Chemistry [ELEMENT PROJECT]

This project will be divided into two portions, each of which has to be completed for a passing grade. Your job is to
inform the class about an element of your choosing. After choosing your element you will do the following:
1. Prepare a 3-5 minute presentation that will be given to the class about your element
2. Do a 1-page advertisement for your element
Part 1
This part of the project is designed to help you develop your presentation skills as well as understanding your element.
Here are some guidelines to help you:
Practice what you will say ahead of time.
Speak clearly and make eye contact. Convince the audience they should be listening to you.
If you are using Prezi, Powerpoint, or another electronic tool for your presentation:
o Aim for about a minute per slide.
o Limit text. Use a few key words or phrases to guide you in your presentation. Do not write all your
information on your slides and read the slides as your presentation. This will get you a D. You should be
comfortable enough with your material through research to speak about it without needing to read off
information.
o Dont list a bunch of dry information that no one cares about. If its not interesting to you, it wont be
interesting to the class. Give interesting information about its uses (historical and modern), where its
name comes from, and unique physical and chemical properties. The atomic number and group are
important for understanding the element, but we dont need you to read off its atomic mass, specific
gravity, melting point, etc.
o If you cant explain what something is, dont include it, because its probably not interesting, and I will
ask you to explain it at the end of your presentation, and nobody wants that awkwardness.
o Use images and diagrams that are relevant and will help the class understand more about your element.
o Animations are ok, but dont make them cheesy and distracting.
o Short video clips can help as long as they dont take a long time to load.
Part 2
You may create your 1-page advertisement by hand or on the computer. This is a chance to show creativity. Here are
some guidelines:
Text needs to be big enough to read most of the way across the classroom
More is often less remember, your goal is to sell the element and make it seem appealing, not to list a lot of
information. This applies to both text and graphics.
Be creative; get a feel for the personality of your element, and let the poster show its personality and your
own.
If youre using a computer, familiarize yourself with some basic graphic design functions of Word or the program
of your choosing.


Chemistry [ELEMENT PROJECT]

Part 1 Rubric
Category 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Presentation


Speaks clearly 90
100 % of time.

Words
understandable.
Can be easily heard
throughout
presentation.
Speaks clearly 75
80% of time.

Most words
understandable.
Can be heard most
of the time.
Speaks clearly 50
60 % of the time.

Cannot understand
several words
Much of
presentation too soft
to hear.
Speaks clearly less that half of the time.

Cannot understand much of what is spoken.
Very soft. Mumbling.



Preparation
and Delivery


Very well rehearsed
with smooth
delivery.

Excellent Eye contact
with the audience.

Does not read
material from slides.
Needed to be
rehearsed 1 or 2
times more but
delivery was fairly
smooth.

Good eye contact.

Reads only small
pieces of
information from
slides as necessary.
Delivery is fair but it
is clear much more
rehearsal was
needed.

Fair eye contact.

Sometimes reading
information from
slides.

Delivery not smooth. Obvious lack of any
rehearsal.

Little or no eye contact with the audience.

Audience attention lost.

Most of presentation is read from screen.

Content /
Organization

Knowledge of
element is excellent.
Extensive amount of
information
communicated.

Content of
presentation is well-
organized.
Knowledge of
element is good.
Adequate amount of
information
communicated.

Content of
presentation is
organized.

Knowledge of
element is fair.
Amount of
information
communicated
approaches
standard.

Content shows some
organization.
Little or no knowledge of element shown.

Content shows little organization.


Research

Presentation shows
evidence of being
very thoroughly
researched.
Presentation shows
evidence of
adequate research.
Evidence of some
research is shown.
Little or no evidence of research shown.




Presentation reflects
an exceptional
degree of creativity.
Exceptional attempt
to make the
presentation
interesting to the
Presentation shows
good creativity.
Interesting to the
audience.
Holds audience
attention most of
Some creativity
shown.
Somewhat
interesting to the
audience.
Holds audience
Little or no creativity shown.
Little or no effort to make the presentation
interesting to the audience.
Audience attention lost.

Chemistry [ELEMENT PROJECT]

Originality /
Interest

audience.
Holds audience
attention
throughout.
the time. attention some of
the time.


Special Effects

Exceptional use of
color, and highly
relevant images and
video.


Good use of color,
and relevant images
and video.



Some use of color,
images, and video
that may be
somewhat lacking in
relevance .


Little or no use of color, images, and video.






Visual
Display
Presentation on
screen can be easily
seen and read by the
audience.
Font size and color
contrast (font vs.
background color)
makes it
exceptionally easy to
read screen.
No grammatical or
spelling errors.
Most of presentation
can be seen and
read by audience. (1
or 2 slides hard to
read)
Font size and color
contrast is good.
1 or 2 grammatical
or spelling errors
Some difficulty in
seeing or reading
what appears on the
screen. (3 or 4 slides)
Font size and color
contrast is fair.
3 or 4 grammatical
or spelling errors.
Very difficult to read of see what is on the screen.
(5 or more slides)
Font size and color contrast is poor.
Many grammatical or spelling errors.


Part 2 Rubric
4 Points 3 Points 2 Points 1 Point
Visual Display
Obvious attention to font
sizing, images, spacing,
and color create an
exceptionally attractive
display.
Good attention to font
sizing, images, spacing,
and color creates an
attractive display.
Less effort shown; display
is somewhat attractive,
with some possible
oversight of important
factors.
Little to no effort put into
create an attractive visual
display.
Content
Advertisement
communicates unique
information that is central
to the elements identity,
history, and/or properties.
A high degree of
understanding of the
element is shown.
Advertisement
communicates important
information about
element. A good
understanding of the
element is shown.
Advertisement may be
partly off-topic or dealing
with material that is not
particularly unique to the
element.
Little understanding of the
element is shown.




Chemistry [ELEMENT PROJECT]

Some resources to get you started.
www.chemicool.com
http://www.ptable.com/
http://webelements.com/
http://www.periodicvideos.com/
The periodic table printmaking project: http://www.periodictableprints.com/table/
- Good artistic ideas to incorporate into your poster