Popular Resources For Teaching Chemical Bonding

In this second article focusing on our most popular classroom resources, we will focus on new resources that could be used in a Chemical Bonding unit plan.

The top resource used by teachers in their bonding unit is the Ionic and Covalent Bonds simulation and the accompanying activity. The simulation visually differentiates between the transferring of electrons when forming an ionic compound and the sharing of electrons when forming a covalent compound so that students can have a complete understanding of each. The concept of molecular formulas and their naming system is introduced as well.

Our second most popular resource is the Ionic Bonding Puzzle Activity. I cannot recommend this enough as figuring out ionic compound formulas is so challenging for students! I even have them keep the puzzle pieces to help them figure out charges and naming throughout the unit, as well as allow students to use them on assessments if they need the visual.

Continuing the multimedia trend, the Bonding Animation and the accompanying activity are a popular addition to this unit as well. Because the animations do not have sound, they make a great addition to notes or a good review to let students narrate to each other to see what they know. 

We hope that these activities can help you to reinforce several of the topics covered in a unit about chemical bonding. Most of these lessons were made possible by great teachers who shared their own resources. We need your help to keep the collection growing. Do you have a great demonstration, activity, or lesson related to this topic that you would like to share with the community? Please send it along for consideration.