About This Lesson
In this activity, students use the valence electron configurations of columns 1, 2 and 13-18 to draw electron dot diagrams (Lewis structures). The main goal is to have the students recognize that elements within the same column have the same valence electron configuration. I find that some middle school students are challenged by this activity, but once they do understand the patterns, they have a much easier time understanding bonds and chemical reactions. The activity I include here is a Google slide presentation, which allows students to move electrons around, but it is easily printed out into a hard copy version.
