Why I Started Creating Worksheets for Other Teachers

Chemistry is hard. I mean really, it is one of those sciences you can't see without lots of expensive equipment. So, I began trying to make chemistry(and other sciences and math!) more real to my students.

It seemed silly to them but I actually created an end of the year chemistry lab project where they had to draw out a concept they really understood. It was amazing how well some students understood what they drew. It was also amazing how wrong some students were. If I had them do it again, I would definitely add in a check point to make sure they understood what they were doing.

Back to the why I started these worksheets...

I teach all of the chemistry labs at our school. But, I also teach some recitations for the chemistry lectures. SO MANY students couldn't understand the difference in coefficients and subscripts. I mean, their teacher had taught them once, and I had taught them once....something had to give.

Keep in mind that our school is in a very rural area, and many students do not have a science background. That makes our job so much harder to catch them up.

I thought, "They need a visual."

I looked high and low. Google couldn't find it.

So I created the Balancing Equations: A Visual Approach worksheet. You can download a 1 page sample for free on Tpt or buy the full 3 page version here. You can read the blog post here. It really helped. They still struggled at first with the concept, but after they saw what the meanings were. They knew why the subscripts and coefficients couldn't be interchanged.

After that, it just came naturally for me to keep creating new things for my students. So, as I created things I put them on either Google Drive or Dropbox. Then, I thought...why not sell them? There really isn't anything out there like some of my stuff. 

So here I am. Putting my ideas out there to help students, help teachers, and to help anyone who is trying to run a tutoring center for the first time.

​Where are you in your teaching career or tutoring career? What difficulties are you facing when you walk into the classroom? Have you been inspired by a struggle like this?

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