Chemistry for Elementary Students

In this activity, students learning about atoms, molecules, and chemical bonding in a hands-on lesson. This lesson introduces and explores the properties that characterize molecules and bu... See More

In this activity, students learning about atoms, molecules, and chemical bonding in a hands-on lesson. This lesson introduces and explores the properties that characterize molecules and build on the students' prior knowledge of atoms. The activity builds on the SMATHematics Project and explores bonding rules, bonding diagrams, and vocabulary. An example of the student activity sheet is included with the article. While this article is written for 5th grade students, it could be adapted for middle school classrooms.

Learning Bonding?

Students in an upper elementary classroom learn the basic structure of atoms, including the form and behavior of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Students engage in role playing to demonst... See More

Students in an upper elementary classroom learn the basic structure of atoms, including the form and behavior of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Students engage in role playing to demonstrate bonding. They then learned some of the rules of bonding. The models were constructed using only bonding between 4 elements and students were provided with the number of bonds they needed to become stable. With this information they began to create simple molecules. While the activity seems interesting, it is this writer believes that this activity would be better used in the middle school level as recommended by the NGSS.