communication speech outline

How To Make Silly Putty

Student Name

San Diego Mesa College

I. Introduction

A. Attention Getter: Thinking back to elementary school, we all can remember a favorite toy we had. Being a kid in the 90s meant growing up with Hot Wheels, Play-Doh, Lite Brite, and even those horrible Furby dolls.

B. Thesis Statement: When I think back to my childhood, one toy stands out as my favorite, silly putty. From playing with this gooey mixture to spending hours trying to get it out the carpet before my parents came home, this toy created countless memories for me and today I am going to demonstrate how to make it.

C. Preview

1. First Main Point: Explain basic science behind silly putty.

2. Second Main Point: Demonstrate how to make the putty.

3. Third Main Point: Show how to make putty unique.

D. Transition: Before making silly putty, I think it is important to understand the basic science behind its creation.

II. Body

A. First Main Point: Silly putty is nothing more than a simple science experiment.

1. Subordinate Point: The basic concept behind the creation of silly putty is polymers.

a. Supporting Detail: According to Dr. Mark R. Marten (2006), a polymer is “a very long chemical made up of repeating little chemical units all hooked together in a very long chain.”

2. Sub Point: Glue on its own does not hold together, but when borax is added it creates the polymer chain necessary to make the silly putty.

a. Sup Detail: This happens because the borax solution “cross-links or connects to polymer chains together. When many chains are connected it becomes like a net or spider’s web” (Marten, 2006).

3. Transition: Now that you understand the basics behind creating silly putty, I will show you how to create it.

B. Second Main Point: Making silly putty is simple and only requires a few commonly found and inexpensive ingredients.

1. Sub Point: The first step in making silly putty is to gather ingredients.

a. Sup Detail: According to Harken (2015), the ingredients needed are: a bottle of Elmer’s glue, Borax, mixing bowl, cup, spoon, measuring cup, food coloring, water, paper towels and a zip lock bag.

b. You can also get glitter if you desire.

2. Sub Point: Once you have your ingredients you can begin to make the putty. According to Clinard in (2015) the ingredients are as follows.

a. Sup Detail: Add one quarter cup of water to one quarter cup of glue.

b. Sub Detail: Add 1/8 cup of water to a tablespoon of Borax.

c. Sub Detail: Combine the two mixtures together and mix. Add more borax if the mixture is too sticky.

3. Transition: After the base of your putty is created, you can add things to make it unique.

C. Third Main Point: Now that I have shown you how to make silly putty I am going to show you ways you can make it more exciting.

1. Sub Point: Silly putty would not be fun or appealing to kids if it was just a boring white color.

a. Sup Detail: You can add food coloring to make it your favorite color.

b. Sub Detail: Glitter also adds a unique touch to the putty.

2. Transition: Now you have silly putty that is not only fun to play with but also a toy that has your own unique touches added to it.

III. Conclusion

A. Restate Thesis: Playing with toys was a big part of my childhood and silly putty especially brings back special memories for me. This gooey slimy toy is easy to make and can be a fun way to relive your elementary school years.

B. Review Main Points

1. First Main Point: In this speech I explained the basic science of silly putty.

2. Second Main Point: I showed you how to make silly putty.

3. Third Main Point: And last, I showed you how to personalize your putty.

C. Conclusion/Final Appeal: Now that I’ve shown you how to make silly putty, you can all go home and try out this cool, but simple science experiment for yourself.

References

Clinard, J. (2015). How to make silly putty. Retrieved from:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/everydaychemistry/a/sillyputty.htm .

Harken, J. (2015). Elmer’s glue borax recipes. Retrieved from:

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/glue-borax-gak.

Marten, M. (2006). Silly putty science. Retrieved from:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~marten/gsn/silly_putty_science.