Thursday, July 7, 2022

Alchemy

I'm currently watching Jamestown for fun, and I'm on the Alchemy episode right now (Season 2, Episode 5). It is fascinating... and reminded me that I had a student request a block on Alchemy next year. He specifically told me that he wants to know what all of the alchemy symbols are. This is actually a great idea for an 8th grade block because it combines History and Chemistry.

Alchemist Symbols poster
$5.00 digital download from Etsy


I am planning in the fall to allow my older students to have two blocks of the school year where they can do Projects of Personal Interest, ie. a main lesson block of their own design. My idea is to do this in October and in May. It will be very interesting to see what topics they choose.

This same child has also asked for a block on what he called "The Physics of Fire," which Waldorf already does as a 7th grade Science topic (and is actually considered to be a Chemistry topic). So I do have a book for that one!

Another student has asked me for a block on how fashion has changed over time. No problem. That will end up being a History block as well!


Why'd They Wear That? Fashion as the Mirror of History
by Sarah Albee

I already have the Fashion book which she can use as the central resource for her block, and I can easily teach Faraday's book about Fire, but I don't yet have a collection of Alchemy resources. So this post is a placeholder where I can go back and add things. Let me know if you have suggestions!


Alchemy Resources

Main Text

Alchemy article
The Washington Post - March 10, 1999

This article will work perfectly to serve as the foundation of our block, and it'll go very well after a Fire block aka


Michael Faraday's The Chemical History of a Candle:
With Guides to Lectures, Teaching Guides & Student Activities
by William S. Hammack

watch the five Faraday lectures at engineerguy.com
*** you can also download this entire book for free as a PDF ***


Additional Resources

the poster above

like Algebra, this word comes to us from Arabic
English term “alchemy”, from the Arabic word al-kīmiyā
etymonline.com

The Debt Science Owes to Alchemy article

Isaac Newton, World's Most Famous Alchemist article

"The Alchemist" poem, pp.108-109
The World of Christopher Robin: The Complete When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne

What Is Alchemy?
Periodic Table & Alchemy
interactive website
Royal Society of Chemistry


The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho

The Secret Magic of Alchemy | Ancient Mysteries (S3) | Full Episode | History


what else? I wonder if I can find some historical fiction about an alchemist


Bought it! I have many books by Karen Cushman and completely trust her judgment about what's appropriate in youth historical fiction. Her book is said to be for children 8 - 12 years. I also found several other alchemy books for a slightly older teen audience (adolescent fantasy, 14 - 18 years):


Note that I would never show Jamestown to a student, even the Alchemy episode, because it depicts the colonial punishments honestly and they are quite violent. If it weren't for the fact that I am using the computer to watch them and can pause, preview what's coming ahead, skip to a different part, and mute, I would be unable to watch this show. The Tudors was the same.


UPDATE: Here are all of my notes from teaching Alchemy as a Project of Personal Interest (October 2022).


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