Guinea Pigs

Sometimes my girls get stuck doing extra school work just so I can try out something new.  The other day it was a periodic table game.  I figure it's not going to hurt anybody to get a little further along in the science world.  For years I have been playing a periodic table game with my students.  They enjoy it so I thought it would be a good addition to my TeacherspayTeachers store.  Funny how taking a classroom idea and making it ready to sell is not the easy, quick process I originally thought it was.

First off, I had always used a periodic table I had downloaded from the Internet.  That made my first order of business making my own periodic table.  It was fairly simple, but very time consuming.  I then made a color-coded copy as well as a black and white copy.  I like to have my students color-code their own in class.  We color the metals green as we talk about the properties of metals.  We put red dots on each element that is solid.  We label the periods and groups and talk about the difference between atomic numbers and atomic masses.  It's fascinating stuff, just ask the kids.

So the girls completed a color-coded periodic table following the directions.  This helps to make sure my directions are complete and I haven't mixed up any of the information.  Next we printed out the cards and the girls played the game.  They had to work their way through all the questions (another way to check my accuracy).  They were really good about finding mistakes and typos.  I was able to fix them and finish up the file.  Just another day in the life of being a teacher's kid.

The game can be played with 2-4 students per group.  A card is drawn and the question is read.  The student then gets 30 seconds to find the answer on the periodic table.  The questions ask about element symbols, atomic numbers, periods, states of matter of elements, and more.  The game could also be played pitting one student against another as they race to find the answer first.  The game is available here at my TpT store.

As the girls get older they end up with lots of odd teacher jobs.  They are good sports about it.  Whether they are stapling folders, grading papers or cutting out question cards, they work with a smile.  I'm so thankful.  I'm not saying they do it strictly for the Sonic milkshakes, but they do help!