I have used a version of the memory game “When I went to market I bought a...” for helping pupils learn items of laboratory equipment.
There are lots of new words for Year 7 pupils to become familiar with when they start to do practical work.
Keep handy as many items as there are pupils: conical flasks, Bunsen burners, tripods, spills, heatproof mats, test tubes etc. Pupils sit in a big circle, if possible in the laboratory. The first pupil says: “When I went to the laboratory I brought a...”, holds up an item and says its name.
The next pupil says the same, names the item and chooses one of their own and names that. As the game goes on, the challenge of remembering grows.
I have also used the game with electrical circuits, using a mixture of electrical components and diagrams of different types of circuits. You may have to split the class into two for this as there are not as many items.
It is also good for classification in Year 7, using specimens and picture cards, when pupils must determine the correct group, eg insect, reptile, fish.
Julie Collins Science teacher, Ormskirk School, Lancashire, and science PGCE tutor, Liverpool Hope University College