SCIENCE READING ASSIGNMENT - GUIDELINES

Science is a never ending, ever changing body of information.  There are constantly new developments and advances in science that are written about in newspapers and magazines.  The purpose of the reading assignment is an effort to extend the students knowledge beyond the curriculum.   A limited number of articles are available in the classroom.  Articles that meet length and content requirements can be found in the Health/Science Section of the newspaper, nature, news, and science magazines, and on several web sites.

CHOOSE WISELY- BE SURE YOUR ARTICLE IS SCIENCE NOT HUMAN INTEREST.  For example, a story about a ball player who injured himself/herself and therefore cannot play is not a good article to choose.  On the other hand, a story about a ball player who injured himself/herself that details the injury, treatment, etc., is appropriate.            
IN ADDITION, choose an article that had sufficient content.  Articles must be a minimum of three paragraphs.   To be ‘counted’, a paragraph must have at least three sentences.   You will have points deducted if the article is too short.  IF IN DOUBT, PICK ANOTHER ARTICLE!!!!!

WRITING PROCESS- When writing a summary you are answering the question "What was the article about?".    This should be done in 3 to 5 well constructed sentences that are general in nature.  I DO NOT want too many details of who, what, when, etc.  As you read the article you have chosen, note the main idea or purpose of each paragraph. There is no need to copy names, numbers or dates.  A summary gives only enough information to allow the reader to decide whether or not they want to know more by reading the article themselves. PLEASE REFER TO THE SAMPLE PIECES DISCUSSED IN CLASS....THIS IS THE FORMAT THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED TO EARN FULL CREDIT.

A second paragraph should then be written that gives your opinion of the article you have read.  Any opinion should be defended within the paragraph.

THE FINISHED SUMMARY -The final draft of the summary/opinion paper should be done in ink on loose leaf paper or on a computer.  The date shown on your paper should be the due date of the assignment.  The subject space should include the article summary number (1-16).  Your work and the article you worked with is to be turned in on or before the due date in your science folder. All summaries should be kept in the folder. 

Extra credit (one point) is awarded to those who turn in their summary before the week the assignment is due.

You do not have to cut your magazines, turn the entire thing in and I will return it to you. 

Be sure to refer to the practice article summary that was done and discussed in class.

1st quarter        2nd quarter        3rd quarter          4th quarter
# - due date            #    - due date              # - due date               #  - due date
 1     9/13                 5     11/8                       9      1/17                   13     3/20
 2     9/27                 6     11/22                    10     1/31                   14     4/17
 3    10/11                7     12/6                      11     2/21                   15     5/1
 4    10/25                8     12/20                    12     3/6                     16     5/15

SCORING ARTICLE SUMMARIES - All articles are worth a maximum of  25 points.  With four summaries due each marking period, this is equivalent to one test score (100 points, approximately 25% of your science grade).  You will earn the 25 points if you follow the guidelines presented.

A 25 point score is maintained  when...
...the chosen article is a quality article.  A short "in brief" notice is not an article.  An advertisement for new computers, cars, etc., are often biased and not a good choice.  See page one for length guidelines.   Articles that are very technical should be avoided. 

...the summary is well written and clearly understood.  Yes, spelling and sentence construction count.  An 'A' paper does not have technical errors. 

...the summary includes the main topics/ideas that are discussed in the article.  Generally speaking, there could be one summary sentence for each paragraph of the article.  For example,  to say the article was about AIDS and HIV is a good but, if there was also information about symptoms, treatment, etc., the following sentences should be included:   'The article described the symptoms that people experience with AIDS.  There was also information about the treatments available to the AIDS sufferer.'  Do not list the symptoms or the treatments in your summary.

...the opinion paragraph is defended.  If you liked the article did you state why?  If you didn't like the article, what disappointed you?

Points are deducted from the 25 when....

...you turn your work in late.
...you do not include the requirements per the guidelines.
...your article is not science related.
...your work includes misspellings, poor sentence construction or fails to communicate clearly.

ARTICLE SUMMARY SCORE SHEET
_____EXTRA CREDIT for early submission (+1)
_____GREAT JOB you followed the  guidelines and scored a  25/25
_____OOPS...Deductions from your score have been made for the following reasons:

     __ late submission (-2 points per day)
     __ printed article not in folder (-5)
     __ not written in ink (-2 )
     __ not written in cursive(-2)
     __ not headed properly (-1 for each infraction)
     __ misspellings (-2 per infraction)
     __ not science related (-10)
     __ article too short (starting at -3)
     __ summary unclear (starting at -1)
     __ summary does not match article content (starting at -1)
     __ no opinion paragraph (-5)
     __ grammatical or punctuation errors (-1 for each infraction)
     __ missing folder/missing articles (-3)
     __ other  ____________________________

SCIENCE READING / WRITING ASSIGNMENT                           SAMPLE WORK

Several students have found it difficult to ‘summarize’ according to my guidelines.  That is, there are many of you who are continuing to include TOO MANY details from the selection you have read.  Others are not giving a full summary, not indicating the statements outlining the information in each paragraph.  In a further effort to help you I am offering you a ‘skeleton’ paper to follow.

SKELETON:
    The article I read is titled “_________(a)_____________”.  (Include the page number if you are turning in a magazine. ) The author’s purpose for writing this article was to inform the reader about _______(b)__________________.  The work included information describing ________©______________.  The article went on to explain ________(c)_____________
    I ____(d)__________ this article.  I learned ____(e)___________. I (would/would not) like to learn more about this subject.

Now, all you have to do is fill in the blanks with the appropriate information. 
(a) insert the title of the article ... remember, titles are capitalized.  Please include the page
            number if you turning in a magazine.
(b) describe WITHOUT DETAIL the main idea of the article: for example
    The author’s purpose for writing this article was to inform the reader about AIDS. (Or)
    The author’s purpose for writing this article was to describe the space shuttle’s mission.
(c) list the main sub-topics : for example:
    The author’s purpose for writing this article was to inform the reader about bears.               The  work included information on their diet, socialization and hibernation.
           There should be a statement for every paragraph stating its’ purpose.
(d) did you enjoy, hate, like, laugh at, etc. the article?  State that here.
(e) what did you learn that you didn’t already know?  If anything!