Using AACT Resources for Post AP Exam Activities

Last April I shared some AACT resources to help you plan your post exam activities. Here are a few more activities that I found for those of you who still have planning to do.

• Many teachers would love to teach interdisciplinary lessons to their students, but lack the time during the school year. You might find that the time after the AP Chemistry exam is perfect for this type of activity. The "Water Sustainability: A Video Project and More" article in the May 2015 issue of Chemistry Solutions describes a project that integrates environmental issues with chemistry by using a water chemistry unit, taking a wastewater treatment challenge, and shooting a water sustainability public service announcement.
• The Chemistry Close Read activity allows students to connect material learned in class to the real world by actively reading chemistry articles. The close-read strategy is a way of enhancing student understanding and engagement by slowing down the reading process without detracting from the current curriculum. Students will use articles that interest them from ChemMatters, Chemical & Engineering News, and local newspapers.
• Have your students develop a toy or an elementary school project into an inquiry based demonstration for their classmates with the Toy Project. The author notes that this project was assigned after the AP Chemistry exam, in lieu of a final exam. Students were given a week in class to research and prepare for the activity. They demonstrated creativity with their choices of activities, but also had a lot of fun showing off their knowledge to their fellow students.
• Using the Understanding Renewable Energy project, students conduct research to become experts on a specific type of renewable energy source. They then produce a media presentation and a poster board as well as participate in a symposium focused on renewable energy sources. Read "Embracing the Spirit of the Next Generation Science Standards" in the November 2015 issue of Chemistry Solutions for more information about this project. See the box on the right for articles about different types of renewable energy in ChemMatters that your students can use with this project.
• If you are planning to teach nuclear chemistry to your students after the AP exam AACT has a few classroom resources that you can use with your students. The Alpha, Beta, Gamma Radiation lab investigates the properties of three types of radiation and gives students the opportunity to design procedures to explore the relationship between distance and radiation intensity. In the Nuclear Energy Debate activity students explore the content of nuclear energy in a deeper way and then identify the pros and cons of using it as an energy source. An alternate resource is the Nuclear Energy Power Plants activity which has students writing a persuasive essay in which they support their opinion about whether the number of nuclear plants should be increased or decreased.

Do you have a great post AP exam project that you would like to share with the community? We are proud to feature teacher-submitted activities in the classroom resources collection. If you want to share something you use in your classroom with the community, please send it along for consideration.