THE SYLLABUS IS MADE FOR STUDENTS . . .AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND

What do I mean by that, students?   Simply this:  that the syllabi that I provide in each instructional unit are intended to help YOU manage YOUR time.   The dates shown in the syllabus, and the due dates, are meant to be suggestive, not inflexible.

Because this is true, students should not become alarmed if they sometimes are unable to hand in an item precisely when it is shown on the syllabus.  Students should not be surprised if sometimes an item is given out at a later date than shown.  

The important thing is that students should try to complete all the items before the end of the unit.
Once the unit is over, there IS a grace period of one week to hand in any items not completed.  After that date, they will not be accepted.

UNIT 1 SYLLABI FOR HONORS, REGULAR CHEMISTRY

The Honors Syllabus for Period 1 is shown below, in blue:

Periods 2-5 are found below, in white:

The two syllabi differ very little in the beginning of the year due to the logistical requirements of setting up different courses, but will diverge in sequence and in assessments during the semester.  Just remember, students:  HONORS syllabi will always be blue, while regular Chemistry syllabi will be white.

EMAILS AND DOCUMENTS

At this point, some students are concerned.  While most students have already demonstrated they can send their instructor an email, they may not be clear with how to handle the electronic documents they will be required to create in this course.  

They may be unsure what software to use to create their document, or they may be unclear about how they should save their documents, or have trouble figuring out how to attach those documents to email.  THIS POST ATTEMPTS TO ADDRESS ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS!

Mr. Hatfield recommends that his students use the program Microsoft Word to create electronic documents.   This program is part of a group of programs sometimes called 'Microsoft Office', but more commonly-called Office 365.

Not only is Office 365 available on all FUSD-supplied computers, FUSD students can get up to five FREE copies for their home computer or mobile device.   However, some students are either not aware of this, or they do not know where to go to obtain their free software package.

So let's show you "where to go".   First, go to a search engine and enter this character string:

portal.office.com

This may take you right to Office 365.  But sometimes, instead, it takes you to your student account with OneDrive, and you'll see this screen:

If that happens, look in the upper corner, where it says 'Office 365', and click on that.   When you do that, you should definitely arrive at THIS screen:

Now, a key point about all of this, is that once you have a word processing program on your home computer, you need to be able to save and email the documents you create.   The GREAT advantage of electronic documents is that they can be easily reedited in any way you want without either destroying the original or completely re-doing the assignment!   So, on your home computer, dedicate a folder where you store your classwork, so you can easily find previous work when you need to edit it, or attach it to an email.

And as far as emailing goes....look for one of these:

OK, actually not a literal paper clip.  But virtually all email programs use a "paper clip" icon as a means of attaching documents to an email.   I'm going to share some screen shots of some of the most popular email services below to make that point.....

So, if you've created your document....and you know where it's at on the computer you're using...look for the word 'attach' or a 'paperclip' icon in your email, and click on that item.   A window will open that will allow you to select the location on your computer where you've saved your document.   Find your document, select it, and it should be attached to your email...

"BUT WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE EMAIL?"


Ah, but every FUSD student has free email through the district.

You just have to know how to access your email account.   This post tells you how to do that.

So...all of Mr. Hatfield student's should know:

• how to get FREE copies of 'Office 365'
• how to store and attach electronic documents
• how to access their FREE email through the district

THUS....there should be NO EXCUSES.   Students who don't complete their 'Hidden Figures' assignment or other future assignments that might require an electronic document aren't really following the Course Contract, and thus might be assigned Saturday School.

WELCOME TO CHEMISTRY!

Welcome to the 2019-20 school year, students! We spent most of the first week getting to know each other and learning some of the basics of classroom procedure.  

Most of the next 175 days of instruction will be devoted to reviewing the fundamentals of Chemistry.

A major focus of interest for chemists is pursuing all the different ways that matter and energy can be arranged.  Much of that knowledge can not be predicted in advance by any theory, but instead can only be determined by experimental investigation.   For this reason, Chemistry is an 'in-between science' focused tightly on the design, performance and analysis of experiments.  This emphasis on the experiment requires chemists to use math constantly:  in a sense, Chemistry is a math course with scientific application.

To help students understand the importance of math to science, and how mastering mathematics opens doors for tackling all kinds of problems, students will be asked to consider the true story of the West End Computer Section in U.S. space program, as shown in the film 'Hidden Figures.'   They will see how an unappreciated group of human 'computers' used their abilities to approach scientific and social problems, and how they did their part to achieve great things.

Here is a brief trailer for the film.  It shows an outline of the film's story:



Also, here is a short feature about the making of the film. In this feature, you will learn how author Margo Lee Shetterly, who wrote the book on which the film was based, grew up learning about the 'human computers' at West End, and how she became convinced that she needed to tell the story of women like Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughn: