D871: Secondary Chemistry Curriculum

Secondary Chemistry Curriculum is built directly around the Chemistry Praxis exam — the content synthesis a chemistry teacher-candidate needs to both know the subject deeply and teach it effectively.

What D871 covers

The course synthesizes the core content of the Secondary Chemistry Program, preparing candidates to apply education theory and teaching approaches to the chemistry content areas. It aligns with the areas covered by the Chemistry Praxis exam, ensuring candidates demonstrate both a deep understanding of the subject matter and the ability to effectively deliver content in a secondary classroom setting.

Topics include atomic structure, chemical bonding, energy relationships, chemical reactions, solutions, and the role of science and engineering in society.

The D871 performance assessment

Expect a performance assessment requiring you to synthesize chemistry content knowledge with a secondary teaching approach for a given topic (e.g., bonding or chemical reactions), likely Praxis-content-aligned.

Key topics in D871

• Atomic structure and chemical bonding
• Energy relationships and chemical reactions
• Solutions chemistry
• Praxis-aligned content review

Writing tips for D871

Follow the task instructions and rubric line by line

WGU performance assessments for D871 are graded against a fixed rubric — every rubric line has to be visibly addressed, usually with a labeled heading that mirrors the rubric language. Skipping a rubric point because it seems minor is the single most common reason a competent submission comes back "Not Yet Competent" for revision.

Ground every claim in a specific secondary grade level and science content

Secondary Science Education courses like D871 typically ask you to apply content knowledge and pedagogy to a specific grade level and science topic rather than write about teaching in the abstract. Evaluators are checking whether your reasoning fits that concrete classroom situation — vague, generic statements about "good science teaching" usually lose rubric points for lacking that specificity.

Because WGU is self-paced, don't let "no deadline pressure" become no submission

There's no weekly due date forcing progress, which means procrastination costs more at WGU than at a traditional term-based school — a stalled task can quietly eat weeks of a term. Treat your own target date for each D871 assessment as a real deadline.

Why students seek help with D871

Candidates sometimes write a purely content-focused chemistry review without the pedagogical translation into a secondary classroom the course specifically requires — a strong response addresses both the chemistry content AND how to teach it, not chemistry content alone.

How GradeEssays helps with D871

Share your topic and rubric, and your writer will build a response that genuinely bridges chemistry content mastery with secondary-classroom teaching approach, not content review alone.

Prerequisites and program context

D871 has no prerequisites. Part of WGU's undergraduate Science Education (Secondary) teacher-licensure curriculum.

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