To offer an alternative to the survey and foundation frameworks, the authors designed The Language of Chemistry course to use only three to four case studies over the entire semester. In direct contrast to both the traditional concept exposition of foundation courses and the fleeting, often superficial, treatment of survey courses, these case studies introduced the concepts of chemistry on a “need-to-know” basis. That is, each case is structured to lead the student to recognize when to introduce a new concept or technique in order to progress. Most students quickly recognized this approach as different from the more common encyclopedic approach of first-year courses and found them to be an enjoyable alternative because they (1) highlight how science is done, (2) how scientists talk about their work, and (3) what causes them to be curious.