Have each student to open their Science Book to the Periodic Table generally in the Appendix. Once there have them open a blank MS Excel Spreadsheet. Next type in the names of elements they have heard of, seen, smelled, or touched. Next find them on the period table and tell as much about them as they can from the information in the textbook.
Next week start from the left to the right pick out an element the students have not heard of before. Go around the class allowing several students to pick one they are interested in learning about during the assignment. Now from here, they can use the book still or go to this website I found most handy http://www.ptable.com and find out many facts about each element on the Periodic Table. My 7th and 8th graders were interested in the melting and boiling points of elements. This is what they recorded but they learned so much more. From here the possibilities are endless. We sorted the data, wrote instances where the data would be useful, and recorded which elements were metals, nonmetals, and metalloids. The students loved sharing while learning Science and Technology. Yea!