Introduction
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Welcome to the Ocean. You are now being hired as a marine biologist. There are people who are polluting our oceans, capturing marine life for captivity reasons, and killing our marine life. It is your job to write this online news article to advertise to the public why marine life should be left alone in the wild. It needs to be known how they contribute. Your job for the next three weeks is to research and complete this online news article with written details and visuals. You need to explain why the animals are better left in the ocean rather than captivity of zoos or aquariums.
The first step is choosing a marine animal that you think needs to be saved the most and is very important to the ocean. After the animal is chosen, you will begin your research. You will use your laptops to find prominent information. Include a non-fiction book in your report and summarize its importance and find another article/interview of someone on your side advocating for animals to be left alone in the ocean. Cite your sources! Information needs to be recent. You will need to have at least 3 pictures of your animals, one in captivity and two in the wild. You will be able to use my personal library or the school's library for books. Keep notes on a Google Docs of your research. After the projects are completed in three weeks, we will present to the class. Have a YouTube video link that fits with this project ready to play as part of your presentation (under 8 minutes). If you choose, you may create your own video to present with your presentation. Save the Marine Life! |
Task
Now that you have chosen your marine animal, you will began constructing your newspaper article online. It needs to be neat and organized. It is due May 13, 2020. We will present that Thursday and Friday. The article needs to include the 3 pictures of your animal with one of those pictures being in captivity. In your article, answer the following questions.
- Describe your animal including their size.
- What part of the ocean does the animal live in?
- Which oceans does the animal live in?
- Why is the animal important in the ocean? How do they contribute?
- What is the animal's biggest threat including other marine life and human interactions?
- Is it endangered? If so, why?
- How can this animal be protected?
Make sure to include a YouTube video either created by you or found that relates to the purpose of this assignment and your animal. It needs to be under eight minutes. Include a non-fiction and an interview or person that can back up your argument. This strengthens your evidence.
On Thursday, May 14, we will begin the presentations. You will pull your video, play it, then I will display your online article about saving your marine animal for the sake of the ocean and marine biologists. We need the animals to be able to study them and learn more about them for their sake. It will be displayed while you talked about what you learned. Do not simply read off of what was written. Your presentation needs to be at least 10 minutes of discussion of what you learned and your animal's importance.
Process
- Pick your marine animal. Get it approved by me. I want to ensure no student is doing the same two animals.
- Brainstorm what you know or have learned.
- Pick out your non-fiction book to go along with your research that strengthens your argument.
- Begin researching. Take notes and write down all resources.
- Find statement, quote, article, etc., of person to help back up your argument. Include in your article.
- Do a rough draft of your online news article. Make it look neat. Include a bold title and use columns like a news article about saving marine life in the ocean.
- Revise and edit. Add pictures and other requirements.
- Write bullet points on index cards and practice for the oral presentation.
- Present. May 14 or May 15.
Evaluation
Newspaper Article Rubric for WebQuest Name:_______________________________
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Category |
Level 4 |
Level 3 |
Level 2 |
Level 1 |
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Article Purpose |
A clear purpose is established in the lead paragraph. It demonstrates the aspect of why the animal is important and what needs to be done. Closing paragraph included. |
A clear purpose is established in the lead paragraph. There is no closing paragraph and no connection with the animal and their importance. |
A purpose is established, but not at the lead paragraph. The animal is just summarized. |
The purpose is not clear or established. |
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Required Material |
Includes video, 3 pictures of animal including captivity photo, quote or statement, the video, and the non-fiction book. |
The article includes 3 pictures of the animal, and the non-fiction book but only includes either the statement or the video. |
The article includes at least 2 pictures of the animal. May also include non-fiction book. |
Includes none to one of the visuals or additional requirements for the article |
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Grammar/Spelling |
There is little to no error. The sentences are structured well and strengthen the argument. |
2-4 Mistakes. The sentences still make sense. |
There are 4-8 grammatical errors or mistakes. Makes reading comprehension a little harder. |
The article is hard to read and is hard to comprehend. Several mistakes. |
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Organization |
It is well-organized. The text is wrapped around the included photos in an organized manner. The article is separated into two columns with several paragraphs. |
Information is clear and organized good into columns. |
Information is a little unclear or clarified, but it is organized. |
There is no structure. It is just written without paragraphs or spacing. |
Conclusion
When the project is completed, the students will have learned about their marine animal, other student's marine animals, and the importance of protecting these animals in our oceans. The students will understand how much humans can impact these animals and do more harm than good. This will help students see what we need to do to protect our animals and oceans, which will in return help our planet.
Websites Encouraging People To Make A Difference/See the Importance
https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/marine-life.html
https://awionline.org/content/marine-life