Prove
your scientist, or be vaporized!
Prove
your scientist,
or be vaporized!
Introduction: In the year 2157, you have been assigned to work on an intergalactic encyclopedia. You must prove why your earthling scientist is famous enough to be remembered by all the alien races...or be vaporized!
Science continues to be important in the 22nd century. There is not one thing in the universe that has not been affected in some way by science. Scientific discoveries and inventions whether accidental or on purpose have allowed all alien societies (including human) to advance in medicine, technology and many other areas.
Your assignment is to research a scientist and his/her contributions and prove why he/she should have an entry in the intergalactic encyclopedia. The website below offers information on how to correctly go about writing a biography about someone. We will discuss this website in class:
http://www.bham.wednet.edu/bio/biomaker.htm
Project Requirements: This project counts as three grades: one for the report, one for the power point and one for the presentation grade.
| Project Schedule | |
| Fri., May 4 | 1) TASK: Ask five (5) questions about your scientist. Use some of the questions we brainstormed in class to help you ask the most interesting and important questions! Record them on a sheet of paper. Ms. Wood or Ms. Park will give you note cards to transfer your questions! |
| Mon., May 7 | 2) SEARCH: What resources will help you answer your questions? Use the Encyclopedia Britannica Online, internet websites, and reference books. Take notes by summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting. Don't forget to cite a reference when you find an answer! |
| Tues., May 8 | 2) SEARCH: Continue to find your answers and cite where you found them. |
| Wed., May 9 | 3) SYNTHESIZE: Create an outline for your rough draft. Have a teacher check your draft before you begin writing! |
| Thurs., May 10 | 3) SYNTHESIZE AND 4) PRODUCE: Continue to write your report. Create a bibliography page. |
| Fri., May 11 | 5) EVALUATE: Peer-editing - use your teacher's and friend's comments to improve your work! |
| Mon., May 14 | Final report and bibliography due! Presentations begin! |
What resources will answer your questions? What are your keywords? Here are some helpful websites:
http://www.school.eb.com Encyclopedia Britannica Online (you need a password at home)
http://www.women-scientists-in-history.com/
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/ (go to the History & People link on the left)
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/scientists/index.html
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/selected-internet/africanamericans.html
http://www.astr.ua.edu/4000WS/summary.shtml
http://www.s9.com/ (this dictionary includes more than 27,000 notable men and women who have shaped our world from ancient times to the present day)
http://www.biography.com/index.jsp (database that puts over 20,000 of the greatest lives, past and present, at your fingertips)
Make sure to also check the print resources available!
How do I take notes? Use the note card system! Use the questions you have already asked, and write a question on each card. When you find an answer, add it to the card. Remember:
Remember Trash 'n Treasure: If it answers your questions, it is treasure. If it doesn't answer your questions, trash it!
How do I cite my resources? Click here!
How do I create an outline? Look at your research questions--and look at the answers you have found. What questions go together? What themes could you use to organize your answers into paragraphs? Examples: Early life, education, scientific ideas, important influences, scientific discoveries, life problems, or contributions to society. Here is an example of an outline.
What information am I missing to complete my paper and presentation?
Template for PowerPoint presentation for the intergalactic council
Evaluate your project (and your friend's) using this checklist:
| CRITERIA | NOT YET | SOME EVIDENCE |
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Scientist’s name |
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Date of birth and death |
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Biography of life (short summary) |
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What did he/she invent? |
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Why did he/she invent it or how did he/she discover it? |
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How did it affect our world/society/environment? |
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Report - check for all six traits: ideas, organization, voice, word fluency, word choice, conventions (grammar/mechanics) |
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Visual - neat and focused |
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1 - Vaporized!
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2 - Kept as a human specimen!
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3 - Taser tester!
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4 - Made Editor-in-Chief!
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TASK
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Research questions are teacher generated. | Student requires prompts to generate questions | Student generates questions. | Student properly generates questions around a topic. |
____ |
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SEARCH
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Information is gathered from non-electronic or electronic sources only. | Information is gathered from limited electronic and non-electronic sources. | Information is gathered from multiple electronic and non-electronic sources. | Information is gathered from multiple electronic and non-electronic sources and cited properly. |
____
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SYNTHESIZE
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Paper and outline are weakly organized. | Well organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing and sentence structure. | Well organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing or sentence structure. | Well organized, demonstrates logical sequencing and sentence structure. |
____
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CREATE/PRODUCE
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No questions are answered in the research paper. | Few questions are answered in the research paper. | Several questions are answered in the research paper. | Numerous questions are clearly answered in the research paper. |
____
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Punctuation,
Capitalization, & Spelling
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There are four or more errors in punctuation and/or capitalization. | There are two or three errors in punctuation and/or capitalization. | There is one error in punctuation and/or capitalization. | Punctuation and capitalization are correct. |
____
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Total---->
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____
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Check Points for Grades!
|
May 8th |
your research notes will be checked (need to have information about each section) |
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May 10th |
you need to have a rough draft done (can be hand written) and a plan of what you are going to do for your visual. |
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May 14th |
your report and visual are due. We will be presenting this day. |