Order Now
We Recommend Our Molecular Literacy Packet
Lessons learned from 30 years of teaching chemistry:
- Learning chemistry is extraordinarily similar to learning how to read.
- There are two key components of success when it comes to learning chemistry – Molecular Fluency and Molecular Literacy.
Molecular Fluency can be thought of as learning the letters of the alphabet. Scientists use the symbols for elements to eventually write formulas.
Molecular Literacy is the ability to connect two or more symbols of elements to create a molecular formula. This can be thought of as putting letters together to spell a word.
Files 1 & 2 Establish Molecular Fluency:
- File 1: The Case of the Deadly Dials introduces the symbols of elements and establishes an understanding of the patterns found on the Periodic Table of Elements.
- File 2: The Case of the Missing (Atomic) Model creates an understanding of the numerical information found associated with the symbols of elements on The Periodic Table.
- Atomic Bingo and the related Activity Packet allow for practice and assessment of a student’s level of Molecular Fluency.
Files 3 & 4 Establish Molecular Literacy:
- File 3: The Case of the Pillaging Pirates demonstrates how a metal and nonmetal can combine to form an ionic compound.
- File 4: The Case of the Vanishing Van Gogh shows how more sophisticated elements and molecules can combine to form an ionic compound.
- The card game, Ionic Ooze, and related Activity Packet allow for the practice and assessment of a student’s level of Molecular Literacy.
Sample lesson plans: Beginner (Grades 3-5) and Intermediate (Grades 6+) are available.
