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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Periodic table database

These lessons are designed to help students use their computer skills to create their own database using teacher directions, and they also learn how to read the periodic table and understand what it means.

A lesson plan for grade 8 Computer/Technology Skills, Information Skills, and Science

By Florence B. Winslow

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Related pages

  • Discovering elements online: Students will work independently and in small groups to research assigned elements on the internet with sites given in advance. They will then contribute to a class database with their individual information. The database will then be made available for students to again work independently and in pairs to answer questions created from a class discussion to discover relationships about the elements.
  • What element would you be?: In this lesson plan, students write a one-page story relating their personalities to elements from the periodic table.
  • The human atom: Students will act out the role of atoms by dressing up as the atoms of designated elements. They will wear costumes with balloons representing valence electrons. The “atoms” will gain or lose valence electrons in order to achieve chemical stability. The students must then identify the charges of the ions formed.

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Learning outcomes

  • To help students learn how to create a database.
  • To help students understand appropriate database terminology.
  • To give students an opportunity to practice creating filters and sorting records.
  • To help students learn how to read and use the periodic table in their chemistry lessons.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

120 minutes

Materials/resources

Technology resources

  • computer
  • printer

Pre-activities

  1. Review the database terms listed on the handout sheet from the Department of Public Instruction website (Computer Skills Curriculum Glossary).
  2. Students should have access to a periodic table and they should be taught what the numbers and letters on the table mean and what they stand for.
  3. Distribute the worksheets.
  4. Students should read all of the teacher directions and ask for clarification if needed.
  5. Point out the number of fields and records that students should have when they type this database.
  6. Explain the logic of sorting in ascending versus descending order or why students might need to filter.

Activities

  1. Students should open their database program.
  2. Students should follow the directions on the teacher’s instruction sheet to type in database field names and information.
  3. Students should use their periodic table to type in answers to the field information.
  4. Students should print a copy of the database so that it all fits on one printed page. They should check for spelling and number errors.
  5. Students should then use the file they have created to sort and filter to find answers to questions about the periodic table.

Assessment

  1. Move around the room observing the procedures used and the written answers given. Provide assistance as needed.
  2. Use attached answer sheets to grade student work.

Comments

Students were having a hard time in chemistry learning how to use the periodic table and apply information from it to other classroom activities. This lesson has helped students to transfer that knowledge more easily.

North Carolina curriculum alignment

Computer Technology Skills (2005)

Grade 8

  • Goal 1: The learner will understand important issues of a technology-based society and will exhibit ethical behavior in the use of computer and other technologies.
    • Objective 1.07: Use knowledge of database terms/concepts, functions, and operations to explain strategies used to organize, analyze, and report information in content area assignments. Strand - Database
  • Goal 3: Select and use a variety of technology tools to collect, analyze, and present information. Strand - Societal/Ethical Issues
    • Objective 3.01: Select and use a variety of technology tools to collect, analyze, and present information. Strand - Societal/Ethical Issues
    • Objective 3.02: Select and use appropriate database features and functions to collect and organize information to solve problem in content areas and explain strategies used. Strand - Database
    • Objective 3.03: Modify/create and use databases to analyze, interpret, and evaluate data and report findings. Strand - Database

Science (2005)

Grade 8

  • Goal 4: The learner will conduct investigations and utilize technology and information systems to build an understanding of chemistry.
    • Objective 4.03: Explain how the periodic table is a model for:
      • Classifying elements.
      • Identifying the properties of elements.

  • North Carolina Essential Standards

    • Information and Technology Skills (2010)

      • Grade 8

        • 8.TT.1 Use technology and other resources for assigned tasks. 8.TT.1.1 Use appropriate technology tools and other resources to access information (search engines, electronic databases, digital magazine articles). 8.TT.1.2 Use appropriate technology tools and...

      • Science (2010)

        • 8.P.1 Understand the properties of matter and changes that occur when matter interacts in an open and closed container. 8.P.1.1 Classify matter as elements, compounds, or mixtures based on how the atoms are packed together in arrangements. 8.P.1.2 Explain...