I have been searching for the world's clearest explanation of chemistry.
I divide the books into two categories.
Books that Align with a Standard Chemistry Curriculum
Actual chemistry textbooks are supposed to be more or less equal. The one we used in high school was Zumdahl's World of Chemistry; I remember I liked it and could rely on it to explain clearly whatever I needed to know. Prentice Hall's is the other widely used chemistry textbook; I haven't read it.
Chemistry for Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chemistry, which are written to cover the same material but in a less formal voice and without pretty pictures, are equally clear, though I don't think they offer anything a textbook doesn't. The latter is the more comprehensive of the two.
The author of the Idiot's has a website where he has published his own, humorous, free chemistry textbook, Chemistry: The Awesomest Science. It covers a standard high school curriculum and it's clearer than any other textbook I've seen. The trouble with it is that the language is not appropriate, so I can't give it to my students. The author gave me permission to bowdlerize it, but due to the nature of the course I'm teaching I don't have time, so there's a project up for grabs if someone wants it.
CK-12 Chemistry is another free, complete textbook that looks like a good resource, but since you have to read it on a special app and cannot print it out, I didn't look at it too closely.
The best explanation I've seen of basic chemistry ("an atom is...") is still Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook but since it's written for middle school it's only an introduction (e.g., it stops before getting into the difference between ionic and covalent bonds).
Chemistry: Investigate the Matter that Makes up Your World, from Nomad Press, goes further. It doesn't contain everything in the high school curriculum but it comes close to covering the Florida state high school standards. It's the clearest of the books on this list. If I were writing a textbook-based high school chemistry course from scratch I might make this slim volume the textbook (since it covers everything you need to know to be a basically chemistry-educated adult, with no extras) and teach everything else without recourse to a textbook at all.
Another book I have flipped through but haven't looked at too closely is The Joy of Chemistry, by Cobb and Fetterolf. It's not a simple book to look things up in; it's designed to take the reader on a journey. It looks good, though. I imagine there are a lot of homeschoolers who adore it.
Books that Don't Align with a Standard Chemistry Curriculum
There are some wonderful children's introductions to chemistry. My favorites are, as usual, the Victorians (who, fortunately, are free online):
The Wonder Book of Chemistry by Jean Henri Fabre (an excellent children's science writer - he has books on several sciences) and
The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday.
There is a brief chapter on chemistry in Edward Holden's The Sciences, which is a good book to know about; but Fabre goes deeper.
The genius of these old books (besides the mellifluous writing) is that they start off with the world that surrounds us. The Wonder Book of Chemistry, for instance, doesn't start off with the definition of an atom; it starts off with a chunk of sulphur. Faraday introduces chemistry through looking at a candle. It's (pedagogically) a very elegant approach.
Theodore Gray has a trilogy of books on chemistry. I've read only the first, The Elements. It wouldn't stand in place of a textbook but it's a nice resource. I showed it to a chemistry student who had been plodding through a lab-less course and she exclaimed, "Oh! This makes chemistry look interesting!" - It's very good for that.
The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments, by Robert Bruce Thompson, explains in tremendous detail how to set up a safe chemistry lab at home, and gives instructions for a number of intriguing-sounding experiments. Companion materials are sold here.
There are other books that lay out a number of suggestions for one-off science fair projects, but Thompson's is the book that assumes the reader wants to get seriously into the subject.
There are some books out there that present entertaining chemistry anecdotes for a general audience (Napoleon's Buttons, The Disappearing Spoon, The Radioactive Boy Scout, Mauve) but it would be a demanding job to extract much chemistry knowledge from them, so they don't make my list.
I cannot, however, resist linking to Ruskin's essay on The Work of Iron, on p. 453 of this PDF, as a charming presentation on chemistry.
I asked around for "the clearest book on chemistry ever" and my friend's husband wisely responded, "Bereishis 1:1-31," which is the best answer.
There are several board games out there that are designed to teach chemistry. The two that sound high school student-friendly to me (as opposed to having been designed for gamers) are Elementeo, which is based on Magic: the Gathering and assigns each element a personality; and Science Ninjas: Valence Plus. Elementeo is pretty but I suspect that Valence Plus involves more science in the actual game-play. (There's also a chemistry-themed version of Fluxx. Fluxx is a great game; but it offers less educational content than the other games listed here.)
There is a fabulous collection of labs here: Flinn Scientific: Chemical Demonstrations.
Conclusion
If someone would like to write a chemistry textbook that takes all the material of a standard high school textbook and presents it using the sensible approach and superb writing of The Wonder Book of Chemistry, the clarity of Chemistry: the Awesomest Science, and the attention to detail of Chemistry: Explore the Matter that Makes up Your World, I would buy a copy; and if you pull it all out of Bereishis, I will be your best friend.
Lavon
Rabbi Oppenheimer, the "Portlander Rav," put this up today.
"We... are thrilled to be the first Shomer Shabbos family in this beautiful Yishuv..."
Here's the link: Pesach: Confronting the Struggle
"We... are thrilled to be the first Shomer Shabbos family in this beautiful Yishuv..."
Here's the link: Pesach: Confronting the Struggle
All Lessons as Music Lessons
A speaker I once heard, on the subject of growth mindset, illustrated his point by describing how music lessons are taught.
The emphasis is on using feedback. The student plays; the teacher listens and offers direction; and the student tries again.
What would school look like if all lessons were structured like music lessons?
The emphasis is on using feedback. The student plays; the teacher listens and offers direction; and the student tries again.
What would school look like if all lessons were structured like music lessons?
Al Pi Darko Explanation No. 2
חנך לנער על־פי דרכו גם כי־יזקין לא־יסור ממנה
Mishlei (Proverbs) 22:6 -- 'Educate a child according to his path; even when he ages he will not turn away from it.'
The first explanation of this verse that I posted involved baby kangaroos.
Another explanation, I heard from Rav Kook of Rechovot at the 2015 Torah uMesorah convention. He said the Alter of Kelm explains "ממנה" as "מלהתחנך" --
That is:
The "it" that the child will not turn away from when he ages is the practice of educating himself.
Mishlei (Proverbs) 22:6 -- 'Educate a child according to his path; even when he ages he will not turn away from it.'
The first explanation of this verse that I posted involved baby kangaroos.
Another explanation, I heard from Rav Kook of Rechovot at the 2015 Torah uMesorah convention. He said the Alter of Kelm explains "ממנה" as "מלהתחנך" --
That is:
The "it" that the child will not turn away from when he ages is the practice of educating himself.
Trove of Math Articles
There's a wonderful collection of math projects, math art, math explorations, math puzzles, math... all kinds of interesting math, the kind of math that appeals to people who do and who don't like math -- on this website:
It's a great resource.
Forest Kindergartens
...are fabulous, I think, not only for general studies in kindergarten, but as a source of ideas for general studies in the upper grades, too.
The basic idea is that the school day takes place outside as much as possible.
There is some footage of a Forest Kindergarten here:
School's Out: Lessons from a Forest Kindergarten
The basic idea is that the school day takes place outside as much as possible.
There is some footage of a Forest Kindergarten here:
School's Out: Lessons from a Forest Kindergarten
Middle school science textbook -- a book review
I once substitute-taught a middle school science class that adhered closely to a textbook.
I was helping students review material before a test, so I brought in a book I happen to have in my house (thanks to the person who gave it to me, if you read this):
The Complete Middle School Study Guide: Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook, by Michael Geisen.
The school had just upgraded the science textbooks to a series rumored to be excellent, but as soon as the kids flipped through my book, they loved it, and we had to set up a rotation because they clamored every day to borrow my book instead of using their big, fancy textbook with the natty page design and glossy illustrations.
We all thought this inexpensive little handbook offered clearer explanations.
I suspect part of the appeal is that unlike most middle school textbooks, it doesn't try hard to be cool; it just lays out the facts.
It's part of a series. I haven't read the other Complete Middle School Study Guides but I do think this one does a great job of explaining all the science in the middle school curriculum.
It includes review questions at the end of each chapter. I believe it could easily stand in place of a conventional textbook.
I was helping students review material before a test, so I brought in a book I happen to have in my house (thanks to the person who gave it to me, if you read this):
The Complete Middle School Study Guide: Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook, by Michael Geisen.
The school had just upgraded the science textbooks to a series rumored to be excellent, but as soon as the kids flipped through my book, they loved it, and we had to set up a rotation because they clamored every day to borrow my book instead of using their big, fancy textbook with the natty page design and glossy illustrations.
We all thought this inexpensive little handbook offered clearer explanations.
I suspect part of the appeal is that unlike most middle school textbooks, it doesn't try hard to be cool; it just lays out the facts.
It's part of a series. I haven't read the other Complete Middle School Study Guides but I do think this one does a great job of explaining all the science in the middle school curriculum.
It includes review questions at the end of each chapter. I believe it could easily stand in place of a conventional textbook.
Math Manipulative: Montessori Binomial and Trinomial Cube Puzzles
Montessori is great for beautifully made manipulatives.
I finally found a good excuse to order the binomial and trinomial cube puzzles.
This site which explains how to use them recommends them for the youngest children; but I seem to remember working on these cubes (and finding the trinomial very challenging) in both my Lower Elementary (1st-3rd grade) and Upper Elementary (4th-6th grade) classrooms.
Personally, my excuse for ordering them is a group of high school students who are studying polynomials. I think we never outgrow good visuals.
I handed the boxes to my second grader, told her they were puzzles, and let her figure out on her own how to solve them. She found them an absorbing and pleasant challenge.
(The math-genius grown-up of the family walked in, took one look at the trinomial and, without stopping to think, FOIL'd it and built up all three layers at once, diagonally.)
A significant part of the Montessori philosophy is that children are sensitive to beauty, so their learning materials should be beautiful. The school I attended used, I remember, beautifully crafted, polished Montessori materials.
I ordered the (relatively) cheap version of the puzzles from China. I'm satisfied with the quality. They're still lovely and curiously attractive (like Uncle Andrew's magic rings) and satisfying to handle.
I finally found a good excuse to order the binomial and trinomial cube puzzles.
This site which explains how to use them recommends them for the youngest children; but I seem to remember working on these cubes (and finding the trinomial very challenging) in both my Lower Elementary (1st-3rd grade) and Upper Elementary (4th-6th grade) classrooms.
Personally, my excuse for ordering them is a group of high school students who are studying polynomials. I think we never outgrow good visuals.
I handed the boxes to my second grader, told her they were puzzles, and let her figure out on her own how to solve them. She found them an absorbing and pleasant challenge.
(The math-genius grown-up of the family walked in, took one look at the trinomial and, without stopping to think, FOIL'd it and built up all three layers at once, diagonally.)
A significant part of the Montessori philosophy is that children are sensitive to beauty, so their learning materials should be beautiful. The school I attended used, I remember, beautifully crafted, polished Montessori materials.
I ordered the (relatively) cheap version of the puzzles from China. I'm satisfied with the quality. They're still lovely and curiously attractive (like Uncle Andrew's magic rings) and satisfying to handle.
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