In the spirit of CER, this activity requires students to record evidence (ie. Observations) and come up with claims. If you’re new to CER, it stands for Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning, and it’s a simple template students can use to draw conclusions and connect it to current and previous knowledge. For more information, see post #46 and #12. For this post, handouts are available for download at the end.

A Lab Equipment CER Activity

The premise of this CER activity is for students to record observations about certain pieces of lab equipment that the teacher has set aside. And, from those observations, students make claims about the piece of equipment and connect it to some reasoning as well.

With regards to actually writing CER statements about individual pieces of equipment, students can following the guidelines below.

Claim: The <equipment> is used for…

Evidence: observe the piece of equipment and note down the shape, size, and details that are either present or missing.

Reasoning: provide an explanation as to why the shape, size, and details (missing or present) are important to the equipment’s function.

For example, assume we ask students to write a CER statement about a test tube.

Claim: a test tube is used to hold, mix or heat small amounts of chemical

Evidence: the opening to test tube are narrow; test tube are short; there are no volume markings on test tubes; test tubes are made of Pyrex.

Reasoning: narrow openings and short length means that test tubes can hold very little chemical; lack of volume markings indicates test tubes are not for measuring volumes nor is volume an important measurement in test tubes; pyrex is heat resistant.

Field Notes

I. Make it into a station activity (easy, medium, hard, expert)

I used for stations with different types of equipment in each one. Some stations can have a theme (ex. All flasks or all tongs). My handouts will show what I put in each station.

II. It’s ok if students don’t “get it right”

What makes the activity so engaging is that students are using their observation and analytical skills to figure out a puzzle. It doesn’t matter if they get the right answer or not (at least, not yet). What’s important is the discussion that occurs at each station. What’s important is that students can defend their positions citing the features they see in the equipment.

III. Compare different pieces of equipment to each other

During the activity, students will get stuck. To help them get unstuck, have students compare 2 pieces of equipment to see what both pieces do and don’t do, have or don’t have. For example, an erlenmeyer flask and a beaker are both for mixing and heating chemicals. However, erlenmeyer flasks do a better job at mixing (tapered neck) while a beaker is better for transferring liquids too.

Wrap Up

Learning about lab equipment is no doubt and important skill. We want to make sure students reach for or use the right equipment for the task at hand. But, learning about lab equipment doesn’t need to be boring. It can be part of a discovery process that wraps other skills like CER into the lesson. Click the link below to download the handouts to our lab equipment CER activity, where I provide what equipment I put into each station. I also outline what I have my students document in their notebooks during the activity. As always, please share our resources with your colleagues. And, if you want to receive weekly updates from us, please sign up for our newsletter too.

Until next time, keep it REAL.

Resources

Handout(s): 49 – Lab Equipment CER Activity

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Our answer: have students apply hazardous household product symbols & categories to common items that may not be labeled toxic. We call it our Everyday Hazards Activity. Objects like drinking water, Mac and cheese, and silly string all have a toxic component to them. Students not only get practice learning the different hazard categories and warning labels. Students also learn more about what makes their object hazardous in the first place. And, with tonnes of options out there with regards to what students can study, this short assignment has the freedom, choice and relevance to make it fun. Handouts (our images and samples) are available at the end of the post.

Hazardous Household Product Labels Review

In general, there are 4 hazardous household product categories (explosive, toxic, flammable, and corrosive) and 3 labels of intensity (caution, warning, and danger). In some countries (Canada, for example), companies also use hazardous household product symbols to label any hazardous products as well as a border to denote whether the danger is with regards to the container or contents. Below is a quick summary of the categories, symbols, borders, and labels.

For the purposes of our Everyday Hazards activity, we suggest students use a combination of symbols, labels, and borders even if your country doesn’t support its use. The use of all 3 provides much more information regarding the product. And, it can also be a benefit if your students ever travel to Canada!

Example: Drinking Water

Drinking water seems like a very safe product. But, did you know drinking too much water at one time can cause serious injury or death? The condition is known as water intoxication. In one case in 2007, a 28 year old woman who participated in a radio contest died when she drank roughly 7 litres of water in over 3 hours. Drinking too much water for children under 1 year old can also be dangerous.

Tips on our Everyday Hazards Activity

• look to the news to see if any typically nontoxic substances have reportedly made injured anyone.
• some products (like Mac and Cheese) might not be labeled as toxic but contain specific ingredients that may be toxic. Students can research those ingredients.
• some products (like drinking water) might not be labeled as toxic but may have a threshold at which it becomes toxic. Students can research the threshold.
• if a product (like silly string) already has a hazardous label on it, see if students can find another hazard that has not been labeled.

Wrap Up

Learning about hazardous household product symbols and categories can be boring. And, that’s not what we want as educators. We want students who are engaged and interested in their material. And, we want students to have fun. By having students apply hazard symbols to everyday objects, students get to research what conditions may cause something to be hazardous. And, they learn more about the hazard labels too. Click on the link below to download our handouts. Please share this resource with your colleagues too!

Until next time, keep it REAL.

Resources

Handout(s): 39 – Hazard Symbols

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How can we make teaching lab safety more active, engaging, and relevant to students? The short answer is to have students do a lab. Unfortunately, teachers may feel reluctant to do so. For starters, what lab could students do with the limited knowledge they have coming into class? Also, what about materials? Lab materials can be expensive, limited, or difficult to prepare. Also, there may not be time at the beginning of the year to set up a complicated lab. The ideal activity to teach lab safety that is easy to set up and engaging for the students is hard to find.

Having said that, we developed one. And, near the end of this post, you can sign up to receive a free copy of our activity emailed to you.

Our Simple Solution (literally, it’s a “solution”)

Our lab activity has students practice lab safety by doing a simple, everyday activity in a very scientific way. Students brew coffee.

The inspiration for this activity came when I went to San Francisco and Portland many years ago and noticed a resurgence in the hipster (ie. pour-over) method of brewing coffee. In the pour-over method, a ceramic funnel is placed on top or suspended above a coffee cup. Filter paper and coffee grounds are added to the funnel. Then, hot water is slowly poured over the coffee grounds, and coffee is collected in the cup below. Today, any hipster coffee shop that brews single-origin, shade-grown (or any other hipster description) coffee brews by pour-over. And, like any craft, there is a science to brewing a great cup of coffee.

Coffee brewing setup: funnel and glass container on a electronic balance.

Our Set up and Experience

Using filter funnels, ring stands, ring clamps, hot plates, beakers, and filter paper, my students brew “hipster coffee”. Students set up the equipment to mimic what the coffee shops have, and they run their own pour-overs. And, they love it. Students love doing something that grown-ups typically do. They love setting up their equipment and slowly pouring water over coffee grounds. They love the fragrant product. I love the fact that students are excited about science. More importantly, I love that they’re getting some hands-on experience to some important science skills: how to handle and pour hot liquids, how to setup and use equipment correctly, how to dispose of used reagents, and how to work around hot objects (ie. hot plates).

A Few Tips to Consider

Here are some tips if you’re interested in using coffee to teach lab safety.
– Use electric kettles to pre-heat enough water for the class. Heating water using hot plates is a pretty slow process, and electric kettles will save some time. Afterwards, students can pour out what is necessary to into their own beakers and place beakers back onto their hot plates to bring the water back to a boil.
– use ground coffee. But, if you want students to get experience using a mortar and pestle, buy whole bean coffee
– Students tend to set up their ring clamp and filter funnel pretty high above the collecting beaker. This increases the likelihood of splashing and is a good teachable moment on how to reduce splashing.

Putting it all together

Teaching lab safety does not have to be boring. It should be taught in a more engaging manner that excites our students – especially since we hope to get them excited about the school year. I think coffee – and brewing it the hipster way – is a great way to do it. If you’re interested in using coffee to teach lab safety, we’ve developed a step-by-step handout (which includes discussion questions) that we give to our students. Click on the link below to download.

Resources

Handout: 01 – Coffee Lab

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