Advertize an Element

• For this activity, a large part of a wall is required to fit the finished periodic table created by the students. Give each student a blank standard sheet and ask them to create a full page advertisement announcing the fantastic properties of an element. Each student is given a different element from the periodic table, and has to research what it is used for. Apart from the name and symbol, the finished advertisement should contain the atomic number, atomic mass and a picture that symbolizes the use, or property of the element. Students also can add a made up sales slogan. When the project is finished, the advertisement cum fact sheets can be hung on the wall in the right order and the class not only has a continuous reminder of the order and properties of each element, but also a colorful classroom decoration.
  
  

Bonding Game

• This game needs some preparation beforehand. Take some string and add a cardboard pendant for each member of the class; alternatively, use blank name badges. Choose two different colors for the cardboard or badges. Note a different element from the periodic table on each of the pendants or badges, together with the oxidation figure. On the day of the lesson, each student receives one necklace or badge and has to find a classmate with whom he can build a compound while considering that a plus can only pair up with a minus. When suitable partners have found each other, the students note their own and their partner's element and add the compound they build together. In some circumstances, the students even might be able to define the properties of the new compound. The partners then can either break up to find a new compound partner, or you can start a chemistry lesson about the periodic table and the compounds created during the game.
  
  

Memory Game

• This game will help students to remember the elements on the periodic table and the symbols that represent them. Prepare a set of blank flashcards by writing the full name of the elements on one card each. On another set, write the corresponding symbol. Hand the cards to your class. If you have a large group of students, divide the class into teams and prepare additional sets of cards. The students place the cards face down on the table. The first student turns around two cards to see if they make up a pair of an element name and its appropriate symbol. If the cards match, the student can take them. If they don't match, the student has to return the cards face down to the exact spot on the table where he took them from. The game is played until all cards have been matched. While playing, the students will not only learn to memorize the correct position of individual cards, but also the names of the elements and their matching symbols.
  
  

"The Elements" Song

• To give the students a break from reviewing the periodic table, devote one or two lessons to teach them Tom Lehrer's song "The Elements," which gives a list of the names found on the periodic table. To begin with, teach the students the original version from 1960, but increase the difficulty level somewhat by charging the students to find the elements that have been discovered since. By 2011, 16 further elements have been discovered and added to the periodic table. Try tricking the students by asking them to add the new elements in the correct order into the song lyrics before singing an updated version. Lehrer ordered the elements to fit the meter of the lyrics and the melody rather than following a scientific method; to solve the assignment, students need to apply musical skills.