Science · Chemistry in the Earth System
SEL activities for Modern Chemistry
28 RoseThread Connect activities matched to the chapters of Modern Chemistry (Discovery Education). Each one teaches the chapter's content and builds one Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skill in about 20 minutes.
We look only at each book's table of contents (chapter titles and topics) to suggest activities that fit the flow of your course. We don't use or reproduce any textbook content, and your edition's chapter order may differ slightly. RoseThread Connect is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by these publishers.
Chapter 1: Matter and Change
- Reactions All Around Us Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemExplaining reaction patterns in everyday life and noticing how our own reactions affect others.
- Fire and Fuel Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemBalancing combustion equations to show conservation of mass and breaking a hard goal into balanced small steps.
- Conservation of Mass Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemUsing mole ratios to show mass is conserved and tracking how effort adds up even when results are not yet visible.
- Reflecting on Chemistry Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents revisit their chemistry story and explain how their understanding and confidence transformed like reactants into products.
- My Chemistry Story Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents list the chemistry they already see in kitchens, fields, and cars and name the strengths they bring as scientists.
Chapter 2: Measurements and Calculations
- Energy Budgets Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemCalculating Earth's energy budget and balancing a personal energy budget of sleep, school, and work.
- Comparing Fuels Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemCalculating the energy per gallon of different fuels and weighing tradeoffs in a decision without rushing.
- Water Quality in Our Valley Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemAnalyzing arsenic and nitrate data for local wells and drafting honest, respectful messages to community members.
Chapter 3: Atoms: The Building Blocks of Matter
- My Chemistry Story Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents list the chemistry they already see in kitchens, fields, and cars and name the strengths they bring as scientists.
- Nuclear Changes Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling fission, fusion, and decay and discussing how fear and facts both enter energy decisions.
- Conservation of Mass Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemUsing mole ratios to show mass is conserved and tracking how effort adds up even when results are not yet visible.
- Reflecting on Chemistry Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents revisit their chemistry story and explain how their understanding and confidence transformed like reactants into products.
Chapter 4: Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms
- My Chemistry Story Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents list the chemistry they already see in kitchens, fields, and cars and name the strengths they bring as scientists.
- Semester Reflection: Elements of Me Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents build a personal element card showing their growth, bonds, and goals for the spring semester.
- The Periodic Table as a Map Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemUsing the periodic table to predict properties and mapping personal patterns that predict good and hard days.
- Greenhouse Gases Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling how greenhouse gases trap energy and naming the feelings that climate news brings up.
Chapter 5: The Periodic Law
- The Periodic Table as a Map Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemUsing the periodic table to predict properties and mapping personal patterns that predict good and hard days.
- Semester Reflection: Elements of Me Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents build a personal element card showing their growth, bonds, and goals for the spring semester.
- My Chemistry Story Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents list the chemistry they already see in kitchens, fields, and cars and name the strengths they bring as scientists.
Chapter 6: Chemical Bonding
- Energy in Bonds Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling the energy released and absorbed when bonds form and break, and noticing what drains or fuels students' own energy.
- Structure Shapes Function Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemCommunicating why molecular structure matters for designed materials and connecting personal structure, like routines, to how well we function.
- Attractions Between Particles Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemInvestigating how intermolecular forces explain boiling points and how small signals shape relationships.
- Semester Reflection: Elements of Me Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents build a personal element card showing their growth, bonds, and goals for the spring semester.
- Salt in the Sea Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemExplaining why ionic salts concentrate as water evaporates from the Salton Sea and considering how nearby residents experience the change.
Chapter 7: Chemical Formulas and Chemical Compounds
- Conservation of Mass Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemUsing mole ratios to show mass is conserved and tracking how effort adds up even when results are not yet visible.
- Structure Shapes Function Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemCommunicating why molecular structure matters for designed materials and connecting personal structure, like routines, to how well we function.
- Semester Reflection: Elements of Me Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents build a personal element card showing their growth, bonds, and goals for the spring semester.
- Salt in the Sea Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemExplaining why ionic salts concentrate as water evaporates from the Salton Sea and considering how nearby residents experience the change.
Chapter 8: Chemical Equations and Reactions
- Reactions All Around Us Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemExplaining reaction patterns in everyday life and noticing how our own reactions affect others.
- Fire and Fuel Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemBalancing combustion equations to show conservation of mass and breaking a hard goal into balanced small steps.
- Conservation of Mass Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemUsing mole ratios to show mass is conserved and tracking how effort adds up even when results are not yet visible.
- Reflecting on Chemistry Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents revisit their chemistry story and explain how their understanding and confidence transformed like reactants into products.
- Energy in Bonds Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling the energy released and absorbed when bonds form and break, and noticing what drains or fuels students' own energy.
Chapter 9: Stoichiometry
- Conservation of Mass Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemUsing mole ratios to show mass is conserved and tracking how effort adds up even when results are not yet visible.
- Fire and Fuel Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemBalancing combustion equations to show conservation of mass and breaking a hard goal into balanced small steps.
- Reflecting on Chemistry Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents revisit their chemistry story and explain how their understanding and confidence transformed like reactants into products.
- Comparing Fuels Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemCalculating the energy per gallon of different fuels and weighing tradeoffs in a decision without rushing.
Chapter 10: States of Matter
- Attractions Between Particles Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemInvestigating how intermolecular forces explain boiling points and how small signals shape relationships.
- Water Holds Heat Relationship skills · Chemistry in the Earth SystemInvestigating water's high heat capacity and communicating results clearly to a partner group.
- Salt in the Sea Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemExplaining why ionic salts concentrate as water evaporates from the Salton Sea and considering how nearby residents experience the change.
- Heat on the Move Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemInvestigating how heat flows toward equilibrium and practicing strategies to bring heated emotions back to balance.
Chapter 11: Gases
- Equilibrium and Balance Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemRefining a design that shifts a reaction's equilibrium and practicing ways to restore emotional balance after stress.
- Greenhouse Gases Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling how greenhouse gases trap energy and naming the feelings that climate news brings up.
- Oceans Absorb Carbon Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling carbon cycling between air and ocean and noticing what we absorb from the people and media around us.
- Clean Air Questions Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemEvaluating information about combustion pollution and considering how air quality affects families differently across the valley.
Chapter 12: Solutions
- Salt in the Sea Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemExplaining why ionic salts concentrate as water evaporates from the Salton Sea and considering how nearby residents experience the change.
- Water Quality in Our Valley Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemAnalyzing arsenic and nitrate data for local wells and drafting honest, respectful messages to community members.
- Oceans Absorb Carbon Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling carbon cycling between air and ocean and noticing what we absorb from the people and media around us.
- Chemistry on the Farm Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemEvaluating solutions that reduce fertilizer and pesticide runoff and weighing the needs of farmworkers, growers, and neighbors.
Chapter 13: Ions in Aqueous Solutions and Colligative Properties
- Salt in the Sea Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemExplaining why ionic salts concentrate as water evaporates from the Salton Sea and considering how nearby residents experience the change.
- Water Quality in Our Valley Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemAnalyzing arsenic and nitrate data for local wells and drafting honest, respectful messages to community members.
- Engineering Clean Water Relationship skills · Chemistry in the Earth SystemBreaking a water treatment problem into smaller parts as a team and repairing trust when ideas clash.
- Chemistry on the Farm Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemEvaluating solutions that reduce fertilizer and pesticide runoff and weighing the needs of farmworkers, growers, and neighbors.
Chapter 14: Acids and Bases
- Acids, Bases, and Balance Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemInvestigating how buffers resist pH change and identifying the personal buffers that steady us.
- Oceans Absorb Carbon Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling carbon cycling between air and ocean and noticing what we absorb from the people and media around us.
- Clean Air Questions Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemEvaluating information about combustion pollution and considering how air quality affects families differently across the valley.
Chapter 15: Acid-Base Titration and pH
- Acids, Bases, and Balance Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemInvestigating how buffers resist pH change and identifying the personal buffers that steady us.
- Water Quality in Our Valley Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemAnalyzing arsenic and nitrate data for local wells and drafting honest, respectful messages to community members.
Chapter 16: Reaction Energy
- Energy in Bonds Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling the energy released and absorbed when bonds form and break, and noticing what drains or fuels students' own energy.
- Comparing Fuels Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemCalculating the energy per gallon of different fuels and weighing tradeoffs in a decision without rushing.
- Heat on the Move Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemInvestigating how heat flows toward equilibrium and practicing strategies to bring heated emotions back to balance.
- Water Holds Heat Relationship skills · Chemistry in the Earth SystemInvestigating water's high heat capacity and communicating results clearly to a partner group.
- Thermal Energy and Choices Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemDesigning a device that keeps a lunch cool and justifying design choices honestly, including weaknesses.
- Fire and Fuel Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemBalancing combustion equations to show conservation of mass and breaking a hard goal into balanced small steps.
Chapter 17: Reaction Kinetics
- Rates of Reaction Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemArguing how temperature and concentration change reaction rates and noticing what speeds up or slows down our own reactions.
- Lab Partners Who Listen Relationship skills · Chemistry in the Earth SystemTeams plan a reaction rate investigation and practice listening fully before deciding.
- Gratitude Reaction Relationship skills · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents write thank you notes describing the catalyst a classmate or adult was for their learning this year.
Chapter 18: Chemical Equilibrium
- Equilibrium and Balance Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemRefining a design that shifts a reaction's equilibrium and practicing ways to restore emotional balance after stress.
- Acids, Bases, and Balance Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemInvestigating how buffers resist pH change and identifying the personal buffers that steady us.
- Oceans Absorb Carbon Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling carbon cycling between air and ocean and noticing what we absorb from the people and media around us.
Chapter 19: Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
- Reactions All Around Us Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemExplaining reaction patterns in everyday life and noticing how our own reactions affect others.
- Fire and Fuel Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemBalancing combustion equations to show conservation of mass and breaking a hard goal into balanced small steps.
Chapter 20: Electrochemistry
- Energy in Bonds Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling the energy released and absorbed when bonds form and break, and noticing what drains or fuels students' own energy.
- Reactions All Around Us Social awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemExplaining reaction patterns in everyday life and noticing how our own reactions affect others.
Chapter 21: Nuclear Chemistry
- Nuclear Changes Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemModeling fission, fusion, and decay and discussing how fear and facts both enter energy decisions.
Chapter 22: Organic Chemistry
- Comparing Fuels Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemCalculating the energy per gallon of different fuels and weighing tradeoffs in a decision without rushing.
- Fire and Fuel Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemBalancing combustion equations to show conservation of mass and breaking a hard goal into balanced small steps.
- Structure Shapes Function Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemCommunicating why molecular structure matters for designed materials and connecting personal structure, like routines, to how well we function.
Chapter 23: Biological Chemistry
- Structure Shapes Function Self-management · Chemistry in the Earth SystemCommunicating why molecular structure matters for designed materials and connecting personal structure, like routines, to how well we function.
- Chemistry on the Farm Responsible decision-making · Chemistry in the Earth SystemEvaluating solutions that reduce fertilizer and pesticide runoff and weighing the needs of farmworkers, growers, and neighbors.
- Reflecting on Chemistry Self-awareness · Chemistry in the Earth SystemStudents revisit their chemistry story and explain how their understanding and confidence transformed like reactants into products.
RoseThread Connect activities are drafted with the help of AI and shaped by educators. Students never have to share anything personal. Our five SEL skills are informed by CASEL's SEL Framework; RoseThread Learning is not affiliated with or endorsed by CASEL.