My students need to see an atom and its structure with the Atom Kit and Periodic Table Game to understand that atoms are composed of particles, have mass and their structure gives them their chemical properties.
Do you remember trying to understand something you couldn't see, hear, feel, smell or taste? Atomic structure is a very abstract, difficult concept requiring multiple different visual aids. Building an atom will help students on a concrete level develop an understanding of atomic structure.
My students are high school freshman in a competitive academic school.
Our school is relatively small and located in a historic seaport in South Carolina. We are classified as high poverty, but you would never know walking among the students. They have a drive that is matched only by the teachers at this incredible school! As an educator, I must do as much as possible to provide them with resources and an education to prepare them for higher education.
My Project
The Bohr model kits will enable students to build all of the elements in the periodic table. They will actually be able to "see" electrons, protons and neutrons. While building the atoms, they will understand that each element is different and it is in this structure that an atom obtains its chemical properties. The abstract suddenly becomes concrete! Their hard work will be rewarded when they get to play the element card game, because learning needs to be fun too!
Without these model kits, an atom and their structure is an abstract concept that no child will be able to visualize and understand.
Looking at pictures provides a two dimensional version of a three dimensional object that is in constant motion. An atom and its structure is the foundation of chemistry; without a strong foundation, no child will succeed.
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