Portfolio Components

Task:
Find an article in an online science news source, local newspaper, or a science magazine pertaining to Science and do the following: cite the article, select 5 science vocabulary words and define them, write a 1-paragraph summary of the article, attach the article. Throughout the semester, you will input 5 Science in the News tasks into your portfolio.

Explanations & Specifications:
Citation of the article should follow the format below.

Newspaper -
Last name, First name. (Year, Month day). “Article Title.” Newspaper title, p. #.

Magazine –
Last name, First name. (Year, Month). “Article Title.” Magazine Title, pg#.

Website –
Last name, First name. (Year). “Article Title.” Retrieved Month day, year, from Website Name Web site: http://www.

Science vocabulary words refers to words that have scientific significance, they may or may not be words that we have used in class.

The 1-paragraph summary should be in the words of the student, not copied from the article. The article should be attached to the paper that is turned in. the attached article may be photocopied if necessary or preferred.

Task:
Students will write in their journals each day in class on a science topic. For the semester, the student will choose their 10 best journal entries from the semester and copy them or type them and place them into their portfolio. The original should remain handwritten in the student’s composition notebook.

Explanations & Specifications:
Each journal entry copied into the portfolio should be labeled with the date on which it was written and the question that was posed to the students.

Task:
Students will identify an issue, question, problem, or observation and develop an experimental plan to investigate it. The purpose of this component is to assess at students ability to think scientifically. Scientist approach the world with curiosity. They are always asking why and how questions and following those up with “what would happen if…” scenarios. To nurture young scientists, we must help them think in this way about the world, for not every question has an answer that can be found on the internet or a book. Students are encouraged to look at everyday issues and then go from there.

Explanations & Specifications:
This task can best be explained by using an example. Let’s say a student wants to figure out which is the longest lasting brand of battery they could use for their CD player. In designing an experiment they would need to consider several factors. What will they do to test battery life? How can they make sure each battery is exposed to the same conditions? What materials would they need to use? What steps would they take to test the batteries and in what order? What information or data would they need to collect to find the answer to their question? How can they ensure that the information that they collect will answer their question? [Click on each question for more details.]

Format: [Click to see example]
When submitting the experimental design pieces, students will need to be sure that all of the following parts are included:
Question to be answered.
Brief (2-3 sentence) description of the experiment.
List of materials needed for the experiment.
Step by step instructions of how to carry out the experiment.
Description of data to collect.

Task:
Students will be required to read one book or novel, each semester, in Science, outside of class. Students are encouraged to check this book out from the school or community library. Students should sit down and read this book, at the very least 2 times a week. This section of the portfolio will include student generated evidence of having read this book. The book should be completed by the due date of the portfolio. Students will be required to turn in reading logs throughout the semester to aid in this process.

Explanations & Specifications:
The book or novel should be in some way, even loosely related to Science, though not necessarily what we are studying. Click here for a list of suggestions.