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SoftSchools: Interactive Periodic Table
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Activity Description
In this activity, students use an interactive Periodic Table to explore periods and groups of elements.
This site has many resources. You can use it for many different classes. There are resources for math, science, social studies, English, and Spanish. There are many activities that students can access online, and use alone or in groups. You really need to "mine" this site to see all the useful activities.
They also have free printable worksheets, quizzes, games, and online practice on math, grammar, phonics, handwriting, , language arts, social studies, and geography for preschool to middle school.
Preparation
- Preview the Web site to be sure everything works on your school's computers.
- Decide how you would like to use the element table.
- Prepare questions, or have students prepare questions to be answered about the topic.
How-To
- Show and explain the periodic table and its element divisions.
- Select each element to show the specifics for each element.
- Let students navigate the periodic table to learn about elements and its divisions.
- Quiz the students in a computer lab.
Teacher Tips
- You can let students use computers individually, or you can project the site to the whole class.
- Some resources are online for students to access; others are printable resources for in class use.
Program Areas
- ABE: Adult Basic Education
- ASE: High School Diploma
Lesson Plan
Activity :
Pose the question: "Why is the Periodic Table organized the way it is?"
- Ask students to brainstorm what they know about the Periodic Table.
- Use a word cloud tool like WordClouds.com or the whiteboard to collect their ideas.
- Introduce the concepts of periods (rows) and groups (columns) and inform students that they’ll explore these concepts using an interactive website.
Teacher Says:
"Today, you’ll become chemists and explore the organization of the Periodic Table. You’ll use an interactive website to discover the patterns in periods and groups. This will help you understand why elements behave the way they do and how scientists use the table to predict properties."
Objectives:
- Understand the structure of the Periodic Table.
Explore characteristics of elements in the same period or group.
Use an online tool to investigate element information.
- Display the SoftSchools Periodic Table on the screen using a projector or smartboard.
- Review how the table is organized by periods (horizontal rows) and groups (vertical columns).
- Click on a few elements (e.g., Hydrogen, Oxygen, Sodium) to show how students can view atomic number, symbol, and other properties.
- Highlight patterns (e.g., noble gases are in the last group and are inert).
Distribute a Periodic Table Scavenger Hunt worksheet. Example tasks include:
- Find two elements from the same group and compare their properties.
- Locate an alkali metal, a transition metal, and a noble gas.
- Identify an element with 8 protons.
- Record the atomic number, mass, and a fun fact about 5 elements.
Students work in pairs or small groups using laptops, tablets, or desktop computers.
Exit Ticket:
Ask students to answer on an index card or in Google Forms:
- What is one new thing you learned about the Periodic Table?
- What do elements in the same group have in common?
Optional: Conduct a short online quiz using tools like Kahoot or Quizizz based on the scavenger hunt.
Extension/Homework (Optional):
- Students select a favorite element and create a Digital Trading Card or Element Profile using Canva or a printable worksheet.
- The card must include: element name, symbol, atomic number, group/period, uses, and a creative drawing or icon.
Tags
Creative Commons License
