Atoms and Molecules!

We have been learning about atoms, elements, and molecules, which involves many fun labs and activities, as well as fun assignments!  The latest assignment I gave the kids involves lots of choices.  I like choices myself, and with the Common Core and Essential Standards, students are supposed to be given more choices and responsibility for their own learning.  In this assignment, students were allowed to choose a song, rap, movie, skit, book, story, game, or worksheet that they would create.  They had to TEACH the following vocabulary:  elements, atoms, molecules, solid, liquid, gas (all three according to the movement of molecules), and matter.  Students could work together, but they had to produce their OWN individual work.  I originally gave them a day in class and a week at home (including a weekend, so movie-makers could collaborate at a house together to act and film), but I am majorly opposed (in fact, it makes me nauseous) to homework that is not necessary, so I ended up giving two days in class with a full week at home.  Here is some of the work in progress:

Some students made a board game...

And another made a game with cards.

Here is a story a student wrote...

and here is a Scientific War game another student created.

And just for something extra, we sang this song my awesome coworker shared with me.  The students get extra credit if their parents write a note saying they sang this song to them!  (The song is to the tune of "The Adams Family".  We sang this together.  They LOVED it!  Thanks, Jackie!)