Chemistry students in Kathleen Scrivani’s class at the high school recently sunk each other’s battleships, from six feet away. This socially distanced game of Electron Configuration Battleship, played on a periodic table board, uses principal energy levels, orbital notation and noble gases to guess what element an opponent’s ship is on.

“I have done this for a few years now and it is a great way for the students to become more comfortable with and review different methods of writing electron configurations,” Scrivani said. “It’s engaging, the students are invested in the game and in order to play, they are forced to practice their skills and ask questions about content they may still be struggling with. Students must peer evaluate as well. If their partner misstates an electron configuration, they must make the correction before the game moves forward. And for students who seem to have mastered the content already, practice makes better.”