One of my students absolute favorite lessons (and mine) each year is my lesson on electron configuration!
We begin by doing a “5 card draw” where the students draw five cards from my periodic table card deck, and then have to draw the electron configuration on laminated cards.
After they’ve gotten the hang of drawing electron configuration we talk about how to “read” the periodic table and how to predict electron configuration by just looking at the periodic table. I use puzzle pieces that I’ve cut out and colored to teach this part so the students can visualize how the periodic table should be read.
I tell my students to draw their ships and explain how to play. They have to guess using the noble gas configuration and then record it in their lab notebook. They can track hits and misses using an overhead marker that can be wiped clean after the game.
I post the directions on the board and walk around helping students that are struggling with the process. By the end of class my students are comfortable with electron configuration!
