3rd Period I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

Honors Chemistry -Confucius

Fall 2014
Elizabeth Pate
Honors Chemistry
A Modeling Approach
Course Description
Chemistry is the science that explores the composition and properties of the substances that mae up
matter! Chemistry also includes the study of the interactions bet"een substances!
What is modeling
#odelin$ instruction is a method of teachin$ in "hich students construct their o"n model of the
physical "orld! %nce an initial model has been de&eloped students "ill continue explorin$ the model further
refinin$ it as "e $o! 'tudents "ill deploy their model to many different contexts and are able to sol&e and
analyze problems related to their current model! (hen the current model fails to explain a phenomenon "e "ill
continue explorin$ to expand on the initial model! )y the end of the semester "e "ill ha&e a comprehensi&e
model of chemistry!
#odelin$ is a student centered process that allo"s students to create and manipulate concepts or ideas
based on their o"n exploration! *he $oals of modelin$ include but are not limited to+ impro&in$ the critical
thinin$ sills of students, re-uirin$ students to reflect on their "or and re&ise as needed, usin$ multiple
representations to describe a situation, "orin$ collaborati&ely "ith their peers and communicatin$ their ideas
supported by e&idence!
#aterials
Each student "ill need to brin$ the follo"in$ items to class each day+
. lab noteboo /0 "ill pro&ide this on the first day of class!1

. calculator /0 ha&e some but most students prefer their o"n!1

Classroom !rgani"ation # $articipation
Collaborati&e $roup "or is a ey component of the modelin$ approach therefore .22 in class "or
"ill be completed in small lab $roups! Each indi&idual student "ill be re-uired to record their class acti&ities
/labs, "orsheets, etc1 in their lab noteboo! 3eepin$ a neat and orderly lab noteboo "ill be critical to student
success4 2ab noteboos "ill be collected at the end of each unit and $raded! #ore on these noteboo checs can
be found belo"!
'tudents "ill participate in 5board meetin$s6 daily! .ll solutions to labs and "orsheets "ill be displayed
by lab $roups on "hiteboards! (e "ill $ather as a class to share and discuss the solutions to these labs and
problems! .ll students "ill be re-uired to acti&ely participate in these re$ular board meetin$s! 'tudent
participation "ill also be critical to their success4
What is %tandards &ased 'rading (%&')
')7 is a $radin$ system that measures students6 mastery of clearly defined course ob8ecti&es! *he $oal
of ')7 is to $i&e students accurate feedbac about "hich sills or concepts they ha&e mastered, and "hich still
need "or! *oo often $rades can be interpreted as a 5final 8ud$ment6 but ')7 allo"s students the opportunity to
continue "orin$, "ithout penalty, until they are able to demonstrate mastery of the standards!
Why is %tandards &ased 'rading (%&') good for students

')7 $i&es students a much clearer picture of the standards they ha&e mastered or need to eep "orin$
on than a traditional numeric $rade!

')7 does not penalize students "ho do not demonstrate mastery on the first assessment!

')7 re-uires students to reflect on their "or in order to impro&e their mastery of the standards!

')7 teaches students to produce -uality "or!

Ho* e+actly *ill %tandards &ased 'rading *or, in physics class
%&er&ie"
Each unit of study "ill focus on a sin$le model of the physical "orld! *o help us de&elop these models, 0
ha&e identified ey learnin$ $oals /standards1 for each model! 'tandards "ill most often be in the form of 90 can
do:; or 90 no":;! *he standards are desi$ned to $i&e students chuns of no"led$e and sills that they can
focus on clearly! 'tudents "ill be $i&en the model standards at the be$innin$ of a unit! *his practice "ill allo"
students to focus on the standards or $oals for each model!
.ssessments
'tudent understandin$ of chemistry "ill be sho"n throu$h demonstration of mastery of the standards!
*here "ill be a test at the end of each unit co&erin$ all of the standards in that unit! %n any -uiz or test, 0 "ill
rate a student6s mastery on each of the standards bein$ assessed! <ote that students "ill not recei&e a traditional
$rade on their assessments /such as a => or an ?@1, rather they "ill recei&e a score /no mastery, de&elopin$
mastery, or mastery1 for each standard bein$ assessed! *he current le&el of mastery of these standards, to$ether
"ith the le&el of mastery on any past standards "ill determine the course $rade at that moment!
-M . -o Mastery. *he student is still "orin$ on the basic concept, or perhaps they ha&e not e&en
attempted an assessment on this standard yet!
DM . De/eloping Mastery. *he student has the basic concept, but still mae maes errors in applyin$
it! #ost of the time, these are habitual errors that they mae a$ain and a$ain! *hey most liely need
more practice, "ith attention to reflection after each exercise!
M . Mastery. #astery has been clearly demonstrated!
AeB.ssessments
'tudents "ill ha&e the opportunity to complete an additional assessment, or reBassessments, on any
standards they ha&e not yet demonstrated mastery! AeBassessments "ill only co&er standards not yet mastered
and must be initiated by the student! Cpon completion of the reBassessment, if a student demonstrates mastery
of standards not pre&iously mastered their $rade "ill impro&e "ithout penalty for the delay in mastery! *o
-ualify for a reBassessment, a student "ill need to+

Ha&e all re-uired items in their lab noteboo for that model /&ia noteboo chec1

Complete the additional practice for the unit

Home"or
.n assi$nment "ill be $i&en for each unit! *he purpose of these assi$nments is to help students master
the standards, and de&elop the ability to apply the model in different contexts! *he problems must be completed
in the students6 lab noteboo! Practice problems "ill not be $raded indi&idually but "ill be a re-uired part of the
noteboo checs for each model!
<oteboo Checs
.t the be$innin$ of each model students "ill recei&e a list of all the items they are re-uired to ha&e in
their lab noteboos upon completion of the model! %n test days 0 "ill collect lab noteboos and conduct a
noteboo chec for those items! <ote that students "ill not be able to complete reassessments until they ha&e a
complete lab noteboo for the model! .lso, students "ho are absent are re-uired to $et any missed "or from
their lab $roup! *his is ho" students "ill be held accountable for their participation in class and home"or! .
student "ho initially did not recei&e full credit for a noteboo chec "ill recei&e full credit once they ha&e
completed the missin$ items for reassessment eli$ibility!
Ho* *ill grades be trac,ed so students and parents al*ays ,no* ho* there are doing
Each student "ill recei&e a $rade spreadsheet for each D "ees! *heir spreadsheet "ill ha&e the
standards for each model and a place for them to record their score /<#, E#, or #1 for each of the standards!
(e "ill update these spreadsheets follo"in$ each assessmentFreassessment! *his "ill ensure that each student is
al"ays a"are of their o"n pro$ress and they can easily identify "hich standards they ha&e mastered and "hich
ones continue to need "or!
Ho* *ill numeric grades be calculated
Csin$ the formula belo" student $rades "ill be calculated! <umeric $rades "ill be based mostly /?0G1
on the amount of standards that students ha&e mastered and eepin$ up "ith their "or in class /20G1! *he
formula is as follo"s+
'rade . 012 other 3 412 mastery of standards
Consider the follo"in$ example+ %n the constant &elocity particle model, 'ally demonstrated mastery of
4 out of the > standards for the model and had all of her items in her lab noteboo! 'o her current $rade is 1> H
?> /4F>1 I ?4! . "ee or so later, sally completes a reBassessment on the same model and demonstrates mastery
of all > standards! <o" her current $rade is 1> H ?> />F>1 I 100! 'ally demonstrates mastery of > out of D
standards on her next model assessment and has a complete lab noteboo! (e ha&e no" co&ered a total of 11
standards />HD1 and she has mastered 10 of them "hich brin$s her current $rade to 1> H ?> /10F111 I @3!
*he abo&e formula is also ho" D "ees $rades "ill be calculated for report cards! .t the end of the
semester, each of the D "ees $rades and the exam "ill be a&era$ed to calculate the final course $rade as sho"n
belo"+
/1
st
D "s H 2
nd
D "s H 3
rd
D "s H final exam $rade1 I Final course $rade
4
Final ExamB Each student "ill tae a state mandated exam durin$ the desi$nated exam period for our class
"hich "ill count as 2>G of your final $rade for the course!
#iscellaneous
FoldersB Jou "ill each ha&e a folder in my classroom! (e "ill use the folders to eep up "ith your tests!
*est "ill be returned to you so that you can see them and then they "ill be placed in your folder unless
you tae a test home to mae corrections!
2ate (or K .bsencesB Jou should al"ays stri&e to turn in your "or on time4 Ho"e&er, 0 "ill accept
"or 1 day late for half credit! *his is the only time late "or "ill be accepted4 0f you are absent, you
are responsible for $ettin$ any missed labs or "orsheet solutions from your lab $roup! 0f you are absent
for a school related function then you are responsible for main$ arran$ements to recei&e and complete
your "or ahead of time4
Cheatin$B Cheatin$ "ill not be tolerated on any le&el in this course! 0f you are cau$ht cheatin$ you "ill
recei&e a zero and your parents "ill be notified! Cheatin$ &ia storin$ information in your calculator "ill
result in a loss of calculator pri&ile$es for the rest of the semester! )asically, cheatin$ is the one thin$
you really do not "ant to do in my class so please do not e&en thin about it4
(ebsiteB (e "ill acti&ely be usin$ technolo$y in this class includin$ 7oo$le Loice /direct lin to my
cell phone1, 7oo$le Forms, and my (eebly pa$e for our class! 0 "ill be postin$ all of the course
information on my class "ebpa$e! *his "ill be your home base to find out "hat is $oin$ on in class each
day, find assi$nments, tae -uizzes, etc!
Contact 0nformation
<ame+ Elizabeth Pate
EBmail+ pateeMpitt!12!nc!us
Cell Phone+ /2>21 4@3BD4=? /7oo$le Loice N text messa$in$ preferred1
(ebsite+ http+FFelizabethpate!"eebly!comF