Name ______________________________________________ Date __________

SCI Teacher / Period __________________ LA Teacher / Period _______________

CATASTROPHIC EVENT RESEARCH PROJECTInformative-Explanatory Performance Task:You will research a major past or ongoing catastrophic event. It is your task to write an essay that describes

1. what happened during the event, 2. the causes of the event, and3. the impacts of the event on the community, society at large, and/or the natural environment.

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts:Reading Standards for Informational Text: RI 7.1; 7.2; 7.3; 7.4; 7.8; 7.9 Writing Standards: W 7.2 a-f; 7.4; 7.5; 7.6; 7.7; 7.8; 7.10Speaking and Listening Standards: SL 7.1; 7.2; 7.4Language Standards: L 7.1; 7.2; 7.3; 7.4Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies: RH 6-8.1; 2; 4; 8; 9Reading Standards for Literacy in Science: RST 6-8.1; 2; 4; 8; 9 Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science: WHST 6-8.2a-f; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9

Catastrophic Event Project Timeline and Due Dates:Science LA Component

1.12.15 Project introduced; choose a catastrophic event to research

1.12, 1.13, & 1.14

Research days to complete PowerPoint prewrite – print one copy for LA teacher. (Copy to Science – TBA)

1.20-1.30 Explanatory Writer’s Workshop to prewrite, edit, and revise

2.2-2.5 Lab time to revise and publish research paper

2.12 2.12 Final essay DUE

3.9-3.13 3.9-3.13 Graded essay / research paper returned and scores entered into Family Access

Resource Tools:Web tool for citing sources: http://citationmachine.net/index2.php (MLA format)www.fofweb.com/Science/Microsoft Word

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Informative-Explanatory Writing RubricSample Generic 4-point Informative-Explanatory Writing Rubric (Grades 6 - 11)

Score

Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence

ConventionsStatement of Purpose/Focus(Thesis/Claim)

Organization Elaboration of Evidence(Research)

Language and Vocabulary

4

The response is fully sustained and consistently and purposefully focused: controlling idea or

main idea of a topic is focused, clearly stated, and strongly maintained

controlling idea or main idea of a topic is introduced and communicated clearly within the context

The response has a clear and effective organizational structure creating unity and completeness: use of a variety of

transitional strategies logical progression of

ideas from beginning to end

strong connections among ideas, with some syntactic variety

The response provides thorough and convincing support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the effective use of sources, facts, and details. The response achieves substantial depth that is specific and relevant: Use of evidence from

sources is smoothly integrated, comprehensive, and concrete

Effective use of a variety of elaborative techniques

The response clearly and effectively expresses ideas, using precise language: Use of academic and

domain-specific vocabulary is clearly appropriate for the audience and purpose

The response demonstrates a strong command of conventions: few, if any, errors are

present in usage and sentence formation

effective and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling

3

The response is adequately sustained and generally focused: focus is clear and for

the most part maintained, though some loosely related material may be present

some context for the controlling idea or main idea of the topic is adequate

The response has an evident organizational structure and a sense of completeness, though there may be minor flaws and some ideas may be loosely connected: adequate use of

transitional strategies with some variety

adequate progression of ideas from beginning to end

adequate introduction and conclusion

adequate, if slightly inconsistent, connection among ideas

The response provides adequate support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the use of sources, facts, and details: Some evidence from

sources is integrated, though citations may be general or imprecise

Adequate use of some elaborative techniques

The response adequately expresses ideas, employing a mix of precise with more general language: Use of domain-

specific vocabulary is generally appropriate for the audience and purpose

The response demonstrates an adequate command of conventions: some errors in usage

and sentence formation may be present, but no systematic pattern of errors is displayed

adequate use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling

2

The response is somewhat sustained and may have a minor drift in focus: may be clearly focused

on the controlling or main idea, but is insufficiently sustained

controlling idea or main idea may be unclear and somewhat unfocused

The response has an inconsistent organizational structure, and flaws are evident: inconsistent use of

transitional strategies with little variety

uneven progression of ideas from beginning to end

conclusion and introduction, if present, are weak

weak connection among ideas

The response provides uneven, cursory support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes partial or uneven use of sources, facts, and details: Evidence from sources is

weakly integrated, and citations, if present, are uneven

Weak or uneven use of elaborative techniques

The response expresses ideas unevenly, using simplistic language: Use of domain-

specific vocabulary that may at times be appropriate for the audience and purpose

The response demonstrates a partial command of conventions: frequent errors in

usage may obscure meaning

inconsistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling

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The response may be related to the topic but may provide little or no focus: may be very brief may have a major drift focus may be

confusing or ambiguous

The response has little or no discernible organizational structure: few or no transitional

strategies are evident frequent extraneous ideas

may intrude

The response provides minimal support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes little or no use of sources, facts, and details: Use of evidence from the

source material is minimal, absent, in error, or irrelevant

The response’s expression of ideas is vague, lacks clarity, or is confusing: Uses limited

language or domain-specific vocabulary

May have little sense of audience and purpose

The response demonstrates a lack of command of conventions: errors are frequent

and severe and meaning is often obscure

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Catastrophic Event Topics

Earthquakes

1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake1999 Turkey Earthquake1906 San Francisco Earthquake1964 Alaska Earthquake1995 Kobe, Japan Earthquake1994 Northridge, CA Earthquake1976 Tangshan, China Earthquake2008 Sichuan, China Earthquake2010 Haiti Earthquake2011 Fukushima, Japan

Floods

1981 Memorial Day Flood, Central Texas1953 Netherlands1996 Saguenay River Valley Flood, Quebec1989 Johnstown Flood, Pennsylvania1976 Big Thompson Flood, Colorado2010 Flooding in Pakistan1996 Great Midwestern floods2000+ Drought in the American Southwest2006 Sidoarjo Mud Flows

Landslides

1903 Turtle Mountain, Alberta, Canada1919 Kelut Larhars, Kelud, East Java, Indonesia1920 Veracruz, Mexico (Rio Huitzilapan)1933 Diexi, Mao County, Sichuan, China1964 Seward, Alaska1970 Yungay, Peru (Nevado Huascaran debris avalanche)1983 Thistle, Utah2007 Chittagong, Bangladesh

Storms

1998 Ice Storm: Northeast United States1998 Hurricane Mitch2005 Hurricane Katrina2008 Hurricane Ike1989 Hurricane Hugo2005 Hurrican Rita

Tornadoes1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes, United States2011 Alabama Tornadoes, United States1925 Mid – West, United States

Tsunamis2004 Christmas Tsunami, Indonesia1964 Alaska Tsunami2011 Fukushima, Japan

Volcanic Eruptions

1991 Mt. PinatuboA.D.79 Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, Italy1815 Mt. Tambora1943+ Paricutin, Mexico1983+ Kilauea, Hawaii

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Research NotesName of catastrophic eventType of catastrophic eventDate(s) when catastrophic event occurred

Place(s) where catastrophic event occurred

Description of event –who, what, when, where, why, how, etc.

Cause(s) of catastrophic event –the science behind what happened

Effects on Society – geological ramifications:How did the event impact the environment?

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Personal Losses –How many people died, injured, displaced?

Financial Losses –How much did it cost to repair the damages?

What scientific discoveries were made as a result of the event? How did the event change history?

Anecdote –A quote or short paragraph from someone who experienced the event (in your own words).

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Human Solutions(to the ongoing event)

Works Cited:Keep track of your resources throughout the research process. Use the chart below to record your information. This information will then be used to help you create the bibliography, MLA format.

Resource Title Details (author, publishing company, copyright date, URL, etc.)

1.

2.

3.

4.

Book References: Title Author Publishing company Copyright date

Internet References: Author (if available) Publishing web site name (this is the title on the home

page of the web site) Publishing organization (usually found on the home

page of the web site) Date published or revised

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URLWeb tool for citing sources: http://citationmachine.net/index2.php

List of resources with works cited information (Make sure you have at least one book.):

1. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Example:

Works Cited

"Northeastern Ice Storm." New York Times. New York Times Company, 01/14/1998. Web. 24 Jan 2012. <www.nytimes.com>.

Tolonen, Polly. "Icy." Times. 05 26 2009: 100-111. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. <www.TimesArchive.net>.

Tolonen , Steph. Ice Storms are Cold. Illinois: Tolonen Co., 2012. 258. Print.

Works Cited Page Reminders: Alphabetized Works should not be bulleted, nor numbered Use a reverse indent as instructed and shown above. Single-space your resources Size 12 font, Times New Roman Last page of your essay / research paper Use Citation Machine and select MLA format.

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Catastrophic Events Pre-Write for Body Paragraphs Name:__________________________ Period:___ Date Assigned:_______ Due Date:_______

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Thesis/Claim StatementA thesis statement is one of the most important parts of your essay. It tells the reader in ONE SENTENCE what the entire essay is going to be about. Example thesis statement:

Using the above example about last year’s snow storm, the essay would have 5 paragraphs. The first paragraph (introduction) would include a “hook” to catch a reader’s attention or interest. It would begin with an anecdote about a personal memory of the storm. The first paragraph would end with the thesis / claim, “The Puget Sound Snow Storm of 2014 was a critical event in the area’s history because it left local businesses without customers, ruined hundreds of homes, and eventually led to a major power outage.”

The first body paragraph would begin with a topic sentence about the loss of local business. The rest of the paragraph would all support the statement that businesses lost customers, and the economy in the Pacific Northwest suffered. The final sentence would include a summary and a transition. (Example: “Not only was the local business world at a loss for customers, but many homes were also destroyed during the devastating snow storm.”)

The second body paragraph would begin with a topic sentence about the numerous homes that were ruined. (Example: “Hundreds of Puget Sound residents found themselves living in homes that were ravaged by the storm.”) The rest of the second body paragraph would contain facts, examples, and proof that supports the topic sentence. The paragraph would end with a summary and a transition.

The third body paragraph would follow the same pattern.

The concluding paragraph would begin by re-stating the thesis, but in a different way. (Example Rephrased Thesis / Claim: “Due to the massive power outage, the loss of local business and the destruction of homes, the Puget Sound Snow Storm of 2014 greatly affected the area’s history and its ability to cope with devastation.”)

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The Puget Sound Snow Storm of 2014 was a critical event in the area’s history because it left local businesses without customers, ruined hundreds of homes, and eventually led to a major power outage.

TOPIC: Puget Sound Snow Storm of 2014 Body Paragraph #1: local businesses lost a lot of business Body Paragraph #2: hundreds of homes were ruined Body Paragraph #3: eventually led to a major power outage

For your informative-explanatory essay, your thesis / claim needs to… Identify the catastrophic event (topic). Provide a phrase about what is in each of your body paragraphs. Possible Format: Topic + because + Effect 1, Effect 2, Effect 3 Possible Format: Cause + linking word + Fact 1, Fact 2, Fact 3

Example:

1. Now it is your turn. Write the ‘topic’ of your essay in a short statement.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

2. Now, list three fact statements (effects) that you want to write about in your essay.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

3. Combine it all into ONE SENTENCE and you have the THESIS / CLAIM for your essay!

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________10

The Puget Sound Snow Storm of 2014 was a critical event in the area’s history because it left local businesses without customers, ruined hundreds of homes, and eventually led to a major power outage.

TOPIC/EVENT: The Puget Sound Snow Storm of 2014

BP#1: left local businesses without customers

BP#2: ruined hundreds of homes

BP#3: led to a major power outage

Catastrophic Events Essay: Introduction

Explanatory Essay (Research Report) Introductory Paragraph Pre-Write

My catastrophic event (essay topic) with year:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Type of an event:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Anecdote: to catch readers’ attention and hook them (refer to page 6 and/or slide 11):

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Thesis/Claim Statement (use the one you created on the last page):

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

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The introductory paragraph is created by putting all of these

elements together.Structured Paragraph

Topic Sentence: A detail from the thesis / claim; should leave the reader with a how or why question

Concrete Detail: Fact or quote supporting the topic sentence

Concrete Detail: Fact or quote supporting the topic sentence

Concrete Detail: Fact or quote supporting the topic sentence

Concluding/Transition Sentence: Restates the prompt and transitions to the next paragraph

Body Paragraph 1: Topic Sentence: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Concrete Detail 1: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Concrete Detail 2:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Concrete Detail 3:

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______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Concluding/Transition Sentence: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Body Paragraph 2: Topic Sentence: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Concrete Detail 1: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Concrete Detail 2:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Concrete Detail 3:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Concluding/Transition Sentence: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Body Paragraph 3: Topic Sentence: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Concrete Detail 1: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Concrete Detail 2:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Concrete Detail 3:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Concluding/Transition Sentence: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Paragraph 5: Conclusion

__________________________________________________________________________________________

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Conclusion: Your final paragraph should wrap up the essay and support the information that is presented.

Sum up ideas & restate the thesis / claim. Reflect on the event. Include possible solution (slide 13). Make a prediction for the future. Leave the reader “thinking” about something.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

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Formatting Details for Your Informative-Explanatory Essay Size 12 font, Times New Roman font Double-spaced 1 inch margins No folder or portfolio needed – Staple pages with a cover sheet. Title Page / Cover Sheet (first page )

o Name of Catastrophic Evento Your first & last nameo Science teacher’s last name and periodo Languages Arts teacher’s last name and periodo Due date (Feb. 12, 2015)

Works Cited Bibliography (last page)

A sample essay and a sample essay template have been posted on your LA teacher’s Connect site. You can erase the information on the sample template and replace it with your own work. Once you change the information and add in your own details, you’ll have to save it to your Studdirs account or a USB. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Breakdown of Scores & AssignmentsLanguage Arts Assessment: Essay (60% of grade)

See Smarter Balanced Informative-Explanatory Performance Task Writing Rubric on page 2:-Purpose / Organization (4 pts. x 4 =16 )-Conventions (2 pts. x 2 = 4)

__________/20 Points

Language Arts Writer’s Workshop Assignments (30% of grade) Catastrophic Events pre-write (page 8) __________/10 Points Thesis / Claim statement worksheet (page 10) __________/10 Points Introduction (page 11) __________/10 Points Body Paragraphs – 5 points each (pages 12 – 14) __________/15 Points Conclusion (page 15) __________/10 Points

Science Assessment: Essay (60% of grade) See Smarter Balanced Informative-Explanatory

Performance Task Writing Rubric on page 2:-Evidence / Elaboration (4 pts. x 4 = 16)

__________/20 Points

16

--Works Cited (4 pts. separate from the rubric)

Important Note: On February 12, please have your essay already ‘saved’ and also printed out, stapled & ready to turn in when you walk into class. You may NOT ‘save’ or print in class on the due date. Should you need to come in early to save/print your essay, the library opens at 7:20 AM.

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