Unit 2 Plans for Revision

Written By Matt Christiansen

As I finish Unit 10 to wrap up the entire curriculum, I want to share the current plan for Unit 2 to help as you plan for the upcoming school year. When I developed the earlier units, I was brand new to the process. Since then, I’ve reflected heavily on what needs to be revised moving forward based on classroom feedback.

Key Reflection #1: Storyline Coherence

Unit 2 was built early on with a strong premise that students found genuinely engaging. However, at times I got bogged down in the chemistry content we needed to cover rather than keeping the focus on the core ideas students needed to uncover. The smartphone phenomenon and engineering components occasionally got lost in dense text, leaving students unclear on what they were learning or why it was relevant.

Key Reflection #2: Lesson Density

In its current format, too much chemistry is crammed into single lessons. These topics deserve room to breathe so students can form meaningful connections. Additionally, heavy explanatory text slowed down pacing; while building reading stamina is important, it caused cognitive overload so early in the school year.

Planned Modifications

Based on these insights and teacher feedback, I am making the following modifications:

  • Modification #1: Moving the fill-in-the-blank vocabulary practice directly into each lesson’s Main Idea Checkpoints. You likely noticed this approach in Unit 1, and I will maintain it across all revised units. While we previously introduced these in the Synthesis lessons, students need to make those connections in real time.

  • Modification #2: Breaking dense lessons into smaller, more manageable pieces. Although the revised unit will feature more individual lessons, it should take the same amount of time, if not less, because topics will be discretely packaged for standard 40-minute class periods (aside from extended wet-lab days).

  • Modification #3: Strategically developing simulations to bridge macroscale and microscale concepts. I am expanding on the few initial simulations to strengthen this link, especially as standards emphasize connecting observable properties with the Periodic Table as a predictive tool (e.g., valence electrons).

  • Modification #4: Adjusting the sequence of chemistry topics. During the Unit 1 overhaul, I realized certain concepts made more sense in a different order. Rest assured, the same standards will be addressed, just arranged more logically.

Materials & Archive Access

These modifications will not change your supply list. We are leveraging the same wet-lab investigations as last year, so you can safely proceed with purchasing. Additionally, once revisions go live, I will post a link to the archived version on the website for anyone who prefers to use last year’s materials.

Timeline & Next Steps

I will keep you updated on progress and delivery estimates. Because I complete this work outside of my normal hours, my goal is to finish the bulk of Unit 2 by the second week of September. Units 3 and 4 will also need light re-sequencing, but because I was finding my groove by that point in the original design process, the revisions moving forward will be much less intensive.

UPDATE (9/2/26): I have completed the revisions to the Student Notebook, and I am working on the support materials now. I will post the updated materials here over the weekend for what has been finished to keep the content clean for now on the Unit 2 page. I am hoping by the end of next week that the revisions will be complete.

  • Storyline Conceptual Flowchart: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Student Notebook: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Student Notebook Answer Key: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Student Notebook: Honors

  • Student Notebook Answer Key: Honors

  • Lesson Progression: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Lesson Progression: Honors

  • Unit Overview (COMPLETED)

  • Self-Assessment: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Self-Assessment: Honors

  • Summative Assessment: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Summative Assessment Answer Key: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Summative Assessment: Honors

  • Summative Assessment Answer Key: Honors

  • Standards Alignment (COMPLETED)

  • Five New Simulations (COMPLETED)

  • Do Now Slips: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Exit Tickets: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Do Now Slips: Honors

  • Exit Tickets: Honors

  • Materials List (COMPLETED)

  • Main Idea Checkpoints: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Main Idea Checkpoints Answer Key: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Main Idea Checkpoints: Honors

  • Main Idea Checkpoints Answer Key: Honors

  • Mid-Unit Assessment (COMPLETED)

  • Mid-Unit Assessment: Answer Key (COMPLETED)

  • Homework Assignments: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Homework Assignments Answer Key: Regents (COMPLETED)

  • Homework Assignments: Honors

  • Homework Assignments Answer Key: Honors

  • Teacher Slides: Regents

  • Teacher Slides: Honors

Matt Christiansen
Next

Curriculum Revision #3