The purpose of this assignment is to develop your ability to read and write about science.
The assignment:
Each week you will find an science related article that is interesting to you. It can be about any topic, not just whatever we are studying in class. Then you will write a report which has these three parts:
1) Citation: Here you will put the name of the article, the author, and where you found it (for example, the New York Times or Science News for Kids).
2) A brief summary: Here you will summarize the article in one or two sentences. This is to give your readers (including me) a sense of what you have read.
3) Reflection: This is the biggest part of your report. I am interested in your response to the article. Please address the following questions in your reflection:
a) What did you think about the article? Did you like it or not? Why?
b) What interested you or surprised you about the article?
c) What questions do you have about what you read? What would you like to know more about what you’ve read?
Click here to find tons of science articles.
Your report is due Friday here on the blog.
The Orange Shagamuffins
15 years ago
Posts
28 comments:
Title:Chew For Health
Author:Emily Sohn
Found:Science News For Kids
Summary:Chewing gum may be good for you and your health.
Reflection:I thought that this article was interesting because i never would have thought that gum is good for you and could help on tests and with your health. It talks about how some companies may try to add vitamins,minerals,and medicine. This may help fight off everything from headaches to bad deseases. Some questions that I have would be is gum going to still taste good and be the same just with more ingredients added in? Another question would be is gum going to become more expensive to buy?
Title:Water Bears Triumph Over Outer Space
By:Henry Fountain
Found:NYtimes.com
You know the little roly-poly invertebrates that live in oceans and lakes, well European researchers say that those little invertebrates commonly called water bears can survive in space! Some of the water bears were exposed to the vacuum of space only while others were exposed to vacuum and ultraviolet radiation.
After I read the whole article I was amazed because I thought that was so cool that those little creatures that live in lakes can live in space also! I thought that this was a very interesting article, but I have one question, really how could they live in space its kind of weird thinking about it!
Title: The Sun is not a Perfect Sphere, NASA Spacecraft finds
This is the website I found this article from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081005192607.htm
No author was found.
This article is about scientists trying to find out the measure of the Sun, which is not easy at all. The spacecraft’s rapid rotation and high data sampling rate (necessary to catch fast solar flares) make it possible for investigators to trace the shape of the sun with systematic errors much less than any previous study. They have found out that the surface of the Sun has a very rough structure which makes it harder to measure the Sun.
I thought the article was very interesting and fun to read about. I like how so many people are interested in our world today.
Something that interested me was how they described the structure of the Sun and what all the things are on the Sun.
A question that I have about this article is that what the Sun looks like with the rough surfaces and all the bubbling things. Another question is, is that was it really hard to measure the Sun with all the features on it?
Something that I would like to know more about is that, what observations have the scientists made about the Sun that was not in this article.
For: gossipgirl
Title: Chew for Health
Author: Emily Sohn
Something good that this person did in this article was that they explained their article very well and detailed.
Something bad that they did was that their summary was very short. I think that they should have mad it a little longer.
“Cell phone can Unlock Car, Start Engine”, By Jay Alabaster. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/2686887
3/
This article was about a Japanese new mobile phone. It was said that the phone can unlock and start the cars engine, with no keys necessary. It will be sensed for the nearby key to the car. The key will eventually be needed, once in the car. The phone also comes with cool things like, television, music players, GPS, credit cards, and more.
a.) Wow! This is amazing, and takes so much time off your hands because you don’t need to search through your purse or pockets to find your key. You can just have your phone.
b.)Was really brought me into this is that not only do these phones have systems that can unlock your car door and start the engine, but some other sophisticated things that come with these Japanese phones are digital TVs, and credit cards!
c.) Some things I would like to know about this article are:
-What does the system in the car and phone do, to know to unlock and start the engine of car? -How expensive are these phones? -Why aren’t these phones in the U.S. yet?
title: Lost penguins get Brazil air lift
author: Gary Duffy
found: BBC news
Hundreds of penguins have been found and returned to their territory in the south, Atlantic ocean by an air force plane after being found in the coast of brazil.
reflection : I think that it is sad to know that these birds are dying just to get there food. These birds cant help themselves because they don’t know that there about to die. And just to know that these penguins have to migrate over to brazil just to get there food is ridiculous .
Yes, I guess liked this article because I learned that penguins need to travel to get there food.
What surprised me : that when penguins move to the north for more food , that these “birds” are now dying. About 1,000 birds were found to be washed up on the coast of Brazil, some have died along the way. Some are thought to have made a journey of more than1,860 miles from the cold waters of Patagonia on the southern “tip” of South America
The Long, Wild Ride of Bipolar Disorder
By Bruce Bower
(Found at - http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/37280/title/The_long%2C_wild_ride_of_bipolar_disorder)
The subject of this article is bipolar disorder. It describes some kids with this disorder, and explains that if a kid were to be born with bipolar disorder he or she would have a very slim chance of growing out of it. Also, some kids are born with it and some kids are diagnosed later in life.
I thought this article is very sad but interesting. What I liked most was that it really fills you in on the facts about having bipolar disorder. The thing that surprised me the most in this article was the fact that the majority of kids were diagnosed in middle school.
I have these questions about this article: Was there ever a person who was diagnosed at an old age? What is the actual percentage of people who actually grow out of bipolar disorder? Do some people actually believe that bipolar disorder doesn’t exist?
The thing I would like to learn more about from this article is if they have found a cure or how close are they to finding one?
Responding to other reports:
raceynyc-
What I really liked about raceynyc’s report is that she explained what she liked most about the article she read, and that she seemed to grasp the concept of it. But my suggestion for raceynyc in the future is that her report seemed kind of short and brief, so I would suggest trying to expand your ideas.
gossipgirl-
The thing I appreciated the most about gossip girl’s report is the topic she chose, I thought that was a good topic to explore and write about. The only thing she didn’t do was say if she wanted to know more about what she read, and I would like to know if she wanted to know more about the article.
nydroj1-
I thought this article was really good and mostly well written. What I also thought what this person did well was that they wrote a strong opinion about how interesting the subject was to them. The only suggestion I have for them is that some parts of the article weren’t very clear, but otherwise, good topic.
Citation: New Ant Species Discovered In The Amazon Likely Represents Oldest Living Lineage Of Ants.
By: unknown (doesn't say)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080915174538.htm
Summary: Christian Rabeling at the University of Texas at Austin was in the amazon when he made a shocking discovery. He found a new kind of ant, which ancestors were most likely from 1923. This will help many biologists find out more about ants and how much they have evolved.
Reflection:
A) I thought the article was awesome and I most definitely liked it. The reason why is because not only are the ants new but they work together to get food and the best part is they're blind!
B) The fact that they can do so much considering they're blind. Also their scientific name is Martialis heureka which translates to "ant from mars". Isn't that awesome?
c) no questions on what I have read. But what I would like to know more about is how old exactly is the species.
-Garfield
Title: Flu shot in pregnancy protects newborns
Author: Nathan Seppa
Found: www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/37376/title/Flu_shot_in_pregnancy_protects_newborns
Summary: scientists have discovered that a pregnant woman who gets a flu shot passes protection on to her fetus that lessens the newborn’s likelihood of contracting the flu during the first months of life. I enjoyed this article because I didn’t know you could get a flu shot while you were still in the womb. Nothing surprised me and I don’t have any questions.
raceynyc-
I really liked how raceynyc explained the article. Something that I would suggest for raceynyc in the future is that your report seemed short. Next time I would try to make your reprt a little longer.
Title: Our Plastic World
Author: Emily Sohn
Found: science news for kids
Summary:
This article is about how we use plastic everyday, but recently studies have shown the some plastic may contain toxic chemicals. These chemicals can into our bodies and even cause many health issues.
Reflection:
I thought this article was very intresting because we use plastic everywhere. In baby bottles, bike helmets, spatulas ect. Some plastic items we even put in our mouth. We are at a very big risk and what is causing this needs to be stoped
Questions:
1) How is the harmful chemicals getting in the plastic?
2) What are the most serious health conditions that have occurred?
Plastic-munching microbes
By?
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20081008/Note3.asp
Most soda bottles are made from a plastic called PET (polyethylene terephthalate). PET can’t be reused with food or drinks: /. Researchers in Europe found a way to convert PET into PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate).PHA breaks down over time its biodegradable. If you heat
PET it breaks down into three different parts. Heated PET is a gas or a liquid and TA (terephthalic acid). "While PET to PHA is not the sole answer to PET recycling, it can be part of the solution”
allie-
I liked how allie explained the article she had read it was detailed. The reflection was good because hey explained what the felt well.
For: Gossipgirl
title: chew for health
Author: Emily Sohn
I thought that she explained it really good and I was thinking wow chewing gum is good for you.
One thing that I thought needs work was it just needs a little more in site about the article.
For: Jen
Title: Plastic-munching microbes
I thought that it was an interesting explanation and a good article.
One thing that I thought needs work is it need to be a little longer.
For: Garfield
Title: New Ant Species Discovered In The Amazon Likely Represents Oldest Living Lineage Of Ants.
I liked it a lot its cool to know discovered species and I liked how I was taught about it.
one thing I thought that needs to improve is its not so clear the way you explained it but other than that it was good
I got this article from http://www.boingboing.net/2007/08/14/fish-that-feed-on-de.html
Well there are many things happening in the world right now, but the article im going to write about is how fish eat dead skin. the chineese people say that Fish that feed on dead skin cells are a nice spa treatment.
According to this article in a Chinese newspaper, beauty-seekers in Southern China and other places in the world are soaking themselves in pools filled with a type of small fish (Garra Rufa) that eat human skin .
They can live and swim freely in at least 43-degree-hot water, they are naturally used for the treatment of skin diseases in some spas. When placed in the spa, these fish can feed themselves on the dead cells of the human body. Since they only consume such cells, leaving the healthy skin of the human body to grow. The whole process is reportedly free of pain.
I forgot to mention this in my article
I was very surprised when I saw the article saying that fish eat away dead skin I was surprised. Then after i told my dad about it he went to go and look for a place that had that spa treatment.
For: gossipgirl
I thought that the persons article was very interesting and detailed, but the only thing that i would tell her to change for next time is to make it a little longer and a little more facts
For: nydroj1
I thouht that this persons article was very good. The only thing I would say is that instead of just saying how the phone is good to humans give some negative ideas saying how the phone can be bad for humans. For example they should have mentioned that what if the person lost the keys and the phone wasnt charged or what if the person lost the phone and that was the only thing they had to open their car.
My response to others reports:
For:gossipgirl
Title:Chew For Health
By: Emily Sohn
I think this reflection was very well written and had good details but one thing that confused me was if it was real chewing gum that helps during tests or if it was a new type of gum. You also didn't add what had surprised you about this article and if you liked it or not.
For: garfield
Title: New Ant Species Discovered In The Amazon Likely Represents Oldest Living Lineage Of Ants.
By: Unknown
I think garfield did a great job on his/her reflection. You adressed all the questions and wrote a good amount on them.
For: raceynyc
Title: Water Bears Triumph Over Outer Space
By: Henry Fountain
I really liked the way you opened the article, it brought me in, making me want to read more.
I liked gossipgirl’s article on chewing gum may be good for you and your health because I always thought that gum was bad for you. My suggestion is be more specific, what diseases.
I liked raceynyc’s article on water bears cause I didn’t know they could survive in space. My one suggestion is that you say why they survive in space.
I liked allie’s article on plastic. My one suggestion is go to word to write these reports because you made a spelling error by not putting get between can and into.
for--nydroj1
i thought your artical was interasting
the summerized the story very well
and the gave really good details
for--gossipgirl
theres just one small problem was you sould have a longer summary
but your reflection was good because explained their article very well and detailed.
for--racenyc
i thought your artical was cool i would have never known that water bears could servie in space
For: raceynyc
I thougt that this persons article was very good because the person made the article sound very interesting and enjoyable to read.
How I(Ken Chang)tormented Neil DeGrasse Tyson
By kenneth Chang
Neil degrasse tyson the diretor of the haydon planetarium museum of natural history is comming out with a book called "the pluto files". the article is about the International Astronomics union declaring that pluto is now a dwarf planet that means that it is not a real planet its just a meteror that got caught in the suns gravity.
i think that this is a good article because it generates disscussion
this is for gossipgirl.
i liked your article and how shewing gum may be good for your health thats cool. ii think you did a good job but i think you could exlain more on how it can help.
this is for lizzy
i think thats cool how they are tracing the sun and how they found out it isent a perfect circle. o think u could tell us more details.
this is for nydroj1
i think u did a cool article and was well written. i think that the auther could have explained more on how it worked.
Post a Comment