What happens in a Co-op science class? The class runs 90 minutes, twice a week. Let’s begin with the first day of Chemistry. Why? The class sequence is pretty typical.
1. Usually, I begin with an overview, such as Day One, a slide deck, about two topics: Lab Safety and Lab Equipment. Everything in class revolves around this theme. The overview takes five to ten minutes.
2. Next is a safety video. My teens made one I use every year, which runs about 15 minutes. The video below is about eight minutes.
3. We spend a few minutes wrapping up lab safety, distribute student safety contracts, and take a quiz. We’ll see if we can identify all of the safety violations. The message is, ‘Don’t be a Nimrod during lab.’ There are consequences. Finally, we show everyone where the safety equipment is located, especially the fire extinguisher, first-aid kit, and sink. How long? 20-25 minutes.
4. Go over the names of all the lab equipment I can imagine using. Then we do a quick review and take a Lab Equipment Quiz. This takes about 20 minutes, including the lab equipment quiz. Here is an online lab equipment quiz.
5. Do a diagnostic math assessment, which takes 15-20 minutes.
The first class has a great deal of orientation and assessment. However, note how many different activities we did. We any luck during class, we can even start the Equipment Measures Lab and start to learn what the equipment actually does. If Tuesday is heavy with instruction, Thursday has hands-on activities. The key is to keep changing the pace and offer loads and loads of activities. My longest lecture all year is Quantum, which is 20 minutes. You could time me. Most overviews are a form of direct instruction and run ten minutes or so. Labs can run longer than 20 minutes; however, because teens are engaged in an activity, their attention spans are longer. Even during labs, I reserve some back-up activity for kiddos who finish early. My chief management technique is to keep kids busy working.
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