It's Elemental!

Wow!  2010!!  It'll be a very good year!
We started a side-project (beside working on the Mess projects) called ADOPT AN ELEMENT this week!  It has been surprisingly exciting!  Funny, I don't remember being this excited when I took chemistry!
We started with an info hunt to define the following vocabulary:
Mendeleev
Periodic Table of Elements
element
atom
proton
neutron
electron
nucleus
atomic number
Given 15 minutes and only (OMG!) BOOKS! each class came up with working definitions and what seems to be a hunger for elemental knowledge was born!
My third graders are creating a Baby Book for their adopted element (they got to reach into the bag and select from the first 20 elements to choose their subject, two students actually chose TWO!).  Through their research they'll find out if their element is either a boy (a solid) or a girl (a gas) that they get to name and will produce a birth certificate that will be included in the baby book.  The baby picture will be the Bohr's model of the element's orbitals.  In weekly pieces the adoptive "Parents" will be creating a pronunciation rebus, a poem about their element, the element's home address,  a family portrait, and a glyph (a type of pictogram) using the elements protons, neutrons, electrons, and atomic number.  Oh, and they have to come up with an appropriate career for this element!  I've heard that Lithium wants to grow up to be a psychiatrist and Sulfur plans on becoming a plumber.   Among all sorts of other things!  Everyone is also learning how to write a business letter to people who are professionals in their Mess field, asking for information to help them do their best on their Mess Project.  And, for some reason, being able to check out books from my personal library is a BIG thing!
Fourth grade chose the elements between 21 and 40.  They also have to create a pronunciation rebus and poem and  Bohr's model but their assignment includes an advertising slogan and an ad layout poster for their element.
The adoptive parents in fifth grade chose two elements from 41 on.  A few traded one in to chose again, once everyone else had chosen.  They will do all that the fourth grade is doing only  twice! 
 We are all creating an element  mobile for the classroom and will post our Elemental Info on the wall in the hall.
I am so proud of the way they are helping each other - finding definitions, element information, rhyming words, etc. etc.  They are reading all sorts of things!  Oh, did I say that they (all grades) have to list at least 3 sources of information, and only two may be from the Internet? Oh, well, I'll tell you later!
This is all so cool!
XXOO!!  Mrs. Mac
PS:   http://www.chem4kids.com/
is a good place to refresh (or re-learn!) the beginnings of chemistry! 
PS My Daughter, who is a pregnant published author in the MD/PhD program at Northwestern University in Chicago, says I have too many exclamation points.  WHO can have too many EPs when you are excited??  What does she know!?!  Besides EVERTHING?!