As I was contemplating a topic to research, I thought to myself, “What topic do most students have a hard time connecting to?” The first thing that popped into my mind was the periodic table. Students often have difficulty relating to the information on the periodic table to everyday life, and therefore becoming easily bored and disinterested with the topic. The websites listed below struck me as very interactive and informative. If students are engaged through these tools, it makes it easier for them to connect to the content. Each site provides examples and background information that can be used to research and present. Students can become more scientifically literate if they understand how these elements are connected to their daily lives, and therefore can make a personal connection to the periodic table. They will also become more aware of the chemicals that make up their world and have the opportunity to teach their peers about the elements and their individual properties.
http://www.webelements.com/
This website includes an interactive periodic table that provides information about each element. It gives a description of the atomic structure along with how this element is found in nature, if it actually is found in nature. The more common elements have pictures that represent how the particular atom is used in everyday life. This would a be a great introduction website for the students to explore and even become an expert at a particular element. You may even have them share a brief description of their element in front of the class.
http://www.ptable.com/
This website named “The Dynamic Periodic Table” provides a more in depth look at the periodic table. One of the most interesting features of this website is the thermometer located in the upper right of the webpage. Here, you can scroll along the thermostat scale, starting at 0 Kelvin and ending at 6000K, and the individual elements change color as they move from one state of matter to another. This could be another exploration tool for the students to become more familiar with the periodic table. This site also includes different boxes and tabs that you can check to modify the periodic table. It includes tabs such as electrons, properties (physical and chemical), orbitals, and isotopes.
http://www.chemicool.com/
This website is similar to the ones above although it includes information about the history of the periodic table including how it originated by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869. Although not as informative as the one mentioned above, this site provides a general introduction to the periodic table and would be a great tool to utilize at the beginning of the unit. I would not recommend having students check this out as a class at the computer lab because it is not as interactive as the others, perhaps its use could be as a lecture piece during a teacher led presentation.
The challenge, as it is with all content areas, is to keep the students engaged. I can foresee issues involving students becoming disinterested in the periodic table and “wandering off” mentally or even technologically during the activities. I hope that these tools prevent the mental wandering and keep the students on task as they learn more about the periodic table, and ultimately about the world around them.
