CHS Environmental Science

(X) Environmental Science Current Events Journal

One of the most exciting features of an environmental science course is that environmental issues are in the news every day. In this long-term exercise, you are going to keep a current events journal: a compilation of events that have been reported in the scientific or popular press. Your journal should focus on local, national, and/or international environmental issues. You will submit your current event reports to www.turnitin.com approximately every other week throughout the school year. Below are the DUE DATES:

Marking Period Due Date September 18 1 October 2 October 16 November 6 2 November 20 December 4 December 18 January 29 3 February 12 February 26 March 11 April 15 4 April 29 May 13

Sources The articles can come from any combination of the following sources: 1) Newspapers (e.g., Philadelphia Inquire, New York Times) 2) Internet sites (e.g., www.ens-news.com and www.gristmagazine.com) 3) Magazines (e.g., Newsweek, Popular Science) and scientific journals (e.g., Nature, Science) 4) Optional sources 1. Editorial cartoons – 1-4 frames with summary 2. Brochure (2 or 3 fold) – include the whole brochure 3. Letters to Editor /Advice Column – at least 2 articles with responses 4. Debate – show both sides of subject 5. Political/Campaign Materials – materials from the major candidates showcasing their position on an issue you choose 6. A creative idea of your own – ask me for permission first!

The only restriction is that there can be no more than 3 articles from any 1 source during each marking period (for example: you could have 3 from the internet, 2 from newspapers, and 1 from an optional source). Often you will find an article on the internet that was first published in a magazine or newspaper – consider that article to be a magazine or newspaper article (not an internet article). Remember, use the source that published the feature first. Please do not include articles from sites such as About.com or Wikipedia (or other general reference sites). These are not “current events”. Article Report For each article, you will need to prepare a typed report. The report will include:

1) A bibliography (this must be properly cited – use www.easybib.com) 2) A brief summary of the article (3-5 sentences describing the main ideas of the article) 3) A statement of personal relevance (3-5 sentences describing how the article relates to you – how it makes you feel, what it makes you think about, etc.)

Reports must be saved as one of the following formats: MS Word, WordPerfect, PostScript, PDF, HTML, RTF, or plain text. It is essential that all articles have a complete and correct citation.

Turn-It-In In an effort to go “paperless”, your journal entries must be submitted to www.turnitin.com, I will not accept paper copies. We will take some time at the beginning of the year to explain how to use this website – specifically, how to enroll in the class and how to submit a file. I will show you an example of the formatting that I prefer and will post it on my website for you to reference. If your article was found online, you simply need to include its URL in the bibliography of your journal entry. However, if your article was found in paper-form, please physically submit it to Mr. Strogen with your name and period on it by the due date.

Grading All journal entries will be due at 11:59 pm on the dates given above. Each article will be worth 10 points (4 for the article and 6 for the summary) and each marking period will include 30-40 points worth of current events – essentially the same as a quiz or test. You will be penalized 10% for each day that your current event entry is late. Additionally, you will be penalized for improper citations, insufficient paragraphs, and excessive spelling and/or grammatical mistakes. The journal can be used as a culminating project for those who wish. Also, I can help you become certified as a "Certified Oral Presenter" by having you present some of your journal entries to the entire class. Please see me if you are interested in either proposal.

Many students will put off these assignments until the night they are due. My strong suggestion is not to wait; do the work early each week so you can enjoy your weekend.

GOOD LUCK! I hope that you will learn a lot and will enjoy doing this project.