Experience Chemistry® – High School Chemistry Curriculum

Experience Chemistry® - offers a modern program that focuses on the students’ experience. Authentic phenomena capture their interest and structure their learning with opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and growth.

  • Robust support package for instructors
  • Rich content on the Savvas Realize® platform
  • Assessments allow students to demonstrate three-dimensional understanding
Experience Chemistry high school chemistry is grounded in chemistry phenomena driven learning.

High School Chemistry Curriculum with Digital Resources

Students investigate real, compelling phenomena that fuels questions about everyday life and the thrill of discovery.

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Phenomena-Driven Learning

Experience Chemistry® bases its pedagogy on phenomena students recognize. It gives purpose to their experience and incorporates a critical component of the Next Generation Science Standards.

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True Inquiry Experience


Our exclusive partnership with Flinn Scientific provides engaging labs and Engineering Design Challenges for immersive, differentiated learning.

Experience Chemistry high school chemistry curriculum textbook cover.

Active Learning Paths


Hands-on, active learning drives student motivation to dive deeper into chemistry concepts.

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Develop College and Career Readiness Skills

Students learn to think and act like scientists as they formulate ideas, arguments and solutions using evidence.

High School Chemistry Teaching Solutions

  • Educator Resources
  • Student Resources
  • Flinn Lab Resources

Educator Resources

  • Instructional Support Package
    Instructors have access to a robust support package with print and digital resources designed to streamline classroom management
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Student Resources

  • Multiple Engagement Approaches
    Students practice a variety of ways to discuss and explain ideas, ask questions and present their findings.
  • Student Experience Notebook
    The Student Experience Notebook is a place for students to write, clarify ideas, and make a record as a scientist. It’s an interactive tool that promotes scientific understanding and anchors phenomena-based, experiential learning.
  • College and Career Readiness
    Prepare students for real-world applications and future STEM opportunities.
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Flinn Lab Resources

  • Curricular Alignment
    Access high-quality, standards-aligned lab activities and resources that foster hands-on exploration, critical thinking, and scientific discovery in your classroom
  • Broad Support
    Experience Materials Kits support all 71 Experience Labs and 17 Engineering Design Challenges.
  • Assessment Materials Kits
    Assessment Materials Kits support the 18 performance-based assessments.
  • Essentials Materials Kits
    Essentials Materials Kits support a streamlined selection of 30 Experience labs.
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Take a deeper look into Experience Chemistry’s features

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Program Overview

Learn about the teaching philosophy and structure that guides Experience Chemistry® and how it helps students succeed.

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Learn by Doing

See how a hands-on approach to science helps all students make sense of phenomena while having fun.

New Digital Technologies for K-12 Ecosystem

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Savvas Realize brings our award-winning content to life in an exciting digital experience that students love. For teachers and admins, it includes valuable classroom-management tools like auto-rostering, single-sign-on, and available integrations with many top K-12 LMSs.

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A next-generation learning solution that provides an all-inclusive, one-year digital license to our most popular Math, Literacy, Science, and Social Studies national K–12 programs.

School Stories

In these inspirational stories, you'll learn about what schools and districts from across the country are doing to help students succeed and shape the future of education.

Get Inspired

Experience Chemistry Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is Experience Chemistry® and what are its
    components?

    Experience Chemistry® is a next generation high school chemistry program that puts the focus on the student experience. This modern program implements a learning model that organizes learning around phenomena giving students an authentic, real-world experience.

    Experience Chemistry® includes a variety of hands-on and digital activities designed to reach every learner. Students complete hands-on inquiry labs, virtual labs, simulations, data analysis, claim-evidence reasoning exercises and more on their sensemaking journey. An assessment package with formative, summative, performance-based assessments provide opportunity for students to demonstrate their understanding three dimensionally. Instructors have access to a robust support package with print and digital resources designed to streamline classroom management.

    Take an Interactive Tour of Experience Chemistry®.

    The program components includes:

    Experience Chemistry digital courseware on Savvas Realize™ includes robust digital tools that give teachers flexibility to use a digital, print, or blended format in their classrooms. Teachers can customize the program to rearrange content, upload their own content, add links to online media, and edit resources and assessments. Program-specific resources, flexible agnostic resources, and assessments are available in one location for easy lesson planning and presentation.

    Teacher Guide - Available in digital and print, the Teacher Guide provides robust lesson planners based on the 5E learning model, explicit directions and explanations for introducing phenomena, instructional strategies support students as they make sense of the phenomena, and classroom modifications to adjust instruction based on the diverse student needs, skills, and interests in their classroom.

    Student Experience Notebook - Experience Chemistry® transforms the traditional textbook into a modern interactive notebook that students will actually use. With Experience Chemistry®, students DO chemistry first, by interacting with phenomena and completing hands-on and virtual inquiry activities. Then students complete readings, formative assessments, and math practice in their Student Experience Notebook.

    Flinn Scientific Lab Kits - Flinn Scientific is our partner for the Experience Chemistry® curriculum. Optional lab kits are available for each program. Every Flinn Scientific kit supports a classroom of approximately 30 students. Refill kits are also available.

  • How does Experience Chemistry® incorporate science phenomena?

    Making sense of phenomena drives student learning throughout Experience Chemistry®. This program engages students directly in different examples of phenomena that relate to authentic real-world scenarios.

    Every Storyline (the unit of instruction) begins with an Anchoring Phenomenon — a real-world science phenomenon sparks curiosity as students make observations and ask questions. The anchoring phenomenon gives students purpose as they engage in activities to make sense of this phenomenon and connect the chemistry concepts through a unique, unifying occurrence. Throughout the Storyline, students repeatedly revisit the anchoring phenomenon question and discuss the real-world impact of the problem as they propose solutions – thus building understanding over time. By the end of the storyline, students are able to explain the anchoring phenomenon. Additionally, in each Storyline there are two opportunities for students to be involved in designing solutions to problems. At the Storyline level there is a Problem-based Learning Experience that spans several Investigations.

    A real-world Investigative Phenomenon video launches every Investigation (chapter level organization). The Investigative Phenomenon opens different lines of inquiry related to the Anchoring Phenomenon. Students again ask questions, make observations, and track their developing understanding of the phenomenon in Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) or Modeling exercises. At the end of each Experience students revisit their CER worksheet in a sense-making exercise to review, revise or add to their explanation of how the phenomenon occurs – thus building understanding over time. At the end of the Investigation, students once again revisit and make sense of the phenomena by drawing connections.

    The lessons, called Experiences, are where students encounter Everyday Phenomena through Flinn Scientific Inquiry Labs, virtual simulations, digital interactivities, videos, animations, Engineering Design Challenges, teacher demonstrations, modeling activities, performance-based assessments, data analysis activities, peer review and more. This wide variety of real-world experiences builds student understanding using DCIs, CCCs, and SEPs by interacting with phenomena over time.

  • Is the Experience Chemistry® instruction research based?

    The instructional model is based on research conducted by the Instructional Leadership for Science Practices (ILSP), a National Science Foundation project whose goal was to develop tools that support educators in the integration of the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) along with the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

    Per ILSP’s framework, the science and engineering practices provide a pathway for students to engage sequentially in the processes of investigation, sense-making, and critique.

    This approach has been adapted by incorporating BSCS 5E Model to round out the five-stage learning progression: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. The role of phenomena has been intensified in the pedagogy in order to address the need for phenomenon-based learning opportunities as outlined in the NGSS.

  • How do I sign up for an Experience Chemistry®
    digital demo?

    Experience Chemistry® digital courseware on Savvas Realize™ includes robust digital tools that give teachers flexibility to use a digital, print, or blended format in their classrooms. Teachers can customize the program to rearrange content, upload their own content, add links to online media, and edit resources and assessments.

    Program-specific resources, flexible agnostic resources, and assessments are available in one location for easy lesson planning and presentation. Click here to sign up for a demo of Experience Chemistry®.

  • What types of science material kits does Savvas provide?

    Flinn Scientific is our partner for the Experience Chemistry curriculum. Optional lab kits are available for each program. Every Flinn Scientific kit supports a classroom of approximately 30 students. Refill kits are also available.

  • Table of Contents

    Storyline 1: Atoms, Elements, and Molecules

    Investigation 1: Atomic Structure

    Experience 1.1 The Particle Nature of Matter
    Experience 1.2 Modeling Atoms
    Experience 1.3 Atomic Emission Spectra and the Bohr Model
    Experience 1.4 Modern Atomic Theory
    Experience 1.5 Electrons in Atoms

    Investigation 2: The Periodic Table
    Experience 2.1 The Periodic Table: An Overview
    Experience 2.2 The Periodic Table and Atomic Structure
    Experience 2.3 Periodic Trends

    Investigation 3: Chemical Bonding
    Experience 3.1 Ionic Bonds
    Experience 3.2 Metallic Bonds
    Experience 3.3 Covalent Bonds
    Experience 3.4 Intermolecular Attractions
    Experience 3.5 Names and Formulas of Compounds

     

    Storyline 2: Understanding Chemical Reactions

    Investigation 4: Physical Properties of Materials
    Experience 4.1 States of Matter
    Experience 4.2 Modeling Phase Changes
    Experience 4.3 Comparing Ionic and Molecular Compounds
    Experience 4.4 Comparing Metals and Nonmetals
    Experience 4.5 Water and Aqueous Systems
    Experience 4.6 Properties of Solutions

    Investigation 5: Chemical Quantities
    Experience 5.1 The Mole Concept
    Experience 5.2 Molar Relationships
    Experience 5.3 Percent Composition and Empirical Formula

    Experience 5.4 Concentrations of Solutions
    Investigation 6: Chemical Reactions
    Experience 6.1 Modeling Chemical Reactions
    Experience 6.2 Predicting Outcomes of Reactions
    Experience 6.3 Reactions in Aqueous Solution

    Investigation 7: Stoichiometry
    Experience 7.1 Quantifying Reactants and Products
    Experience 7.2 Chemical Calculations
    Experience 7.3 Limiting Reagent and Percent Yield
    Investigation 8: Thermochemistry
    Experience 8.1 Energy in Chemical Bonds
    Experience 8.2 Heats of Formation and Reaction
    Experience 8.3 Heat in Changes of State

     

    Storyline 3: The Chemistry of Climate Change

    Investigation 9: The Behavior of Gases
    Experience 9.1 Properties of Gases
    Experience 9.2 The Gas Laws
    Experience 9.3 Ideal Gases
    Experience 9.4 Gases in Earth's Atmosphere

    Investigation 10: Weather and Climate
    Experience 10.1 Earth's Surface Systems
    Experience 10.2 Water and Energy in the Atmosphere
    Experience 10.3 Atmospheric System Feedbacks
    Experience 10.4 Long-Term Climate Factors
    Experience 10.5 Short-Term Climate Factors

    Investigation 11: Global Climate Change
    Experience 11.1 The Chemistry of Earth's Atmosphere
    Experience 11.2 Evidence of Climate Change
    Experience 11.3 Anthropogenic Carbon Emissions
    Experience 11.4 Climate Models
    Experience 11.5 Consequences of Climate Change
    Experience 11.6 Response to Climate Change

     

    Storyline 4: The Dynamics of Chemical Reactions and Ocean Acidification

    Investigation 12: Reaction Rates and Equilibrium
    Experience 12.1 Rates of Reaction
    Experience 12.2 The Progress of Chemical Reactions
    Experience 12.3 Reversible Reactions and Equilibrium
    Experience 12.4 Free Energy and Entropy

    Investigation 13: Acids-Base Equilibria
    Experience 13.1 Acids, Bases, and Salts
    Experience 13.2 Strong and Weak Acids and Bases
    Experience 13.3 Reactions of Acids and Bases
    Experience 13.4 Buffered Solutions

    Investigation 14: Ocean Acidification
    Experience 14.1 Ocean pH Levels
    Experience 14.2 Earth's Ocean as a Carbon Sink
    Experience 14.3 Oceans and Climate Change
    Experience 14.4 Consequences of Ocean Acidification

     

    Storyline 5: Industrial Applications

    Investigation15: Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
    Experience 15.1 Oxidation vs. Reduction
    Experience 15.2 Modeling and Predicting Outcomes of Redox Reactions
    Experience 15.3 Electrochemical Cells

    Investigation 16: Organic Chemistry
    Experience 16.1 Hydrocarbons
    Experience 16.2 Functional Groups
    Experience 16.3 Polymers Investigation 17: Nuclear Processes
    Experience 17.1 Radioactivity and Half-Life
    Experience 17.2 Fission and Fusion
    Experience 17.3 Nuclear Technologies

    Investigation 18: Green Chemistry
    Experience 18.1 Industrial Chemicals
    Experience 18.2 Principles of Green Chemistry
    Experience 18.3 Designing Sustainable Processes

     

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