Videos can provide students with an excellent introduction to the periodic table. The videos an educator selects should use rich media to demonstrate the organization of the table. Students will not usually retain much information about the periodic table from videos, so educators should only use audio-visual media as a foundation for other activities in the classroom.
Classroom instructors can use props to demonstrate the characteristics of groups on the periodic table. For example, they can show their students halogen lights and explain how they work to teach them about the halogen group of elements. They can show relationships between elements on the period table by combining two elements together to create an effect. For example, educators can mix an alkali earth metal and water together to create a small explosion in the classroom.
Teachers can have students choose an element on the period table and then have them construct a model of their chosen elements using colored Styrofoam balls and toothpicks. Models should consist of valence electrons, a nucleus and protons. The teacher can compare students' models in class to show how the structure of elements gives them different properties. For an additional project, a teacher can have them write a page on the properties of their chosen element that they must share with the class.
Educators can give their students a list of elements and then have them form words using the abbreviations for these elements. Alternatively, they can write a word on the chalkboard and then have students write down the elements that form the word. This process will familiarize students with the positions of elements on the periodic table as they search the table for the appropriate elements.
Educators can create a crossword puzzle worksheet and hand it out to students. Each line on the crossword requires students to write down the full name of the element. A legend will contain clues that help them determine the name of the element, such as the number of electrons or protons an element contains, common uses of the element or the element’s abbreviation.