Element Bingo 4/30/13

On Thursday, the kids have a Quiz on 45 elements on the Periodic Table and their symbols.  In preparation for the quiz, we have been playing Element Bingo.  I created custom chemistry Bingo cards.  Instead of having numbers on the cards, I randomly put element symbols.  During the game, I would call out an element name.  The kids would look up the symbol on their periodic tables, and then see if the symbol existed on their card.  If it was on their card, they put a bean on the symbol.  I think this quiz is challenging for kids that don't know English, and have not heard of the names of the English elements before.  Some of the names are similar in French, and hopefully that helps them.

I had planned to teach the elements by playing Bingo.  Turns out...I don't think a single kid had ever heard of Bingo.  I ended up teaching the kids how to play Bingo.  The first class, I tried to explain and demostrate a Bingo was five in either a row, column, or diagonally.  I realized that didn't sync in when they started calling, "BINGO!" when they found the first symbol on their cards.  Then, some of them called, "BINGO!" when they got the first five symbols on their board.  I had to teach them not to use the letters B-I-N-G-O at the top of the card, and I had to teach them to use the Free space in the middle.  One kid put the beans on the periodic table, and then said, "BINGO!" when there were five in a row on the periodic table.

By the end of class, I think everyone got the hang of it.  For prizes, I gave away pieces of gum.  At the end of class, the students would ask me to call more elements.  One class, in desperation, everyone called Bingo at the end of class, in hopes that I would check their card and give them gum. 

Believe it or not...there were NOT beans all over the room at the end of the day!