Environmental Science
Current Events Assignment
In environmental science, it’s important to know about relevant current issues in the news. One of my goals for this course is to educate you about environmental issues that are important to our community, our country, and our world. We will be reading and discussing a variety of current events throughout the school year as well. This is a great opportunity to start thinking about the environment and how it affects us.
Over the course of this school year, you will need to find articles that relate to environmental science. Topics include, but are not limited to: pollution, climate change, environmental legislation, alternative energy sources, fossil fuels, human population growth, renewable resources, recycling/waste management, air quality, water quality, conservation/wildlife, food production/food safety, deforestation, GMOs (genetically modified organisms).
The assignment will entail: the article, a summary, personal reaction and citation.
Article:
- All articles should be current – up to one year old and taken from a reliable source. The sources may be scientific publications, popular magazines, newspapers or the like. Try the NY Times (especially Tuesdays), Washington Post, National Geographic, Discover Magazine, Scientific American, Science, Nature, etc.
- All bibliographic information should be visible on the article itself or included with the summary. Try to find a variety of articles at the state, national, and global level that address multiple environmental issues.
- Article should be at least 4 paragraphs long and have enough "meat" to it that you can summarize the article and add your own opinion to it.
Summary:
Write a brief one to two paragraph summary of the article and point out the major environmental themes discussed.
Personal Reaction:
Your personal reaction should clearly state your opinions and/or reflection on the article. You can offer potential solutions, compare it to another environmental problem, ask questions about the article, or simply reflect on the article’s content. Do not simply write, “This article was very interesting/good.” Some questions to drive your discussion:
- What are the key points made in the article? - What are the points of view presented about this issue? - Does the article teach you something new? - Does it support or refute other information you've heard or read?
Cite the source of your article:
Underneath your reaction, list the citation for your article in MLA format. You may use the Citation Machine website (http://citationmachine.net/) to help with this. Below are two examples of citations:
Richtel, Matt. "Driver Texting Now an Issue in Back Seat." New York Times 09 SEP 2009, late ed.: A1. Print.
"Venezuela to Get Russian Missiles." BBC News. 12 SEP 2009. BBC News. 12 Sep 2009 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8251969.stm>.
Assignment Arrangement:
ü Staple a copy of your article with your write-up page or list the exact web address where you found the article.
ü All write-up pages must be typed; Format: 12 inch font, times new roman font, double spaced
Grading Rubric for Current Events Assignments
20 points
95-100% / 80-90 % / 65-75% / 0-50%Quality of Current Events Assignment / First paragraph clearly and thoroughly summarizes the article
Second paragraph clearly and thoroughly provides your analysis of the article/issue
Source is cited in proper MLA format / First paragraph provides mostly clear & thorough summary
Second paragraph provides mostly clear & thorough analysis
Source is cited, and I am able to locate it / First paragraph provides somewhat clear & thorough summary
Second paragraph provides somewhat clear & thorough analysis
Source is cited, and I am able to locate it / Summary or analysis paragraphs are very unclear or incomplete
Citation of source does not allow me to locate it
NOTE: Any plagiarism will result in an automatic zero
Points / 20 19 / 18 17 16 / 15 14 13 / 10 5 0