Printables Bingo

Periodic table bingo: free printable cards for the first 20 elements

30 different bingo cards built from the first 20 elements, a caller sheet you can read three ways (name, symbol or a clue), cut-out calling slips, a card checker for confirming winners, and an online caller. All of it is free to print for home and classroom use, in US Letter and A4.

30 bingo cardsUS Letter PDF · 15 pages · 567 KB 30 bingo cardsA4 PDF · 15 pages · 565 KB Caller sheet, slips and answer keyUS Letter PDF · 3 pages · 346 KB Caller sheet, slips and answer keyA4 PDF · 3 pages · 345 KB

A page with two periodic table bingo cards, each a 4 by 4 grid of element symbols with atomic numbers — Two cards per page, 4 × 4, with the atomic number under each symbol

Caller sheet listing the first 20 elements with symbol, name, a clue to read aloud and a checkbox — Caller sheet with a tick box, symbol, name and clue for each element

How do you play periodic table bingo?

Hand out the cards. Each card has 16 of the first 20 elements, shown as symbols. A colored stripe under each square shows the element's Elemon type, which follows its real family.
Pick a calling mode (below) and call one element at a time, from the caller sheet, the slips or the online caller.
Players cover the symbol if it's on their card. Counters, coins or a pencil mark all work.
Four in a row wins: across, down or diagonally. The winner reads their four symbols and names back, and you check them against the ticks on the caller sheet or the card checker.

What are the three ways to call?

Call the symbol (easiest)

Say "N." Players look for N. This is pure matching, which makes it a good first game for younger kids. Have them say the name out loud when they find it.

Call the name (standard)

Say "nitrogen." Players have to know nitrogen is N. This is the mode that actually builds symbol recall, and the tricky ones (sodium is Na, potassium is K) come up every game.

Read the clue (hardest)

Read "I'm about 78% of the air you breathe." Players work out the element, then find its symbol. Every clue is a true fact, most of them taken from the element's moves in Elemon. This is the best mode for review, because kids are recalling what an element is, not just what it's called.

Online bingo caller

Use this on a projector or a phone. It draws the 20 elements in a random order and never repeats one.

The call list and clues

This is the same list as the printable caller sheet. Each element name links to its Elemondex page if a kid wants to know more after the game.

#	Symbol	Element	Clue to read aloud
1	H	Hydrogen	I'm the lightest element, and stars are mostly made of me.
2	He	Helium	I make party balloons float, and I never burn.
3	Li	Lithium	I'm the lightest metal, and I'm inside rechargeable batteries.
4	Be	Beryllium	Emeralds are a gem made with me.
5	B	Boron	Put me in a flame and the flame turns green.
6	C	Carbon	Diamonds and pencil graphite are both made of me.
7	N	Nitrogen	I'm about 78% of the air you breathe.
8	O	Oxygen	You breathe me in, and fire needs me to burn.
9	F	Fluorine	A form of me in toothpaste helps protect your teeth.
10	Ne	Neon	I glow red-orange in bright signs.
11	Na	Sodium	I make table salt with chlorine.
12	Mg	Magnesium	I burn with a blinding white light, and I sit in the middle of chlorophyll.
13	Al	Aluminum	Soda cans and kitchen foil are made of me.
14	Si	Silicon	Sand and computer chips are made with me.
15	P	Phosphorus	I'm in match heads, and in your bones and teeth.
16	S	Sulfur	I'm a yellow rock near volcanoes, and I'm in the rotten-egg smell.
17	Cl	Chlorine	I keep swimming pools clean, and I make salt with sodium.
18	Ar	Argon	I'm almost 1% of the air, and welders use me to protect hot metal.
19	K	Potassium	Bananas are famous for having lots of me.
20	Ca	Calcium	Your bones, teeth and chalk are full of me.

How long does a game take?

Not long. We simulated thousands of games with these 30 cards: with a class of 20 to 30 players, the first line usually appears after about 6 to 7 calls. That's roughly five minutes, which makes it a good warm-up or end-of-lesson game. For a longer round, try one of these:

Two lines: keep going until someone has two separate lines.
Four corners: the four corner squares only.
Blackout: cover the whole card. It takes nearly all 20 calls, so it suits a slower clue round.

Tips for teachers and parents

Laminate a set and use dry-erase markers, and the cards last all year.
Make the winner teach: the winner picks one element from their line and tells the class one fact about it.
Mix in the cards: after the game, hand out the printable element cards and have kids find the card for each element they covered.
Learn the list first: the first 20 elements guide has every element with a fact and a mnemonic. For a whole lesson, see the teacher's lesson plan.

Frequently asked questions

How many bingo cards are there?

30. Each card is a 4 × 4 grid with 16 of the first 20 elements, and no two cards have the same set of elements, so it works for a full class.

How long does a game of periodic table bingo take?

With a class of 20 to 30, someone usually gets a line after about 6 to 7 calls, so a single game takes about five minutes. Playing to a full card takes nearly all 20 calls, about 18 on average.

What age is periodic table bingo for?

Calling the symbols works for kids who are just learning to read element symbols. Calling the names or the clues makes it a real review game for upper elementary and middle school.

Can we play periodic table bingo online?

Yes. Print the cards (or show one on each screen), then use the online caller on this page to draw elements one at a time. It works on a projector, and it remembers what has been called.

Is it free for classrooms?

Yes. The cards, caller sheet, slips and answer key are free to print for home and classroom use.

Bingo done? Put the names to work in a real battle: play Elemon free online.