Have your students write some "science fiction".
Each student chooses a compound (see below for some ideas) about which to write a story. While not a report, the story should include scientific information about the compound and include the compound's empirical and structural formulas.
Encourage your students to be creative in their writing and get into character - they could tell the story from the compound's point of view. They could "be" one of the elements within the compound. They could be reporting on a big news story involving the compound.
If students are having a hard time getting started, they may want to look up their compound to find out what it's used for and where it's found - what they learn may be the start of a story.
To make sure students don't get too carried away with the fiction aspect and forget the science part, you might wish to require them to use 12 (or whatever number you deem suitable) science terms. Some possibilities:
- metal
- nonmetal
- solid
- liquid
- gas
- chemical change
- physical change
- compound
- mixture
- periodic table
- family(ies)
- atomic number
- atomic mass
- stable
- unstable
- positive
- negative
- neutral
- valence electrons
- valence number
- empirical formula
- structural formula
- subscripts
- octet rule
- arms
- giver
- taker
- bonds
- share
- scientific name
- react
- reaction
- atom
- molecule
A list of compounds, to get you started:
- methane
- ethane
- propane
- butane
- octane
- acetylene
- benzene
- toluene
- carbon tetrachloride
- methanol
- ethanol
- propanol
- butanol
- carbon monoxide
- carbon dioxide
- calcium bicarbonate
- calcium oxide
- hydrochloric acid
- carbonic acid
- nitric acid
- water
- hydrogen peroxide
- hydrogen sulfide
- sulfuric acid
- ammonia
- nitric oxide
- nitrous oxide
- sodium chloride
- sodium nitrate
- sodium bicarbonate
- sodium hydroxide
- ozone
- silicon dioxide
- fructose
- sucrose
- potassium chloride
- citric acid
- vitamin C
- silver fluoride
- sodium fluoride
- silver chloride