Chemistry Sub Plans Using Crash Course Chemistry

Chemistry Sub Plans Using Crash Course Chemistry

High school chemistry sub plans can be difficult because chemistry lessons often depend on lab setup, safety procedures, demonstrations, or direct teacher explanation. A structured Crash Course Chemistry sequence can give teachers a safer option for days when students need meaningful work without running a lab.

Video-based sub plans work best when they are not just watch-and-fill worksheets. Students need a predictable routine: guided viewing, vocabulary, short explanations, and a clear accountability task. When those pieces are built into a larger curriculum map, a substitute can keep class moving without inventing chemistry instruction on the spot.

What Makes a Useful Chemistry Sub Plan?

  • Clear episode assignment and student task.
  • Vocabulary students can define in context.
  • Questions that require explanation, not just copying words from the screen.
  • Teacher answer keys so the substitute or returning teacher can check work quickly.
  • Flexible print or digital delivery for Google Classroom or paper packets.

Long-Term Substitute Planning

A full playlist sequence is especially useful for longer absences because it gives substitutes a map instead of a pile of unrelated assignments. The Chemistry curriculum structure uses Weeks 1-11 as regular four-episode weeks and Week 12 as a final synthesis and review week. That makes it easier for a sub, co-teacher, administrator, or homeschool parent to understand what students should do next.

Where Review Fits

Good sub plans should still build toward assessment. Weekly assessments can give students a routine checkpoint. Unit assessments help connect chemistry ideas across weeks. The final Week 12 review lesson uses games, discussion questions, model repair, and multiple-choice strategy so students are not only watching videos but preparing to explain chemistry relationships.

Helpful Next Steps

Video note: Crash Course videos are not included. These teacher-created resources are designed to support instruction with the publicly available Crash Course Chemistry videos. This product is not affiliated with or endorsed by Crash Course.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a substitute run every part of the curriculum?
A substitute can run the guided viewing, written review, and assessment routines. Labs and demonstrations should still follow local safety policies and teacher judgment.

Is this only for emergency absences?
No. It can also support maternity leave, medical leave, planned professional development days, credit recovery, or independent review.

Use the Complete 12-Week Crash Course Chemistry Course Map

The finished curriculum organizes all 46 Crash Course Chemistry episodes into 12 weeks and three units. Weeks 1–11 use four episode lessons plus one weekly assessment. Week 12 closes the course with Episode #45 Polymers, Episode #46 The Global Carbon Cycle, a synthesis/catch-up lesson, a final-review and application lesson, and the cumulative Final.

  • Unit 1: Episodes #1–16 — atomic structure, measurement, reactions, stoichiometry, solutions, and gases
  • Unit 2: Episodes #17–32 — thermochemistry, bonding, molecular structure, solutions, equilibrium, acids/bases, and kinetics
  • Unit 3: Episodes #33–46 — solids, electrochemistry, nuclear chemistry, organic chemistry, polymers, and carbon systems

Unit assessments are optional checkpoints. The required course sequence remains 60 instructional days, with the cumulative Final on Day 60.

Preview the complete 12-week pacing in the free Educator Planning Guide.

See the full Crash Course Chemistry curriculum.

Standards and AP Chemistry positioning

The episode Teacher Guides preserve NGSS physical-science/chemistry support and science-literacy connections tied to the actual student task. Those references should not be interpreted as a claim that a single video worksheet completes an entire NGSS performance expectation. The curriculum can also support AP Chemistry review where topics overlap, but an authorized AP course requires the current College Board framework and hands-on inquiry laboratory work.

Laboratory safety

For demonstrations or laboratory extensions, use current school procedures and a formal hazard/risk process such as the American Chemical Society RAMP framework: recognize hazards, assess risks, minimize risks, and prepare for emergencies.

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