Things in my High School Chemistry Class the Just Make Sense

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I don’t know about you, but I love things that make my life as a high school chemistry teacher easier and things that are useful in teaching and engaging my students. Sometimes, you don’t know about cool things until someone else mentions them. I usually check out blogs and Instagram to find cool products and ideas.

In this post, I am going to list the items that are a must have in my high school chemistry class. These are some of my current favorite things and supplies for high school chemistry classes, including both teacher-oriented or student-oriented items and ideas.

Magnetic Curtain Rod on Whiteboard in Classroom — Magnetic Curtain Rods

Magnetic curtain rods are a great addition to your whiteboard. A lot of elementary school teachers will use it to show the date. I thought I would use one of them to display the “A and B” days for the week. My school is on a block schedule, so we have “A” and “B” days, and an occasional “C” day where we see all classes. I plan on switching the days each week, so students can look and see the “A,” “B,” and “C” days for a week. I printed A, B, and C letters out, laminated them, and put an A, B, and C card on each binder ring. That way, all I have to do is flip the cards on a ring until I find the day I need for each day of the week. I used my other curtain rod to hang all my bell schedules and the A/B day calendar. Prior to this, I taped them to my whiteboard, which was not nearly as pretty. All the schedules are also held on the curtain rod with binder rings, so I can easily flip to the calendar or bell schedule I need to see.

Magnetic Borders and 2" Magnetic Letters — Magnetic Boarder Strips and Magnetic Letters

Do you have to post your learning targets for students? At my school, we need learning targets to be visible and students need to be able to understand the learning target. I have always posted my learning targets in a grid on the whiteboard, but I used to use painter’s tape to section off the grid. Once I found magnetic borders, I never went back. Plus they come in all sorts of styles and widths. There’s no residue, it’s easily movable, and can be repurposed. I use the magnetic letters to represent the day of the week. I currently have all AP Chem classes on “A” days and all Honors Chemistry classes on “B” days, so I can get away with only one column for each day. If they were not that way, I would add an additional column to the right, with one column representing the AP Chem classes and the other column for Honors Chemistry classes.

Absent Work Bulletin Board for a High School Chemistry Classroom with Push Pin Clips — Absent Work Bulletin Board

My absent work process is two-fold. First, I email the student at the end of the school day (and BCC their parents), letting them know what they missed for the day. Secondly, I put any paper notes or worksheets on this absent board for them to retrieve upon their return. Psst-I also include the notes in pdf form on Canvas so they can print them from home if they want. Prior to this year, I put absent work in library pockets, which worked well. But when I changed the vibe in this room, I went with push pin clips. They seem to be working well, plus they don’t really leave holes in the Better than Paper Bulletin Board paper roll. If you are interested in the rest of the look of this bulletin board, I used this black scalloped border and this wood border.

Hooks with Shop Ticket Holders Used as Station Pockets in a High School Chemistry Classroom — High School Station Set-Up with Shop Ticket Holders

One of the reasons I wanted to revamp my classroom this year was due to my cabinets. I have very little wall space, so most of the stuff I posted would get posted on the cabinets. I would tape stations, some just on paper and some laminated, to the cabinets. But when taking that down, it was hard to get all of the tape residue off. So I painted my cabinets in chalkboard paint. And I decided I was not going to tape anything temporary to the cabinets anymore. I knew I wanted to use shop ticket holders, which have a grommet hole. The tricky part was finding a hook that was small enough to fit through the hole on the shop ticket holders. I found these modern-looking hooks on Amazon, and the hook was small enough, so I bought enough for 12 stations, which I spread out around the room. The hooks are permanent, and when not in use, I’ll take ay materials off, and only the hook will be visible. I use shop tickets holders in both portrait and landscape to hold various activities, such as stations and question trails. Plus, the shop ticket holders also double as whiteboards in my classroom.

Periodic Table Element Playing Cards — Element Playing Cards

This last item is more of a classroom management system. I have four seats at each of my tables. I labeled each seat with a specific type of card. For example, for all of the seats facing the windows, I taped an element card from the alkali metal group. For the 4 seats, I used the categories of alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, noble gases, and transition metals. I have a random picker that I use to pick a seat. If that seat gets picked, each student with that category will perform a task. For example, I might spin the wheel and the noble gases might be chosen. The noble gases may be responsible for putting something away, passing something out, or retrieving supplies for their table. I also use the cards to pair students for various activities. I might say something like “the alkali and transition metal are going to partner up, while the alkaline earth metal and noble gas will pair up.” This allows me to randomize partners. These periodic table cards have been a great addition to my classroom management routines. Plus it saves time when students complete tasks, and I no longer pass out papers, as an example.

Questions?

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Thanks for reading!