Sandpoint Middle School
8th Grade Earth Science

Home    Daily Class Objectives      Assignments     Student Progress Reports

EXTREME EARTH POWERPOINT

Details for your PowerPoint Slide Presentation

Choose a topic out of your earth science book (except Earth Quakes, Volcanoes, Plate Tectonics, and Rocks & Minerals.) Ideas could include: Climate, Seasons, Eclipse, Solar System, Stars, The Moon, Oceans, Lakes, Natural Resources, Energy Resources, Alternative Energy, Aurora, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Floods, Mudslides, Glaciers, Tsunamis,  Geologic Time, etc.

Before you come to the computer lab the first day, have your the information for your presentation already written out.  Using your book as a guideline is a great way to get an idea of how to proceed with your presentation. You must have at least ten of your informational slides' data on paper before you will be allowed to open PowerPoint.  Come to the computer lab prepared with notes already prepared.

You will save your presentation with Lastname[space]Topic.ppt and in Shared Documents:  Go to “My Computer” and click on “Data”  then click and open “Shared Documents” and find the folder entitled “8th Grade Earth Science” and find your class. Open that folder.

Warning:  Opening/changing PowerPoint files that are not yours will result in disciplinary action.

Remember:  “Save Early and Save Often.”  Power has been known to go off for no reason. Protect your data and save often by hitting Ctrl S once you have initially saved it using the correct name and into the correct folder.

Grading Rubric

The rubric you were given is your guideline for making sure you have all the elements that are required for this project. You will bring it with you everyday to the computer lab and when presenting your PowerPoint to the class. Each student will need a rubric.

We will have four days in the computer lab.  Avoid wasting time.

Please refer to your handout for specifically what you will be completing each day.

Day 1 and 2 will be to gather information and organize it into your PowerPoint slide show. You can always insert slides later (Ctrl M) or move them around (in the “Slide Sorter View”). DO NOT ADD BACKGROUNDS, ANIMATIONS, OR SLIDE TRANSITIONS UNTIL THE LAST DAY or until you are mostly finished.

Day 3 will be to continue adding information, and gathering relevant pictures and charts that support your slide show. If you need to resize a picture, keep the dimensions consistent so the picture won’t appear distorted.

Day 4 When your slide show is almost complete, then you may work on your background, animations, slide transitions, and slide timing.  You will get work points taken off if you are spending time on Day 4 topics if you haven’t finished Days 1-3.

PowerPoint Hints

Do not put too much information on a slide. Remember people need to be able to read it from the back of the room, so the type should be large enough.  Too much text on a slide will lose your audience.

Use blocky, easy to read fonts. Fancy fonts are hard to read. Also contrast is helpful – dark on light or light on dark.  If the background and the font are too close in color or shade, then it will be hard to read.

Pictures should be clear, relevant and of good quality. Avoid using pictures as a background. Text on top of a picture is usually hard to read.

Presentations

Students will present their PowerPoint slide show to the class.  People sitting in the back of the class should be able to read the print and hear the presenter talking.

Before you start, please go through these tutorials

Tutorials:

Creating New Slides tutorial
Powerpoint Shortcuts
Creating New Slides
Inserting Images
Animating Text and Images
Using Powerpoint Shortcuts
Creating Transitions
Using the different views

Rehearse Timings
Powerpoint Options

Reminders:

To get a picture from the internet, right-click – save picture as – save to your images folder – then insert picture from file.

HAVE FUN and BE CREATIVE!!!