Great Lesson 1 : The Atom [Post 8]

A lovely follow up for the first great lesson is to look at atoms, molecules and the periodic table. 

Atom 3-part Cards

To start off with, the children are reminded of the elements mentioned in the great lesson.  They are then introduced to the parts of the atom using these three part cards. These cards can be purchased from my Montessori Material Store here alongside some using worksheets.

Next, I encourage the children to make their own model of an atom based on what they have understood. This allows them to demonstrate their knowledge and get creative. Here are two models Noah made back in 2014.

Next, we begin constructing atoms and comparing them. To do this, the children need to be introduced to the periodic table and atomic number. I will post about the periodic table lessons separately. 

Atom Board

A lovely material for construction of atoms is the Bohr Board. I didn't want to spend $120 so I decided to make my own. It was so easy and the children loved it. 

I started off with a square piece of plywood 50cm x 50cm. I marked on the shells using a pen and compass. The holes for the electrons were made using a Stanley knife. It's important to make the exact number of holes in each shell. 

This photo shows a better view of one I made on the bottom shelf. This one has a lovely wooden grain which added to the beauty of this material.

We used the beads from the small square peg board as protons, neutrons and electrons. The protons and neutrons were placed in a cup at the centre of the atom. The cup isn't showing in this photo as Noah is filling it up. The electrons sit in the little holes.

I printed out this period table and cut it into individual cards. The children use these as a guide for placing the electrons when constructing atoms on the Bohr board. 

I found some lovely examples of Bohr Boards on these blogs:

• Eclectic Living
• Somewhat in the Air

Next, I encourage the children to select their favourite elements and make charts or diagrams like this lovely one. The flags are labelling the parts.

Some children decide to make a booklet of the first 20 elements or so using the worksheet included in my set above.