I think it is chapter 7 when we go over periodic trends, but am not sure. To understand a melting point, you need to understand the forces between the atoms (or molecules), and these are a result of where the electrons in the valence (outer) shell are, as those are the electrons that interact.
The second thing is that there are many variables, and so there is more than one thing going on. For example, going down a group, the electron configuration is the same, so the kinds of bonds are similar, but they get heavier, and the heavier something is, the more energy required to move it, and so the higher the melting point. To understand that, you need to understand concepts like energy, and what is melting?
The take home message is that the periodic table allows us to see trends, and we will look at many of them in this course, and for some simple cases, you will be able to predict the trend in melting point.
But not now.