Elements, Atoms, and Reactions! Oh My!
Finally we are studying chemistry for homeschool science! This year is going to be really fun! We will study the elements, learn about subatomic particles, read biographies of famous chemists, and the best part -- make lots of messy experiments! Besides all that, we'll record our learning in a lapbook or two. And we're sure to throw in some notebooking as well. So here are the free online goodies I found to supplement our Noeo Science curriculum.
By the way, Noeo offers three levels of chemistry based on your child's reading level (or age). I love Noeo because it's a living books based curriculum that incorporates experiments into the reading. But Noeo doesn't plan a lapbook for you, so I did it myself.
photo credit
Atoms and Smaller
Printables and Activities
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Sizing Things Down Printable Cards
- This learning activity was designed for museum use. This game includes a set of full color printable cards showing various things in the universe from planets to sub-atomic particles. The idea of the game is to order your cards from small to large. We really enjoyed playing this game! And we also used the cards to play WAR -- first with largest thing winning, and later with the smallest thing winning. After you play the game, put the card into a pocket for your lapbook. Or attach selected ones onto an accordion book showing the progression from large to small.
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Nano for Students Printable Materials
- "Big Things from a Tiny World" is a 12 page booklet from the National Nanotechnology Initiative. It's full color with an attractive continuum of objects from visible to sub-atomic.
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The Atoms Family
- A paper cutting activity with a chart of size comparisons from a child's hand to an atom.
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Atomic Structure Graphic Organizer
- Scroll all the way to the very bottom of the page for a link to this cluster map graphic organizer with these terms -- mass number, proton, neutron, electron, atomic number, atomic mass. Use it as a general vocabulary page or for filling in details about a particular element.
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Atoms Notebooking Pages
- This is a set of three notebooking pages I made for my daughter. There are both labeled and unlabeled diagrams of an atom.
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Properties of Atoms and Molecules Notebooking Page
- Made by my blogging friend Maria!
Atoms and Nanoparticles
What Are Atoms? (Rookie Read-About Science)
Amazon Price: $4.95 (as of 11/11/2009) 
What's Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew?
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 11/11/2009)
The Scientific Method & Science Experiment Printables
lab report printables
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Free Scientific Method Lapbook Templates and Notebooking Pages
- Jessica, at A Path With Promise blog, is a very generous mom! She offers these well crafted printables for free. Not only are they great for studying the scientific method itself, but these templates can be used to record the steps you work through for any experiment.
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Science Experiment Simple Fold Minibook
- A freebie from Homeschool Share with a color illustration.
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Notebooking Pages Free Science Experiment Notebooking Pages
- These are beautiful! And there are twelve options to choose from!
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Our Los Banos Science Printables
- A two page science experiment printable -- very attractive.
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We are Scientists Minibook
- This is a really cute single fold minibook with primary handwriting lines. It has headings for the stages in the scientific method and room to write. For an intermediate level version click here. For a middle school one page version, click here.
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Science Experiment Notebook
- These pages are a Notebooking Nook freebie, hosted at Mediafire.
A Necessity for Studying Chemistry
Decide what kind of Periodic Table of the Elements chart you are going to use. Will you use a one sheet chart, a poster, make your own? Bake cupcakes? Or even make a hands-on display of the elements. And by all means, don't miss this fun elements song!
Free Charts -- PeriodicTable of Elements
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Periodic Table from Dayah
- A full color chart.
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Elements in Pictures
- This is a more whimsical way to learn the elements. Each element is represented by a picture!
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PDF Posters
- Among the many math and science freebies here is a periodic table of the elements.
Periodic Table Placemat
Periodic Table of Elements Placemat by M. Ruskin
Amazon Price: $2.95 (as of 11/11/2009)
Periodic Table Magnet Set
Magnets - Periodic Table
Amazon Price: $11.95 (as of 11/11/2009)
We put the alphabet on the refrigerator for our toddlers, why not the elements for our children?
A Blank Chart to Fill In
I purchased a PDF file of a blank periodic table chart from Etsy. We filled it in as part of our study, and now it hangs above the world map for reference.
For a one page, much smaller, but free version, visit this PDF blank printable periodic table.
Elements Lapbook
To see more pics, visit <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmiehomeschoolmom/sets/72157621974732457/">this Flickr set</a>.
The Elements
The Mystery of the Periodic Table
The Mystery of the Periodic Table (Living History Library)
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 11/11/2009)
Used Price: $7.86
If you think history or chemistry are boring, this book will change your mind. It goes through the history of the study of the elements all the way from ancient civilizations to the formation of the modern periodic table. It's fascinating and brings so many chemistry concepts into clear focus as you learn alongside the scientists through the years.
Read my entire review at The Curriculum Choice.
Study questions for each chapter of this book can be found at Love2Learn.
Free Printables all about the Elements
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Free Periodic Table Lapbook
- A great freebie with many printables for a lapbook about the elements.
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Ellen J. McHenry's Basement
- Printable games about the periodic table of the elements as well as about atoms and molecules.
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Periodic Table Scavenger Hunt
- Become familiar with the periodic table by scouring it for the answers to these questions such as, "name some elements named after people," and "how many elements have a symbol of just one letter?"
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5 Orange Potatoes
- Introduction activities plus some elements riddles (in DOC format).
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Periodic Table Minibook Templates
- More freebies from Maria.
The Periodic Table: Elements with Style!
Basher Science: Periodic Table
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 11/11/2009)
Used Price: $4.83
In this book, each element gets a two page spread. One side is an imaginative illustration of the element, personified in a comic book style character. The other side gives facts but not dry, boring facts. The information is written in the first person as if the element were talking to us.
Smelting Metals and a Biblical Connection
When we were reading about early alchemists working with metals, which are the earliest discovered elements, I remembered some Bible verses that also describe the smelting process.
If you'd like to include this aspect in your chemistry study, here are the verses we used. There are some great spiritual applications to be made.
1 Peter 1:6-7
Zechariah 13:9
Psalms 66:8-12
Isaiah 48:10-11
States of Matter Printables
Although these are full page documents, you can adapt them into minibooks by cutting out the images and pasting them into a blank minibook.
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Gasses, Liquids, and Solids
- Label the diagrams.
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Changing State
- Fill in the temperatures at which liquid changes state.
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Melting Points
- This is a chart of the melting points of various elements. Answer the questions based on what you see in the chart.
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Samutsari's Free Printables
- Look for the free notebooking pages on Gas Laws, Gases, Liquids, Solids,
States of Matter, and Physical and Chemical Properties. In fact, there are quite a few chemistry related printables on this page. See what you can find.
Chemistry Coloring Pages
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Chemistry Lab Coloring Page
- This is a very detailed page with a male adult scientist and three children assistants working in a laboratory.
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Edupics Laboratory Assistant
- A male scientist holding a test tube.
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Edupics Researcher
- A female researcher looking through a microscope.
Chemists and Scientists
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Marie Curie Notebooking Pages
- Here is a set of notebooking pages with several options. (I made these; they are pictured above.)
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Interviews with Chemists
- PDF files of interviews with chemists in various fields.
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Humphrey Davy Notebooking Page and Cursive Copywork
- I made these pages when we read The Mystery of the Periodic Table and studied Davy, the British chemist. Besides a basic notebooking page, there are two versions of copywork pages, both with a quote by Davy about language (not chemistry!).
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Robert Boyle Notebooking Pages
- A set of three pages.
Chemistry Experiments and Activities
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American Chemical Society's Student Activity Pages
- Lots of fun ideas, clearly explained in attractive PDF files.
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Properties of Matter Experiment
- Three test tubes and household ingredients turn into a great hands on learning experience.
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Layered Liquids Experiment
- This experiment examines the miscibility and density of several liquids.
More Chemistry Books
Need something NOW?
CurrClick offers immediate downloads of ebooks -- unit studies, lapbooks, and experiment ideas.
Or there's always Amazon!
Fizz, Bubble & Flash!: Element Explorations & Atom Adventures for Hands-On Science Fun! (Williamson Kids Can! Series)
Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 11/11/2009)
Janice VanCleave's Chemistry for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments that Really Work
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 11/11/2009)
Chemistry (DK Eyewitness Books)
Amazon Price: $10.87 (as of 11/11/2009)
The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry (Cartoon Guide To...)
Amazon Price: $12.23 (as of 11/11/2009)
The Wonder Book of Chemistry (Yesterday's Classics)
This book is in the public domain and can be read online or downloaded in several formats at Internet Archive.
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 11/11/2009)
Interactive Chemistry Games, Activities, & Videos
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Flash Version of Periodic Table
- Click around on this interactive Periodic Table and learn about the elements.
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Jefferson Labs Games and Puzzles
- Look for the list of Element Games.
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Sheppard Software's Element Games
- If you don't already know about Sheppard Games, you're in for a real treat! Free, quality online games that really teach!
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Newton's Apple : Chemistry and Food
- This site offers nice videos from public television, created especially for explaining scientific concepts to children. There are also teacher notes and activity ideas.
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Molecularium
- This site is wonderful!! Learn about how to construct molecules by adding atoms together. Also see a great visual demonstration of the molecular changes to solids, liquids, and gases. This is a very well done site and very worth a few minutes of online play.
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eChalk: periodic table tetris game
- Guide falling elements into their correct place on the periodic table.
More Chemistry Goodies
free printables
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Reactions and Polymers Worksheet
- This freebie is from Home Training Tools.
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Crystals Coloring Page
- Color the picture that doesn't have crystals. At the bottom there is room for comparing salt and sugar crystals.
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Houghton Mifflin Science: Graphic Organizers
- These graphic organizers are for Houghton Mifflin's grades 1-6 textbooks. The topics are clearly labeled. Look for the term "matter" in grades 5 & 6 for some nice printables, all in PDF format.
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Chemstry Try It for Brownies (Girl Scouts)
- This free printable holds several minibook templates covering acids, bases, polymers, density, carbon dioxide, and more.
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Chemistry Unit Study at Homeschool Share
- This unit study also includes free printable templates for a minibooks and notebokoing pages.
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Chemistry Notebooking at Homeschool Helper Online
- Scroll down to the section titled Chemistry Notebooking for the following free pages:
Atoms
Chemical Reaction
Elements
pH Scale
States of Matter
Guestbook
Your comments and suggestions are welcome. (Relevant HTML is accepted.)
LearningIsFun wrote...
Hi Jimmie thanks for this there's a lot here we can use. William and Catherine (my two homeschooled children) got really inspired by the Periodic Table: Elements with Style book you've featured and there's a lot here we can build on.
Posted November 10, 2009
JoyfulPamela wrote...
Thanks Jimmie! We are doing a chemistry unit as part of our studies next year. It will be nice to have some new, fun resources to study with. The "Fizz, Bubble, Flash" is what we used a few years ago, and it's our favorite!
Posted July 21, 2009
Barbara wrote
Lovely ideas! Thank you so much for sharing
Posted July 18, 2009
ElizabethJeanAllen wrote...
As a scienc teacher (chemisty, physics, and physical science), I see the need for lenses like this. We use chemistry everyday. Sometimes I have a hard time convincing my students of that.
Great lens!
Lizzy
Posted June 15, 2009
groovyoldlady wrote...
I <3 chemistry; One of my favorite holidays is Mole day!
Posted April 07, 2009
by Jimmie
Hello! I am a homeschooling, stay at home mom who loves to teach and learn. I enjoy cooking from scratch, blogging, photography, and traveling, but I...
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