Periodic Table Activities

Many students may view the periodic table as boring and illogical, and they will often feel that learning about it is a waste of time. Periodic table activities can engage students in learning and enable them to connect chemistry to their own lives.

Life Sized Periodic Table

This is a great enrichment activity for more advanced students to do while other students are reviewing material. Give students index cards of several different colors, as well as writing implements and a large piece of tagboard. Have students use these materials to create their own periodic table, complete with element symbols and atomic numbers. (Encourage them to glue or tape the notecards to the tagboard at the top so that the cards can be flipped over to reveal the backs.) Then let them research several elements and add additional details that they find to the backs of the appropriate cards.

Sorting "Elements"

Give out bags of small, varied objects of different shapes, colors, and sizes, such as seashells, beads, or rocks. Have groups of students organize the shells so that similar objects are near each other, but make sure that they are organized according to several different variables. Have students present their reasoning to the class. This activity is the perfect preparation for introducing the periodic table, and answering the ubiquitous question of "Who cares?" Students will see that the scientists created this table in order to organize the elements in a logical fashion.

Who Am I?

Have students make lists of "Who Am I?" statements about elements in the periodic table. For example, one statement might be "I am the noble gas that has the lowest atomic number. Who am I?" (Answer: helium) Students may create the these statements in pairs or small groups. They then take turns coming up to the front of the class and presenting a statement for the class to guess. The student who guesses correctly comes up to the front of the class to make the next statement.