Earth to Class

Joan Heymont
Clara Barton High School, Brooklyn, NY

[ESPRIT 27 Aug 2006]

clara barton high school Name__________________________

Earth Science, Ms. Heymont Date__________

Current Event Report Format

►Due every Friday at the beginning of class.

►Two students each week will be chosen to present their reports.

Goals:

? Increase awareness that science is involved in all areas of your life.

? Cultivate opinions on current events in Earth science.

? Develop the ability to communicate scientifically.

Articles:

? You can look through newspapers, magazines (i.e., Scientific American, Science World, Discover, Science News, National Geographic), and reliable online resources, such as:

            http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/
            http://www.cnn.com/TECH/science/archive/
            http://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/index.html
            http://www.enn.com/index.asp
            http://www.discover.com/
            http://www.audubon.org/
            http://nature.org/
            http://www.sierraclub.org/
            http://www.worldwatch.org/

http://www.pbs.org/

? Photocopy or print out the article and attach it to your report (the title and the author of the article should be visible).

? The article must be from within the past month (unless approved by me).

? The article must be about a scientific discovery, a natural occurrence, or an event in society.

Write Up Format:

? Must be handwritten on notebook paper and labeled with your name, your class period, the date. Also, at the top of your report should be the title of the article, the name of the publication, and the date of the publication.

? Attach a copy of the article.

? Use the KWHL Strategy to complete your report.

1) First, glance at the article, reading the headline and looking at any pictures or graphics.

2) Before you read the article, answer the “K” and “W” questions:

K. What is the subject of this article? What do you already know about the subject?

W. What questions do you want the article to answer?

3) Then read the article.

            4) While you are reading, come up with at least two questions about the article (that the article
            does not answer)—issues or words that you did not understand, issues that you want to learn more
            about, etc. Write those two questions on your report.

5) Finally, complete the “H” and “L” sections:

                        H. How would you go about finding the answers to your questions? What resources would you
                             use? Then use your ideas to find the answer to one of your questions and write it in your
                             report (in one to three sentences).

L. What did you learn from the original article? Summarize the important ideas in one to two
paragraphs. Do you have an opinion on the article? Share it!