conversation, making wonderful connections along the way.

Middle School Chemistry in Morning Time...

As part of our Morning Time study, we've been working through The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin D. Wiker and The Elements by Theodore Gray using Ambleside Online's Year 6 rotating schedule. Every other week, I read from each book. For example, Week One, I read Chapter One of The Mystery of the Periodic Table. Then Week Two, I read about a specific element in The Elements. Week Three, I went back and read Chapter Two from ...Mystery of...Periodic Table, Week Four, we read about another element, and so on and so forth.

In addition to the above mentioned reading, I've added a notebooking component to our study. At the beginning of the year, I gave Riley and Ruben a blank periodic table. As we read about a variety of elements in The Mystery of the Periodic Table, they plug them into their table. Then every other week, as we read about a particular element from The Elements, they write about and illustrate a picture on a blank page of something representative of that element. At the end of the year, I will bind these pages with my ProClick binder into their own personal chemistry notebooks. They initially decided they wanted to bind blank paper as opposed to using a spiral or sewn composition notebook.

So far, it's been a wonderful study! I really enjoyed looking at their pages. So much so, that I decided to join them in the notebooking venture. However, I opted to use a sewn composition notebook for my study. Below are samples of our pages....

Chemistry Ever Lasting.....

...or so it seems.  I'm hoping this is my last chemistry post for some time.  After continuing to read and research like crazy, here are some added recommendations and thoughts....

Laura Berquist, author of Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum suggests the following for 12th grade chemistry.....

DK The Visual DIctionary of Chemistry by Jack Challoner

Chemistry: Concepts and Problems: A Self Teaching Guide by Clifford C. Houk and Richard Post -OR- Apologia Chemistry

TOPS Solutions 12 by Ronald Marson

Lab Science: The How, Why, What, Who 'n' Where Book by Barb Shelton - OR - Apologia Chemistry

The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday

I also found this online in an interview with her....

SCIENCE
Charlotte: Could you give suggestions for adapting a science textbook for both the Dialectic and Rhetoric stages? I am thinking specifically of Dr. Wile's Apologia science texts. What can we do besides read the modules, do the experiments and lab reports, define long lists of vocabulary terms and take tests? It seems pretty dry and rigorous-- the type of stuff they'll forget soon and I wonder if this method will aid formation.

Laura Berquist: I've used some of Dr. Wile's books, and liked them quite well. I agree, however, that one could lose sight of the larger goals and get caught up in memorizing the material simply for the test.

One way to work against that is to have your student write summaries of the modules. For a younger child - 9th grade - this would mean working on outlines as he reads the material (I'm talking simple here; topic sentence of each paragraph outlines) and then writing a short, timed summary at the end of the module. That 30 minute essay would allow the student to order the material in his mind, and practice putting it down on paper.

I like timed essays. They give the children practice in working in a time limit, something they will have to learn how to do at some point. They make the task at hand look finite to the student, which is encouraging. And they encourage, over time, the coherent assembling of an argument.

For older children - 11th and 12th grade - I would do much the same thing, but my emphasis would be on the essay, not the outlining. I would probably have the student do two essays, one a timed essay, and the second a re-write of the essay. In the latter essay, he would be encouraged to say what he has to say well; in an interesting way. The Warriner's Grammar and Composition books have comprehensive chapters on writing style.

This kind of summarizing also reinforces the material, which will help the student remember it after the test.

One nice thing about Dr. Wile's experiments is that they are quite do-able, even by the student. So having the student actually do those experiments, and then having him think about them is another way to encourage reflection and not just the acquisition of unrelated facts.

Michael Faraday, who did some wonderful experiments on the relationship between magnetism and electricity, always called himself a natural philosopher, not a scientist. Working with the natural world is by itself an invitation to reflective thought. Just give your children the time and opportunity to think - this may require some conversation with you, and those summaries can get it started.

Michael Faraday has a great little book, The Chemical History of a Candle which I have my 12th graders read when they do chemistry, even if they are using Dr. Wile's chemistry text. You might like it.

In the Well Trained Mind, Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise recommend keeping a science notebook divided into 3 sections: Principles, Source Readings, and Paper, for rhetoric science study.
 

Here are some chemistry specific books they suggest..... 

The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Science

Chemistry: concepts and Problems - A Self Teaching Guide by Clifford C. Houk and Richard Post  

Chemistry Science Fair Projects by Robert Gardner

Plastics and Polymers Science Fair Projects by Madeleine P. Goodstein

Janice VanCleave's A+ Projects in Chemistry by Janice VanCleave

Hands-On-Chemistry with Real-Life Applications by Norman Herr and James Cunningham 

Some other recommended options are Apologia courses, Real Science-4-Kids, and The Teaching Company Great Courses, as well as primary source biographies. 

I am so relieved to see a plethora of options aside from the traditional Apologia textbook.  

After corresponding with a fellow homeschooling mother who was a college chemistry major and another very wise friend who's in the same boat and researching as well, I developed my wings and am ready to fly.  We are setting Apologia aside for good and going back to Chemistry 101 as a spine, among other things.  Here is our very own home designed high school chemistry course.....

 

TOPS Solutions 12 (there are 28 "tasks" she will complete one per week for wet labs)

Chemistry 101 DVD's

The Teaching Company’s Great Courses - Chemistry DVD's (this is a great opportunity for lecture study and we are blessed to have them available through our public library)

Exploring the World of Chemistry by John Hudson Tiner (Angel requested this book and she's really enjoying it)

The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin D. Wiker

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

Napoleon’s Buttons by Penny LeCouteur

I will give a grade based 35% on labs and 65% on tests as recommended by Apologia.  

It may need minor tweaking, but it's been a couple of weeks and it seems to be going much better for both of us.....what a relief!  Next time, I vow to go with my gut and not be persuaded/pressured by my insecurities.  I could have avoided the stress and hours spent/wasted coming full circle back to where I knew we needed to be.....lesson learned :)  

You can reference former posts on this topic here one, two, three, ....

Try and Try Again....

After finishing up the first Chemistry 101 segment, Angel came to the conclusion that it may not be rigorous enough.  Though she enjoyed it, Chemistry 101 seems more suited for middle school.  The creators claim the first segment should take about 9 1/2 hours. It took Angel about 2 hours.  I'm not sure we gave it a fair shot after only one segment, but in the essence of time I'm looking at other options.

She's currently reading The Mystery of the Periodic Table and enjoying it.  I've spent some time skimming though Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History and I think it looks interesting. I'm thinking I'll have her read it while I try to figure things out. 

I created this sheet to go along with the book....

 

Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History

By Penny Le Couteur & Jay Burreson

A.   Describe the chemical structure/properties of each of the following molecules.

B.   According to the authors, describe how each of the molecules “changed history” or influenced the development of civilization.  

Peppers, Nutmeg, and Cloves

Ascorbic Acid

 

Glucose

Cellulose

Nitro Compounds

Silk and Nylon

Phenol

Isoprene

Dyes

Wonder Drugs

The Pill

Molecules of Witchcraft

Morphine, Nicotine, and Caffeine

Oleic Acid

Salt

Chlorocarbon Compounds

Molecules versus Malaria

I've also borrowed The Great Courses - Chemistry from the library.  I previewed the first lecture and it sparked my interest.  I'm going to have Angel watch the first three lectures this week and see how it goes.  I'm leaning toward going back to Apologia and using it as a spine along side The Great Course lectures.  

I've been pre-reading and skimming several other books.  I'd love to add some living books, but it seems most scientific books I find are based on the "big bang" theory or evolution.  As Christians, we believe in a young earth, a creator, and intelligent design.  

I really like the concept behind The Periodic Kingdom by P.W. Atkins.  Atkins explains the periodic table by comparing it to a kingdom, sort of an imaginary country.  He uses imagery and analogies in terms of terrain and geography to show how the location of each element on the table can be used to predict its properties.  

However after reading the preface and a few chapters, I smelled the stench of evolution.  I asked The Farmer, "What if I found a living book that teaches the periodic table...". He says, "Great, isn't that what you want?"  I say, "...but I believe it's based on evolution."  Then I read aloud this excerpt,

     "...It is a remarkable demonstration of the fact that the chemical elements are not a random clutter of entities but instead display trends and lie together in families.  An awareness of the periodic table is essential to anyone who wishes to disentangle the world and see how it is built up from fundamental building blocks of chemistry, the chemical elements.  Anyone who seeks to be familiar with a scientist's-eye view of the world must be aware of the general form of the periodic table, for it is a part of scientific culture."

Before The Farmer had a chance to answer, it hit me.  If we accept God as Creator and the Bible as His word, why must we "disentangle the world"?  We are attempting to teach a Biblical worldview, not necessarily a "scientist's-eye view".   

After further inspection, I found Chapter 6 starts out with the second sentence stating, 

".....as soon as our true universe came into existence, about fifteen billion years ago." and the third sentence, "At the big bang, the cataclysm that shook spacetime into being and marked the inception of our universe...."  

I accept God's word, the Bible, as fact.  Therefore, I don't need to experiment, theorize and hypothesize to disprove it.  I don't want or need to be part of that "scientific culture".  I prefer to revel in the beauty and marvel at His creation.   The Farmer agrees.  And thus it was decided we will not be using books steeped in evolution to teach our children, even if they are living books.  I think this is why I don't like science.  There's so much crap to cut through to get to the bottom line.   Wow...that got a little off.  Anyway, I'm still tweaking this high school chemistry thing.  I'll post a plan when we find a good fit :)