NGSS Periodic Table of Elements Game with Slide Randomizer MS-PS1-1

HOW TO PLAY

This is a game where I have all students stand up at first (so they know I'm requiring them all to think), and to sit down they must raise their hand and (after I call on them) correctly identify the element symbol. When everyone is sitting the game is over.

DETAILS

This can last 5 minutes to 20 or 30 depending on the rules you make up. For example, I make a rule that says when no standing student knows the answer, then I will take answers from the sitting students. If correct, they can call on one of their friends (now a frenemy!) to stand back up. This gets very exciting! This game works much better if you have a remote to progress through the slides. I love to circulate the crowd and work the room. I really play up the game and the kids love it!

DIFFERENTIATION

In the beginning, I start with only the first 20 elements (or less for my learners that need much more scaffolding), then gradually build them up to the 40 I have chosen. You may change the elements however you wish... font, background color, how many, etc. Just delete the slides you don't want, or add more if you wish. This is a versatile game that I play early on in the year that really gives them a great foundation for the rest of our chemistry unit.

WHY MINE IS BETTER

The big difference between mine and others you may find is that with the click of a button all the slides can be randomized! So many times We will go through all 20 or 40 and I still have students standing. So I "exit" the slideshow, hit the Macro button, hit F5 to run the slideshow again, and away we go! Every time we play the game it's different and simulates a quiz environment well.

JUST IN CASE

I have included the following directions in the "notes" section of the PowerPoint, but they are also below.

"First, enable Macro Content. There should be an unavoidable warning when you open this file that it contains macros. Enable them. Click on the “View” tab at the top. Click on “Macros” (last button on the right). Click the “Run” button to randomize the slides."