Here are some sample pages taken directly from the Friendly Chemistry Teacher's Edition and Student Text. Note that the formatting may appear different from the actual text. This first sample is the "Course Introduction," found only in the Teacher's Edition. Beneath this introduction, you will find Lesson 1.
Course Introduction
Welcome to your Friendly Chemistry course! We’re very glad you’ve chosen to use Friendly Chemistry to help your students or children learn basic chemistry. Traditionally, chemistry courses are thought to be “hard” and intimidating. We think you’ll find that learning chemistry with this guide to be just the opposite! Our goal in this course is to provide a means of building a solid foundation of knowledge about chemistry. Should your students or children choose to continue their study, you can be confident knowing they have the “basics” to meet the challenges of an advanced chemistry course.
Let’s begin with an overview of the course. The course is divided into 32 lessons. Within each lesson there is a section of text followed by group activities, laboratory experiences and worksheet-type practice pages. These pages are found in both the students’ work book and in your teacher’s guide. In addition to these components, you will find in your teacher’s guide, supplemental notes to help you prepare and carry out the lesson activities. These supplemental note pages include tips on how to present the concepts being introduced in the lesson, how to set-up and play the games used for practice of the new concepts, what equipment is necessary for the lab activity as well as solutions for all of the practice pages your students will complete. In addition, you will find a lesson test that you may choose to use to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson. The solutions to the test are found immediately following the test in the teacher’s guide. At the end of the course you will find two versions of a final exam along with solutions as well. Note that your students will have copies of each worksheet or lab activity page in their own workbook. There is no need to make additional copies for them.* The lesson tests and final exam are test masters and only found in the teacher’s guide.
To make these supplemental note pages easy to locate, they have been printed on yellow paper. At the end of your teacher’s guide is a packet of page dividers with tabs. We encourage you to insert these now before you begin the course.
A family or classroom set of teaching manipulatives accompanies the written portion of your Friendly Chemistry course. These learning tools are extremely effective when used and can make teaching the course and learning chemistry tons of fun. They have been designed to assist your students practice the presented concepts in a multi-sensory way. They include the Doo-wop Board, several flashcard sets and the Compound Intensity Game Board. Specific instructions for their use are found in the teaching notes for each lesson.
Finally, unlike traditional chemistry curriculum, we encourage you to email us if you have questions or concerns as you move through the course. We are more than happy to assist you when necessary to make this an enjoyable and meaningful experience for you and your students. Our current email address is hideaway1@gpcom.net. If you are uneasy or have questions about presenting any portion of the course, please send us a message and within 24 hours, we will respond to assist you! We are always looking for ways to improve the course—if you have ideas or helpful hints, please share those with us.
*Please note that our copyright policy strictly prohibits making photocopies by any means of any portions of the student book or teacher’s guide other than photocopies of the test masters. Please email if you have questions regarding our copyright policy.
Tips on Getting Started with your Class
Game Plan (we always start with a plan of what should ac
complished for each meeting/week in the course.)
A. Introductions, course logistics and classroom rules
B. Play “I Have Never” game
C. Begin thinking about what a scientist does
D. Conduct Lab Activity: Observations of “Unknowns”
E. Play “The Communication Game”
F. Assign Black Boxes
A. Introductions, course logistics and classroom rules
Begin class by introducing yourself and others who may be leading your group. If necessary, tell some of your background and how you would like to be addressed. If your students are not acquainted with each other, have them introduce themselves. Continue by sharing the course logistics such as beginning and ending times of class, meeting dates and what each student should bring along to class. Do not neglect to inform your students what you expect in their behavior. Clearly informing them of your expectations is certainly more effective and ultimately more efficient than having to deal with unacceptable behavior and consequences later.
Make sure that all of your students know the location of the bathroom facilities and discuss your expectations of when and how students might be excused from class. If you have planned a break time, make sure your students are aware of what they might do during break time and the limits of where they might go if they go outdoors.
After introductions, your students will likely be ready to get up and do some moving about! A really fun game that allows your class members to get to know each other better is “I Have Never.”
B. Play “I Have Never” game
To prepare the room for play, move tables and desks aside and make a circle of chairs. Use one less chair than there are students playing. (I strongly suggest that you play, also! This gives your students the opportunity to see that you also like to play and have fun! If you play, use enough chairs for each of your students while you stand in the center of the circle.)
Begin play by standing in the center of your circle of seated students and stating something you have (honestly) never done before. Examples might include: “I have never been to Los Angeles” or “I have never eaten asparagus” or “I have never traveled in a train.” Players who have done what you stated must get up and change chairs with another student while you also try to sit down. The object of the game is to not be left standing. The person who is left standing continues by stating something he or she has never done and play continues. If a player finds him or herself having to move, he or she cannot return to where he or she was previously sitting (for that round). Be aware that play can become rambunctious and sturdy chairs are highly recommended. Play can end when you feel your students have become better acquainted or you feel break time would be appropriate.
C. Begin thinking about what a scientist does
Continue your first meeting by brainstorming what a scientist does and might look like. Ask questions like: “Where do you find scientists?” “What kind of clothes do they wear?” or “What kinds of things do scientists do?” Write down your students’ ideas on your chalk board or flip chart. When their ideas are exhausted continue with this next activity to reveal to your students that they are scientists as they continually observe and attempt to guess what, how, when, where and why things occur in their surroundings.
D. Lab Activity: Observations of “Unknowns”
Materials needed: Opaque sack (dark colored, cloth pillow case works well) Various objects that can easily fit and be safely felt of inside the sack. Examples include: small toy, balls of various sizes, light bulb, pen or pencil, etc.
Begin the activity by telling your students that you have possibly placed an object inside the sack. Tell them that you would like them to feel inside the sack, make as many accurate observations as possible (without looking inside) and then pass the
sack to the next
student. Ask them to not make any verbal observations until all students have had the opportunity to feel inside the sack. You may ask them to record what they observed.
Once all have made their observations, ask your students to describe their observations (not what the object is but, rather, words that describe the object). These might include the texture (smooth, rough, hard or soft), approximate size, shape, temperature, or any peculiar parts of the object that students remember. Once all observations are shared, ask for educated guesses (hypotheses) as to the identity of the object. Accept all guesses - resist any temptation or attempt by other students to squelch an idea of another student. Finally, reveal the object and discuss the observations, hypotheses and final conclusions made by the students. Emphasize how observations are made using our senses (primarily touch and, possibly, hearing and smelling in this activity!).
At first exposure, this activity might appear to be rather elementary and useful for very young students. However, we have used it to hone observational skills in the older students as well. Consider these variations: use two bags and within each place one regular incandescent light bulb. Pass around both sacks (start one sack on one side of the room and the other on the opposite). When all students have felt inside both bags, ask the following types of questions: “Tell me some observations of the object in bag A and then bag B: Are the objects the same size? Which is larger/smaller? How do you know that? Do they have any sort of writing or printing on them? Can you tell me the wattage of each object? How did you know that? Can you tell which bulb is still useable? How did you know that?” As you can see, to answer these questions takes keen observational skills. I always encourage students to make additional observations. Other objects which can be used to challenge older students include toys which have apparent defects such as missing wheels on toy cars or legs on toy animals or dolls. You will find that observational skills increase markedly the longer you play this activity.
A variation on this activity that always brings a lot of laughs is, instead of using one’s hands to observe an unknown object, use one’s feet to make observations. If your sack holding the unknown object will not be large enough to accomodate an inquiring
set of toes, use a cardboard box with a hole cut into one side to allow access. Your students may be quite surprised to find that their feet, like their hands, can make very accurate observations!
To emphasize that we also make observations using our sense of smell, collect a set of smelly items which might include (but is certainly not limited to) spices (such as cinnamon or pepper), fruits, perfumes, toothpaste, cheeses, pickles, an empty used pizza box, etc. Place these objects one at a time into a concealed box or bag and then allow each student to take a whiff of each. Again, allow all students to make and possibly record observations before any verbal comments are made. Probe for reasons why various hypotheses are made. Interesting items to try include coffee beans or banana peels about which you might ask your students if they would eat the object if offered to them. Seeing a darkened banana peel makes the point very clear that making a multitude of observations using a variety of senses (especially sight and taste, in this case) often results in the most accurate hypothesis.
To exercise your students’ senses of hearing, consider preparing a cassette tape of common sounds around the house or yard. Play this tape for your students and allow them to write down what they feel the sounds may be. If time permits, you can allow your students to make their own tapes and then play them for the rest of the class.
To end this set of activities, review the concept that we use our senses to make observations and then, based upon those observations, we make educated guesses (hypotheses - I like to call them “smart guesses”) as to what we have observed. We then share that information with others. At this point, emphasize the concept that this is exactly what a scientist does! Scientists continuously make systematic observations, build hypotheses based upon those observations, test those hypotheses and then share that information with others! Let your students know that they are already true scientists and that learning science can be exciting and certainly lots of fun.
E. Play The Communication Game
To finish the first meeting, we like to end with a game that combines all aspects of what was discussed during the first class period. We call it The Communication Game. For this game you will need at least two tables and enough chairs for all but two players. This game works best with at least six players (you will have to serve as a referee for this game!). Divide your students into at least two teams with at least three players on each team. The more teams the better, but more than 8 teams can be a little too much to handle!
Place the tables parallel at each end of your playing area with enough chairs behind each for all but one player from each team. See the diagram below.
In this diagram you can see that there are two teams playing (A and B) and that one member from each team sits at each table directly across from his or her teammate with one teammate standing in the space in between the tables.
Materials you will need for this game include: a set of Duplos or Legos with enough pieces to allow you to create 2 sets of identical blocks for each team. For example, you might need enough blocks to have one large red block, one large blue block, one large green block and one small yellow block to make two sets for each team. In the diagram above, all members seated at a table will have a set of these blocks. It does not matter what the composition of these sets of blocks is as long as each team has the same set as the rest of the teams have.
In addition to the sets of blocks, each sitting team member will need something in which to hide his or her set of blocks from view. Suitable items include a folded newspaper, file folder or small upturned box.
To review, each seated team member in the above diagram has one set of blocks identical to all other seated team members and some sort of device to hide it from view. [Important Note: If your teams are composed of more than three players each, these additional players will be seated aside fellow team members at each table. Only one player is needed in between the tables. Each team will only need two sets of blocks (one set at each table). The diagram below shows how you will arrange the playing area for two teams, each with five players.]
The sets of team members that are seated at the tables on the left side of the diagrams are named observers. The team members seated at the tables on the right side of the diagram are named the builders. The team members standing in between the tables are named the messengers.
Before play begins, assemble the blocks in a particular arrangement and share this arrangment with each of the observer team players. Keep the arrangement hidden from view of both the messengers and the builders. All observers should place their assembled blocks within their newspaper or box out of view of the mesengers and builders. The builders should also place their blocks (not yet assembled) inside their newspaper or box.
At the signal of “go,” the observers will describe the arrangement of blocks to their respective messenger who, in turn, will relay this information to the builders. The builders will then attempt to build the exact model that the observers are describing. However, at no time can the messenger see any of the blocks (the observers’ nor the builders’ blocks). The messenger can receive and deliver information as many times as necessary in order for the builders to complete the model. When the builders feel they have completed the model, they tell the messenger to call “time-out.” You (being the referee) call “time-out” which signals to all players that play must immediately stop and no more communication can take place. You then check the proposed model of the builders, comparing it against that of the observers. Be careful not to allow any messenger or observer to see what has been built. If the model is identical to that of the observers, that team wins the round. If the model is not identical, play continues when you say “go!” Play continues until another messenger calls “time” which gives you the opportunity to check the proposed model for accuracy. Should any team members choose to not stop communicating when “time” has been called, you may wish to impose a penalty by holding the messenger (not allowing any communication to take place) for five seconds on the subsequent round of play. Once a team successfully builds the model, that round officially ends and a new model needs to be built for the observers.
If time permits, try these variations: allow the observers no use of their hands to communicate what they see to the messengers; allow the observers to use only their hands to communicate what they see to the messengers; allow the observers no use their hands nor their voices to communicate to the messengers. Allow the students to trade places after 3-4 rounds.
Although this game may seem complicated to set up and get started, we have found that children (and even adults!) truly enjoy the challenge of playing it. After play, ask the students how they felt when communication was not taking place among their team members. How did they improve communication? Did having more team members necessarily improve the ability of the team to succeed at communicating?
F. Assignment: Black Boxes
Should you choose to give an assignment to your students, consider making “black boxes” for your students to take home with them. To make a black box, fill an opaque container with a variety of small objects - usually 2-5 objects such as marbles, paper clips, thimbles, etc. Completely close the container and tape it shut. Empty yogurt cups with lids or washed milk cartons work well as containers. The assignment for the students is to answer three questions: 1) how many objects, if any, are inside the black box; 2) of what could these objects be made; and 3) what is the identity of these objects. The students can perform whatever tests they feel necessary to answer the questions except opening the box and directly viewing the objects. Ask them to write a short report of their findings along with evidence to support their hypotheses. Allow them to share their findings with the rest of the class at the next class meeting. After all have presented their findings, allow the students to open their containers. As an extension, have the students create a black box for another classmate to take home for the subsequent class meeting.
When class time comes to an end, review each activity of the day. Make a concerted effort to emphasize that although many of the activities resembled play, the students were indeed practicing skills that scientists use on a daily basis: observing, hypothesizing and finally, communicating. Hopefully, your students will leave knowing that learning science (and especially chemistry) can be lots of fun, also!
Below is Lesson 1. The "Teaching Tips" pages only appear in the Teacher's Edition. The actual Lesson 1 pages appear in BOTH the Teacher's and Student Edition.
Teaching Tips for Lesson 1
Game Plan:
A. Review activities of previous meeting.
B. Read Lesson 1 text together. Create and play element bingo game. Assign practice pages.
C. Conduct Lab Activity: Application of scientific principles (observation, hypothesis, testing, conclusion).
D. Administer Lesson 1 test.
A: Review activities of previous meeting.
Begin this class meeting with a thorough review of the activities completed during the previous class meeting. Encourage your students to tell you what took place and what was discussed. Not only does this review get your students thinking about the scientific principles you discussed earlier, but it also gives you some feedback regarding your effectiveness in presenting the material. If you made an assignment using the black boxes, take time to discuss your students’ results. Allow plenty of time for discussion as this lets your students know that you respect their efforts given to the assignment and appreciate their creativity.
B. Read Lesson 1 text together. Create and play element bingo game. Assign practice pages.
Read Lesson 1 text together. Using blank bingo cards, have students create their own Element Bingo Cards. Instruct them to randomly write the symbols for elements in the spaces on the card. There are 36 spaces on each card so you may limit your students to using symbols for the first 45-50 elements. Distribute plastic chips to be used as markers (these plastic chips are found in your manipulatives box). Once the cards are completed, begin play by calling out an element name. Students who have that element’s symbol place a chip on that space on their card. Six marked spaces in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally make a bingo. A student with a bingo verifies his or her success by calling out the element symbols and corresponding names that make up the bingo. Only then can he or she be awarded the official bingo. Depending upon your class rules, you can award bingo winners with a prize or possibly bonus points to be used towards the Lesson 1 test!
There are three practice pages that can be utilized in this lesson to give your students opportunities to practice identifying correct element names and symbols. Assign those as necessary.
C: Lab Activity: Application of scientific principles (observation, hypothesis, testing, conclusion).
Observation of Unknown Powders!
Continue by introducing the main activity of the class period: discovering the identity of several unknown powders. Prepare for this activity the day before class by gathering 6-8 different substances from your kitchen cupboard. We have used white and whole wheat flours, vital wheat gluten (which makes a really neat rubbery glob!), baking powder, baking soda, dried yeast, salt, sugar, powdered sugar, sucanat or turbinado, garlic powder, corn starch, corn meal, parmesan cheese, etc. DO NOT USE any substances which could potentially be dangerous to any student such as soaps or drain openers! All substances should be edible. Be aware of any students who may have a restricted diet (ie. diabetic students should not taste the sugary substances). Place approximately one-half cup of each of these into containers labeled only with letters A through G or H (depending on how many you choose to use). Make a key to the identity of each powder and keep it hidden from view.
In adddition to preparing the “unknown powders,” you will need to prepare three test solutions. These can be prepared in small jars (baby food jars work well). The three test solutions are water, vinegar and iodine. Tap water and regular distilled white vinegar will work fine. You can purchase concentrated iodine solution at a drug store to prepare the iodine test solution. It is called tincture of iodine. Make the iodine solution by adding a few drops of the concentrated iodine to a baby food jar of tap water. Note that iodine can stain your hands as well as your clothing. In addition, iodine, if ingested, can be poisonous. Caution your students regarding these safety precautions. This is a perfect opportunity to discuss the importance of knowing about chemicals and their potential hazards! Clearly label each test solution.
It will be your students’ job to identify each unknown powder utililizing observational skills discussed at the previous class meeting. To make the process organized, consider using the data table below. Make enough copies of the table so that each student will have a blank table to record his or her results for each unknown substance he or she examines (if you choose to use six unknown powders, each student will need six data tables - you can copy them on the front and back side if necessary). Notice that the first column on the data table is for when each student first receives each substance. He or she is to first look at it, feel it, smell it, listen to it and finally taste it. We have found that if you proceed through the data table as a group, a more organized class can be maintained. The lids of baby food jars or lids from yogurt cups or margarine dishes work well as vessels to hold the unknown powders while you observe them. Encourage your students to record descriptive words as they observe each powder. Discourage observations such as, “It looks like flour,” and “It tastes like flour,” and “It feels like flour.” Instead, encourage observations like, “It feels powdery and smooth,” or “It is white with small brown flecks,” or “It has the smell of bread dough.”
Once all class members have completed their initial observations, continue by adding the first test solution (water) to a small portion of the unknown powder. Follow the same steps of viewing, touching, smelling and listening. Caution students NOT to taste the powders after test solutions have been added! Continue to explore the properties of the powder by adding the second and third test solutions (vinegar and iodine) to separate portions of the powder. Remember to caution your students that the iodine can cause stains and is poisonous and should not be ingested. In addition, advise your students that the vinegar is a weak acid and can burn one’s eyes.
After all students have examined the first powder with all three solutions, have your students hypothesize the identity of that powder. Emphasize any test results that you or they feel is crucial to being able to identify the powder. Note these on your chalkboard or flip chart. As you continue with the next solution, refer to these observations made with the first powder to help your students build a knowledge base of information regarding the powders.
I usually do not reveal the identity of any of the powders until the very end of the activity. Instead, I continue to encourage the students to continue guessing and deliberating among themselves as to the identity of the powders. You may wish to “take a vote” about the identity of the powders. When you ask for the identity of each powder, probe for an explanation or reasons why that decision was made. Continue to compare and contrast the observations made for each powder as you reveal their identities.
In addition, you may ask your students to develop a key or flow chart like those used to identify leaves or flowers, which might assist someone in identifying the powders. For example, you may have your students divide the powders according to their textures. Then within those groups, you may have students divide the powders according to color. Based upon their observations, a fellow student should be able to work his or her way through the key to identify each powder. Look at Figure 2-1 below.
At the end of class, take time to emphasize that accurate hypotheses come from consistent, carefully made observations. In addition, stress that accuracy in recording observations creates credible work which is an essential attribute of a reputable scientist. Request that your students clean up their work areas as well as any spills made during the activity.
If you wish to provide your students with a take-home activity, consider sending home one additional unknown powder. This unknown may be one that you and your students examined during class or, possibly, a mixture of two or more. One interesting unknown powder I have used is pancake or biscuit mix! Send home an empty data table with each student and, if necessary, small containers of vinegar and iodine. Discuss your students’ results at the next class meeting.
D: Administer Lesson 1 Test; When you feel your students are ready, administer the Lesson 1 Test. This test master is found on page 6.
Lesson 1: Meet Chemistry!
When you meet someone for the first time, you like to know that person’s name and something about him or her. Since we are getting acquainted with chemistry, let’s get to know the subject a little better by learning where the word chemistry originated. In about 100 AD, Greek scientists were very busy studying scientific processes in an attempt to change non-valuable elements into more valuable elements such as gold. The Greeks thought elements naturally “transmutated” into gold in the earth, and these scientists wanted to learn those “transmutation processes and be able to repeat them in the lab. These theories of turning simpler, more common elements into gold (known as alchemy), were also taking place in China and other locations. The popularity of the idea rose and declined over several hundred years and although it eventually was found to be impossible, many, many ideas and processes were discovered about the nature of the earth’s elements. It is from the term, alchemy that our present-day term of chemistry is derived.
Now that you know where you new friend’s “name” came from, let’s get to know more about chemistry. It is generally taught that chemistry is the study of matter (pretty simple, so far) and the way various kinds of matter react with each other (still fairly simple!) Matter is defined as any substance whether it be solid, liquid or gas. And that is basically what chemistry is all about!
Now you might say, “Sure, that definition sounds so simple and easy to understand, but what about all those neutrons and isotopes and all those symbols and foreign-looking codes for matter?” We have to admit that there is almost another language you will begin to learn as you study chemistry. With this book you will learn a great deal about matter and the way different types of matter react with each other as well as the words and symbols used to describe those substances and their reactions. As you continue through this book, you will be introduced to new terms and symbols that will soon become second nature. Expect to find yourself using more and more of the terms we discuss! So, for now, let’s just stick with our simple definition of chemistry: the study of matter and how various kinds of matter react with each other.
When we speak of matter, especially in the context of learning chemistry, visions of bottle containing strange-smelling crystals and colored liquids may come to mind, However, the matter we are referring to is everywhere around you! Your notebook, your pencil, your desk or chair that you are sitting in, your room, your house, your food, and the very vital substance required by all living things – water – are kinds of matter that we can study in the context of chemistry. Chemistry is not reserved only for the study of those odd-smelling crystals and liquids. Chemistry can be applied to any object around you. The wood in your house can be analyzed and found to be composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The hamburger you enjoy is also made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen with some added nitrogen. And, as we have already said, the water that you drink and wash with (which is made of hydrogen and oxygen), is one of the most “down to earth” kind of matter that we could discuss. So, if your vision of chemistry was bubbling liquids in corkscrew-shaped tubes being monitored in people wearing goggles and white coats, alter it slightly to include almost everything around you!
Did you catch some “scientific language” in the preceding paragraph (hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen)? Those are names of elements.
Ancient chemists began to understand that there were certain kinds of existing matter that could not be broken down into simpler forms of matter. These forms of matter that could not be separated by ones means or another were given the name elements, indicating that they were elemental or elementary – the basis for all that follows, as in elementary school. Combined elements are what make up matter. Examples of elements that you are probably familiar with are hydrogen, oxygen, lead and gold. There are more than 100 known elements today. The actual number is difficult to say since new elements are being discovered or synthesized as you read this. Look at Table 2-1 to see a list of currently known elements. Note that 92 of those elements are considered to be naturally occurring elements; that is, to occur on earth, not having been made by man. Note that the rest are conconsidered to not be naturally occurring. These elements have been made by scientists.
The history of naming elements is very interesting and a study unto itself! Some names and symbols may appear to be strange and obscure. You will find in the examples we use to illustrate concepts that many of the same elements are mentioned over and over again. You will pick up names and symbols of the more common elements as we go along.
Let’s review what has been discussed so far. We first stated that:chemistry is the study of matter and how various kinds of matter react with each other.
Second, everything around us is composed of matter and that the study of matter could be applied to all those things.
Finally, we learned that some matter cannot be broken down into simpler forms of matter and is designated as an element.
Please note that these pages above are
only samples from the texts. Diagrams and formatting appears different
in the actual hardcopy editions. Please email or call if you have questions
about these sample pages!