Periodic Table Project
Overview
The goal of this project is to construct a personalized periodic table that illustrates our growing knowledge of and mastery over the elements. Each student will be assigned an element from the periodic table, conduct some brief research to identify key information about their element, and then use that information to produce a creative writing piece and visual representation of their element.
Essential Questions
The purpose of the Essential Questions is to provoke thought on the subject under investigation. Please write out your thoughtful answers to the following Essential Questions in complete, well-formed sentences and turn them in in addition to the required two products listed below.
1. What is the purpose of the Periodic Table?
2. In what manner is the Periodic Table organized?
3. What are some general trends we discover within the Groups of the Periodic Table?
4. What are some general trends we discover within the Periods of the Periodic Table?
5. How is the Periodic Table used as a tool to study chemistry?
6. How do you think the Periodic Table came to be? Who “discovered” it?
7. Please specifically state the following information in bulleted form for the specific element that you have been assigned:
Products
Each student will turn in two products:
1 researched page of writing that incorporates the following information. The writing may be any style of your choice: narrative, poem, letter, etc. (please refer to the book, The Periodic Table: Elements with Style for examples). The writing should not be a bulleted list, nor is it the same as simply answering the questions as you did in the Essential Questions. It is intended to tell a story! Please include at least seven of the following items in your written page:
1 illustration portraying your interpretation of the element. Your artwork may be of any style, in any media (photography, painting, collage, etc) on a 6x6 canvas tile that Aliza will provide to you. We will use these tiles to create a periodic table wall within our classroom. Your illustration must be designed around the information you have researched about your element. Each illustration must incorporate:
Learning Goals
This project serves as a practical introduction to the Periodic Table. We will each study, in depth, one particular element with the aim of becoming an expert on our element. We will delve into the structure and arrangement of the elements that compose the Periodic Table and use our products to conduct a further, targeted study on Periodic Trends.
Timeline
This project will take two weeks. It will be launched on Thursday, September 6th and conclude on Friday, September 21st (this means it is due at the start of class on Friday, September 21st !). You will be allowed:
If the allotted class time is not enough, you will still be responsible for completing each piece of the project by the designated deadlines!
Due Dates
Presentation
Our peer critiques will consist of students providing warm and cool feedback on rough sketches and initial drafts of creative writing. Students will briefly present their research to the class by reading their creative writing and participating in a Gallery Walk of creative products on Friday, September 21st.
Assessment
Assessment will be conducted in the following manner:
Resources
The Path to the Periodic Table
Dynamic Periodic Table
Periodic Videos
Poetic Table of Chemistry
WebElements
The goal of this project is to construct a personalized periodic table that illustrates our growing knowledge of and mastery over the elements. Each student will be assigned an element from the periodic table, conduct some brief research to identify key information about their element, and then use that information to produce a creative writing piece and visual representation of their element.
Essential Questions
The purpose of the Essential Questions is to provoke thought on the subject under investigation. Please write out your thoughtful answers to the following Essential Questions in complete, well-formed sentences and turn them in in addition to the required two products listed below.
1. What is the purpose of the Periodic Table?
2. In what manner is the Periodic Table organized?
3. What are some general trends we discover within the Groups of the Periodic Table?
4. What are some general trends we discover within the Periods of the Periodic Table?
5. How is the Periodic Table used as a tool to study chemistry?
6. How do you think the Periodic Table came to be? Who “discovered” it?
7. Please specifically state the following information in bulleted form for the specific element that you have been assigned:
- Element name
- Element symbol
- Period
- Group number and family
- Atomic number
- Atomic weight
- Electron configuration
- Most common phase (solid, liquid, or gas)
- Appearance and characteristics (minimum of 5)
- Applications/uses (at least 2)
Products
Each student will turn in two products:
1 researched page of writing that incorporates the following information. The writing may be any style of your choice: narrative, poem, letter, etc. (please refer to the book, The Periodic Table: Elements with Style for examples). The writing should not be a bulleted list, nor is it the same as simply answering the questions as you did in the Essential Questions. It is intended to tell a story! Please include at least seven of the following items in your written page:
- Element name
- Element symbol
- Period
- Group number and family
- Atomic number
- Atomic weight
- Electron configuration
- Most common phase (solid, liquid, or gas)
- Appearance and characteristics (minimum of 5)
- Applications/uses (at least
1 illustration portraying your interpretation of the element. Your artwork may be of any style, in any media (photography, painting, collage, etc) on a 6x6 canvas tile that Aliza will provide to you. We will use these tiles to create a periodic table wall within our classroom. Your illustration must be designed around the information you have researched about your element. Each illustration must incorporate:
- Element symbol
- Atomic number (near the top)
- Atomic weight (near the bottom)
Learning Goals
This project serves as a practical introduction to the Periodic Table. We will each study, in depth, one particular element with the aim of becoming an expert on our element. We will delve into the structure and arrangement of the elements that compose the Periodic Table and use our products to conduct a further, targeted study on Periodic Trends.
Timeline
This project will take two weeks. It will be launched on Thursday, September 6th and conclude on Friday, September 21st (this means it is due at the start of class on Friday, September 21st !). You will be allowed:
- 1 hour of class time to research your element: Thursday 9/6
- 1 hour of class time to work on your Essential Questions: Friday 9/7
- 1 hour of class time to work on your initial sketch: Monday 9/10
- 1 hour of class time for peer critique of sketch: Wednesday 9/12
- 1 hour of class time to work on your creative writing piece: Monday 9/17
- 1 hour of class time for peer critique of writing: Tuesday 9/18
- 2 hours of class time to work on your artistic product: Wednesday 9/19
If the allotted class time is not enough, you will still be responsible for completing each piece of the project by the designated deadlines!
Due Dates
- Answers to Essential Questions due: Tuesday, 9/11
- Rough sketch due for peer critique: Wednesday, 9/12
- 3 goals for improvement of artistic product generated from peer feedback: Thursday, 9/13
- Draft of creative writing due for peer critique: Tuesday, 9/18
- 3 goals for improvement of creative writing generated from peer feedback: Wednesday, 9/19
- Products due in their entirety (written portion & artistic portion): Friday, 9/21
Presentation
Our peer critiques will consist of students providing warm and cool feedback on rough sketches and initial drafts of creative writing. Students will briefly present their research to the class by reading their creative writing and participating in a Gallery Walk of creative products on Friday, September 21st.
Assessment
Assessment will be conducted in the following manner:
- Have all of the Essential Questions been answered?
- Is all the required information included in the creative writing?
- Does the illustration tie into the researched information?
- Did the student participate in the Peer
- Does the final illustration incorporate goals generated from peer feedback?
Resources
The Path to the Periodic Table
Dynamic Periodic Table
Periodic Videos
Poetic Table of Chemistry
WebElements