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Due: In class, printed, Tuesday, March 6 Length: 500 words (pagination depends on format) Estimated time to do assignment: 4 hours (2 hours of reading, 1 of writing, 1 of revision and formating) End product: A systematic presentation of a Humboldt-related species and its particular relation to Humboldt as a printed resource that is both educational and interesting. Can be a conventional printed resource, a webpage, or - be careful here -a PowerPoint presentation. Reasons/ Goals/ Objectives: 1) learn how species are scientifically described and classified; 2) appreciate the enormous labor that goes into documenting just a single species; 3) relate species classification, description of habitat, and endangered/ threatened status to sustainable environmentalism and controversial issues (climate change); 4) apply knowledge about educational standards acquired in previous assignment; 5) practice writing for a specific audience and to precise length; 6) practice document formating skills beyond the level of the short "plain vanilla" essay; 7) prepare for possible use in group project (own or another). Grading (scoring guide): on-time; use of research sources (accuracy & depth); critical thinking; expository language; document formating (typography, layout, graphics). Activity: 1) Research the Humboldt-related species you should have chosen by now. It need not be Humboldt-named, but must have a clear relation to Humboldt (example: electric eel). Use sources that present its biological classification, characteristic features, and habitat at the level of professional science. But you may also want to find sources that deliver significant knowledge for less professional audiences (serious gardeners, herpetologists, schoolchildren, etc.). From these sources or the course reading gather background information about how the species is related to Humboldt - not just as a scientist, but as an explorer. Look especially for fascinating / odd details about the species and Humboldt's exploits. Gather related visual resources as graphics files (or scans from print resources). 2) Choose your audience by age-level and, probably, special interest. Examples: middle-school science students; high-school AP biology students; readers of a newspaper (example) or short magazine article (example) that is about science, not just amusing news; adult collectors of tropical planets; parents at a Humboldt-named school who might support their school more if they could learn something interesting about who it was named for, and believe that their children's learning might benefit from Humboldt-based activities. 3) Think through what you want your audience to get from your presentation, and what the audience's strengths and (!) limitations might be. Example: cognitive development of 11-year olds, attention-span and energy of 12-year-olds (boys!); positive and negative aspects of the "Yuk!" factor; (un)familiarity of parents with science and history. Remind yourself of how you thought and wrote when you were younger, or how peers / elders you know might respond to things like those you are working with (ex: friends / relatives who are serious plant / pet people). It may help you to visualize your product in its likely environment, for example as a laminated handout used by school children visitng a zoo or ecological garden. 4) Outline your product: What will be in it (species data, background info about the species and Humboldt); how it will look on the page (fonts, typesize & styles, graphics, white space); what can easily catch the eye and mind, what may need more support to do that (and to avoid sluggishness in the reading and learning). 5) Draft your text and proofread it. Think about how much "science" you can (and can't) deliver, and how it should be adjusted to your audience, especially if it is young). You may want to try adapting a text you have found (Wikipedia article, etc.), though you may find it easier to write from the beginning your own words. 6) Put your text into your layout/formating application and develop its look on the page. You may need to consult a basic typography / layout resource. This is a good time to get some advice from someone else in class, including maybe even the instructor and mentor. Or maybe you can find someone in your target audience who will take a look at it. 7) Add to your main product the following: a) a list of the sources you used, in the usual bibliographical format; b) a list of 5 focus questions that could be used to help your target readers understand and express what they are learning (example: "Have you seen where you live a plant/ animal that looks like this one?"); c) a note that gives its short title and a very brief summary of the product (not just the species). The purpose is to create a catalog entry which might be read by a school official who is getting informed about Humboldt, or the visitor to a web site that lists Humboldt-related species and the resources that have been prepared about them. 8) Proofred. Proofreed. PROOFREAD. If it's good enough, your writing can become a public document, with students, teachers and the educated public as your readers. That's a tough audience. "Their" (common spelling error) more demanding than many "roomates" (common bulletin board spelling error), so you have to "accomodate" (another common error) them. Worser still is errers in you're grammer; they can effect (did you catch that error? - or was it an error?) meaning. |