Greenhouse Gases by Leo & Flash

Electronic Product Rubric

Below is how your project will be graded:

CATE- GORY	4	3	2	1
Graphics -Clarity	Graphics are all in focus and the content easily viewed and identified	Most graphics are in focus and the content easily viewed and identified	Most graphics are in focus and the content is easily viewed and identified	Many graphics are not clear or are too small.
Graphics - Relevance	All graphics are related to the topic and make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation.	All graphics are related to the topic and most make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation.	All graphics relate to the topic. Most borrowed graphics have a source citation.	Graphics do not relate to the topic OR several borrowed graphics do not have a source citation.
Required Elements	The poster includes all required elements (Summary statement, stats, FAQ's, case studies, local solutions) as well as additional information.	All but 1 of the required elements are included on the poster.	All but 2 of the required elements are included on the poster.	Several required elements were missing.
Knowledge Gained	Student can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster.	Student can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster.	Student can accurately answer about 75% of questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster.	Student appears to have insufficient knowledge about the facts or processes used in the poster.
Attractiveness	The product is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness.	The product is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness.	The product is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy.	The product is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.
Mechanics	Capitalization and punctuation are correct throughout the poster.	There is 1 error in capitalization or punctuation.	There are 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation.	There are more than 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation.
Grammar	There are no grammatical mistakes on the poster.	There is 1 grammatical mistake on the poster.	There are 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster.	There are more than 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster.

Oral Presentation Rubric

Below is how your oral presentation will be graded, take time to review what it will take to get an A on this part of the final. Your oral presentation is 25% of your final exam grade, the electronic product is 60% of the grade and what you did for your local solutions is 15% of your grade.

CATEGORY	A	B	C	D
Content	Shows a full understanding of the topic.	Shows a good understanding of the topic.	Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic.	Does not seem to understand the topic very well.
Preparedness	Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.	Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.	The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.	Student does not seem at all prepared to present.
Speaks Clearly	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, and mispronounces no words.	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, but mispronounces one word.	Speaks clearly and distinctly most ( 94-85%) of the time. Mispronounces no more than one word.	Often mumbles or can not be understood OR mispronounces more than one word.
Posture and Eye Contact	Stands up straight, looks relaxed and confident. Establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.	Stands up straight and establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.	Sometimes stands up straight and establishes eye contact.	Slouches and/or does not look at people during the presentation.
Listens to Other Presentations	Listens intently. Does not make distracting noises or movements.	Listens intently but has one distracting noise or movement.	Sometimes does not appear to be listening but is not distracting.	Sometimes does not appear to be listening and has distracting noises or movements.
Time Management	Presentation last 15-20 minutes			Presentation is either too long or too short
Peer Cooperation	All students speak equally	One student speaks more than the others, But all students speak		Only one student speaks.

This rubric was adapted from: http://www.shenet.org/high/hsacaddept/socialstudies/jpfaffenbach/Rubrics/jporalpresentation.htm

Last day for working in class

Today was the last day that students have to work on their projects in class. Check out the presentation schedule in the post below in case you have forgotten when you up.

Presentation Assignments

We're nearing the 11th hour for working on projects. Today and tomorrow will be the last chance you have to work on projects in class.

Below is the presentation schedule for both E and F blocks:

Thursday E Block:
Long, Jason & Nick - A comparison of HIV/AIDS in the United States and South Africa
Flash & Leo - Greenhouse Gases
Caroline, Maddy & Kirsten - HIV treatments

Thursday F block:
Lindsey & Shelby - HIV
Kacie - Global Warming & Animals

Friday E block:
Max - Global Warming & Animals
Emily - Greenhouse Gases

Friday F block:
Molly - A comparison of HIV/AIDS in the United States and South Africa
Will - Greenhouse gases
Morgan - HIV

Local Solutions

Tomorrow evidence of your local solutions is due. So far I've seen some great things from Caroline, Kirsten and Maddy setting up a table at lunch with ribbons & condoms, to creating events and groups on Facebook to putting up flyers around campus.

By now you should have already begun putting things into your electronic media (PowerPoint, Blog, Webpage or movie).

Remember these projects are due on Thursday and Friday of next week!

Collecting Case Studies

Today in class each group will need to have summarized 3 case studies and obtained an image for as well as a reference each study. THE SUMMARIES SHOULD BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS, WHICH MEANS YOU NEED TO READ THE ARTICLE AND NOT COPY AND PASTE IT INTO A WORD DOC. A great place to look for this information is at www.sciencedaily.com

See the example below:
If I were doing a project on water, here is a possible case study I could include:

Title: What can be done about the pollution in the Ganges River?











The Ganges River is used for everything from transportation to water for cows to washing. The river contains untreated sewage and cremated remains, among other things. The multi use of this river has the potential to harbor and be a breeding ground for hundreds of new pathogens. However there is hope for keeping those individuals who use the river safe from diseases; "Montana State University research about pollution in the Ganges River has reached the Supreme Court of India, producing some optimism among MSU scientists who study the 1,500-mile river."1

Homework: Each group should have 10 stats that relate to their topic. These stats should come from at least 3 different sources.

Revised Summary Statement & meetings

Today groups finished their revised summary statement as well had a meeting with me about what form of electronic media they are going to use for their presentation.

Homework: Write 10 frequently asked questions and the answers to these questions.  Remember to cite your sources.  You will need to have at least 3 references in this section.  Reminder: The evidence of your 3 local solutions is due on Friday May 9th in class.

Adding Evidence

Today students worked on turning their thesis builder thesis from a simple paragraph to something with a little more punch. Students added at least three direct quotes to their statement which provided supporting evidence.

Homework: On Friday May 9th, evidence of your three local solutions is due. Start to think about what you are going to do to raise awareness, educate and make a change about your global problem. Evidence can be in the form of pictures, a video of you doing something, a facebook group, flyers that you put up around school, etc.

Good Luck!

Continuing to Search for Websites

Today students continued to search for websites and write summary tables. These are due at the end of class today. Please email me the summary tables rather than print them so we can save paper.

Between class discussions and the research you've completed so far, you should have a pretty good idea about your topic.

Tonight for homework you should use the online Thesis Builder and write a thesis for your project.
Each member of the group should do this.
Copy and paste what is generated in the thesis builder into a word document and save it as "last name_summary statement." For example, I would save mine as saxe_summary statement
Print this out and bring it to class on Saturday.

Finding 10 websites and completing a summary table for each

By the end of class on Friday you will need to have completed summary tables for 10 websites that relate to their topic. You will have class time today & tomorrow to do this, however depending on how well you search and how fast you read, I encourage you to work on this for homework as well.

The Multnomah County Library has a great page explaining what makes a good website. I copied some of the highlights below, but for the full article click here.

When you're surfing the Web, you probably only think about one thing when you look at a Web site: whether or not it's fun.

But when you're looking for information on the Web for school -- or really any time that you care that what you find is true and up-to-date -- you have to evaluate the website to make sure that you can trust the information on it.

Here are some questions to ask when you're looking at a website that will help you decide whether or not it's good:

Who made it?

When was it last updated?

Is it clear what it's about?

Are there a lot of ads?

Is it easy to find the information you need?

Introducing the Final Project

Today we watched some of the videos from last year that students created as well as looked at web pages and powerpoints.

Homework tonight:

Each group needs to have 5 articles that relate to their topic from a current news source. You also need to make a summary table for each article (see sample table on this post). This is due on Thursday in class. We are meeting in the ARC on Thursday.

Remember, these articles should be from news sources, not websites.  For example you could search: 

Newsweek

The New York Times

Rolling Stone

The Boston Globe

Time Magazine

F Block here are your project assignments:
Will - Greenhouse Effect
Kacie - The effect of climate change on animals
Morgan - Various HIV treatments (AZT, Neviraprine, non traditional methods)
Molly - HIV in South Africa vs. the U.S.A.
Lindsey & Shelby - The Dissident view (Peter Duesberg, Mbeki & others) vs. the scientific community's on HIV.

Replication of HIV and The Denialists

Today students learned about how HIV replicates using host DNA and the structure of virus. Students watch an animation and took notes using a graphic organizer.

E long block started to read the article The Denialists which was published in The New Yorker in the March 12th edition. Below is an excerpt from the article, to read more click here.

ANNALS OF SCIENCE about the AIDS denial movement in South Africa. Zeblon Gwala is a 50-year-old South African who sells ubhejane, an untested herbal remedy he claims will cure AIDS. On a typical day, as many as 100 people come to his clinic. Ubhejane has been endorsed by South African President Thabo Mbeki’s health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, and by Herbert Vilakazi, the head of Mbeki’s Presidential Task Team on African Traditional Medicine. Vilakaze believes that the toxicity of antiretroviral drugs, or ARVs-the only successful treatment for millions infected with H.I.V.-causes more harm than good. Like Mbeki himself, he’s convinced that a cure for AIDS is more likely to be found in traditional African medicine rather than Western pharmaceuticals. AIDS denial plays a corrosive role in the health policies of many countries, but South Africa provides the most extreme and enduring example. Five and a half million of the country’s 48 million people are infected by H.I.V.

Catch up!

I know I've been remiss in my blogging duties so here is a quick recap of Monday and Tuesday (we don't have class today so I'll be posting again on Thursday).

On Monday we moved from the social justice aspect of HIV to the biological side. Students learned some general information and then we talked about the stages of how the disease progresses.

Yesterday was Earth Day and to celebrate we went down to the river and talked about the book The Giving Tree, what we can to do give back to the earth and had a period of silent reflection. Lindsey and Shelby created some environmental art using downed branches.

Continuing in a State of Denial

Today we continued watching State of Denial and students answered more questions about the movie.

Homework: Check out the AIDS Clock, and answer the following questions:
1. How often does someone contract HIV?
2. How many people are living with HIV?
3. How often does someone die of AIDS?
4. Click on the red box "resize the map." Describe what happens. What do you observe?
5. Drag your cursor over the map and write down the number of people living with HIV in 5 different countries.
6. What country surprised you the most regarding the number of people with HIV?

State of Denial

Today we started to watch the film State of Denial, a documentary filmed in South Africa that chronicles the lives of several people living with HIV as well as those individuals who care for them and the policy makers who deny the link between HIV and AIDS.

Film Synopsis:

"South Africa was the country that was supposed to show the rest of Africa the way. With the triumph of the anti-Apartheid struggle, and with the advantages of resources, infrastructure, and popular government, South Africa was best positioned to overcome the continent's triple plagues of impoverishment, civil war, and despotic rule. Then came HIV/AIDS.

As powerfully revealed in "State of Denial," many high ranking members in the popularly elected government — sincere heirs to Nelson Mandela — don't believe the HIV virus causes AIDS. This single decision to doubt the link has turned a crisis into a catastrophe. With five million people infected and nearly two thousand new infections occurring daily, South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV in the world." Read the rest here.

While student watched the film they completed a graphic organizer to help them follow the movie. At the end of class students completed a 3-2-1 (3 things you learned, 2 things you want to learn more about and 1 thing you have a question about).

Here are some of the things students learned:

* Women sold themselves for money and as a result contract HIV.
* There are 2000 new HIV infections each day in South Africa
* HIV is spreading rapidly
* Antiretroviral drugs cost 10x more in South Africa than generic drugs elsewhere in the world.
* People don't die of AIDS they die of opportunistic infections
* What Apartheid was.
* The previous President of South Africa, Thado Mbeki did not believe in a connection between HIV and AIDS.
* HIV and AIDS are not the same thing.

Test Today

Today both classes had a test on population and community ecology.

Chapter 35 Reivew:

Today students worked independently, reading and answering questions, to prepare for a test tomorrow on Chapter 35.

Homework: study for the test.

Reviewing Population Ecology & Introducing How Species Interact

During E block students compiled a list of all the concepts and words we have learned so far in chapter 35. After this students looked up information on the three main modes of interaction in biological communities (competition, predation & symbiotic relationships). Students then taught each of their section to the class.

During F block students finished the world population data scavenger hunt and we got a little side tracked. We looked at google maps to see where many of the countries they are learning about are located, discussed the British colonization of India and how that influenced infrastructure compared to nations that were part of the USSR and even listened to the anthem of the USSR. Despite our tangent we managed to get back on track and finish with notes on sections 35.4.

Homework for both classes:
Create a visual that contains all the bold, blue and purple words/concepts from section 35.5. This is due in class on Monday.

Analyzing World Population Data

After reviewing the homework, students made predictions about how many people are in the United States and the world. Thanks to the U.S. and World Population Clocks we are able to access current figures on population growth. In the D block class at 11am this morning there were 303,822,429 people in the U.S. and 6,660,440,000 people in the world. At 11:45am when class ended there were 303,822,663 people in the U.S. and 6,660,446,739 in the world!


Today students analyzed the world population data sets from the Population Reference Bureau that contained information for all of the countries in the world on:

crude birth and death rates
rates of natural increase
migration
projected populations in 2025 and 2050
infant mortality
total fertility
life expectancy
percentage of people in urban areas
percentage of people living with HIV or AIDS
percentage of women 15-49 using contraception
government view of the birth rate
GNI PPP per capita
percentage of population living below $2 U.S. /day
area of square miles
population density
percent of surface area protected
population with improved access to sanitation

Homework: none.

Population Growth

After reviewing the homework, we did a simulation for students to experience what it is like to sample a population using the mark and recapture technique. We also discussed sources of error and how much confidence they had in their total population sizes. Moving forward we compared linear population growth with exponential population growth.

Homework: Read sections 35.2 and 35.3. Answer the concept check questions for each section. This counts for two homeworks, so make sure you do it!

Quiz on Biomes,Weather & Climate Change

Today students had a quiz on biomes, weather, and climate change.

Homework: Read sections 35.1 and answer the concept check questions 1-4 on page 768.

Enough with the negative! What can YOU do?

Did you know...
....each year about 5 billion tons of CO2 is released into the atmosphere in the United States alone.

For each person in the country that's 20 tons --four elephants--worth of CO2.


Today students watched the video "In Hot Water" which is produced by the New England Aquarium and the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. This video talks about specific way you can reduce your carbon footprint to save polar bears, coral reefs, marsh lands and more.
Corals have a very narrow temperature range that they can function in, even a change of only one degree can kill the corals. Coral reefs can contain as much biological diversity as the rain forests! The corals above are dead (bleached) because of an increase in water temperature.
The melting of the ice in Arctic areas means that polar bears are no longer able to hunt ring seals as easily as they used to.

In addition to watching the video, students came up with infomercials for products that can help reduce CO2.

Homework: Study for a quiz on ecosystems & climate change on Monday.

Climate v. Weather

Today we discussed the difference between climate and weather. Here's an easy way to remember the difference: climate is what you expect and weather is what you get. We watched and discussed video clips on what causes the gulf stream and ocean temperatures and climate pattens. Lastly students saw several pictures to introduce them to the consequences of climate change.

Homework:

Part 1: Watch the animation from NASA on "Taking the Earth's Temperature." This may be slow to load so be patient! Write down three things your learned.

Part 2: Come up with a list of at least five consequences for climate change (hint: what will happen to the biome you did your project on? How will it affect oceans currents? etc...)

Working on Projects

Today students worked on their projects (see below) and took brief notes on what to include for the chemical environment.

Office of the Director

United States Environmental Projection Agency

March 27^th, 2008

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you as the Director of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and the environment. Since 1970, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people. With all of the deforestation, conflict and climate change, we are very worried that many of the earth’s biomes will disappear or be severely altered in the coming century. In an effort to preserve these precious ecosystems we, at the EPA, are creating a Biome Museum in Washington, DC.

I am requesting that you create an exhibit (in the form of a poster, powerpoint or diorama) on the ------biome. I have spoken to your teacher and she is fully on board with this project and will be counting it as a test grade. Your exhibit must include the following information:

* description of the physical environment.

* description of the chemical environment

* description of the geologic features

* description of the photosynthetic organisms

* description of the animals

* description of how human impact has disrupted this biome

* at least 5 images (and of course citations for each image)

* a proper MLA style bibliography

You will need to gather information from at least 4 separate sources and cite these in the proper MLA format. I understand that you recently completed a large genetics project where you needed to cite information using footnotes, you should do the same thing for this exhibit. You may NOT work with a partner and as we at the EPA are very busy and the Biome Museum is opening shortly, your exhibits must be completed for a five minute oral presentation to your peers in class on Monday March 31^st.

I recommend you look at these websites for helpful information
UC Berkley: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/index.php

Blue Planet: http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm

Enchanted Learning: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/

Sincerely,

Jane Sibert

Yes! You do have class on Thursday March 26!

Yes, even though I am going to the NSTA conference in Boston, you still have class.

Mrs. Joslin will be covering F block and Mr. Brummer will be covering E block.

Welcome to our Spring Unit!

This spring we will be focusing on the human impact on ecosystems and attempting to answer questions such as:

¨ As the global population increases and competition for natural resources becomes increasingly fierce, how will our environment change?

¨ What is the impact that an individual has on his or her environment?

¨ What is sustainable development and how will it shape the future?

¨ Climate change is more than rising temperatures. What will happen to ecosystems and the spread of disease as the Earth’s temperature rises?

Today in class students created brainstorm posters on what comes to mind when they hear the words "ecology," "sustainability" and "human impact." They then shared their ideas with the class.

Homework: Read pages 742-748 and complete the following:
1. What is the title of section 34.1?
2. Make flashcards for the key terms on page 744.
3. Complete concept check questions 1-5 in the concept check on page 748.

Stay Tuned!

This spring global problems, local solutions will take on a new look. Stay tuned for updates to come at the end of March.