Evolution Times

Congratulations!  We are in the process of “evolving” a newspaper and you have been selected as the staff. The publisher needs to get the articles to the press in two weeks. This is a class project and each student will be required to contribute something.  To begin - Can you think of a name for our newspaper?

            Read a description of the following features that will appear in our publication.  You will be asked to make selections of your first, second and third choices.  Note that some of these jobs are meant for more than one student.  Before you put it on your list, find a mutually agreeable partner.

  1. Feature Article I -  You have just returned from a time machine adventure.  Using news article format, write an article describing your encounter with the ancestors of a species of your choice. Some examples include the ancestors of dogs, horses, whales or birds. (Three students may work on this.) 
  1. Feature Article II -  You are a reporter at the Scopes Trial.  Write a news articles in which you identify the defendant, counsel and prosecutor.  Describe the tactics being used by both sides.  Explain the charges.
  1. Feature Article III – Who Killed the Dinosaurs?  Discuss the causes of their extinction.
  1. Obituaries - Many scientists have contributed to our understanding of evolution.  Using the format for an obituary , write one for one of the following: Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Thomas Malthus, Alfred Russell Wallace, Stephen Jay Gould.  Read the actual obituary of Darwin that appeared in the London Times.  (Four students - one obituary each.)
  1. Heard Around Town:  Using the format of biologues , write the dialogue of a conversation that might have taken place between any of the following pairs of characters:  Darwin and Lamarck, Modern man and his ancestors, two codependent organisms, etc.
  1. Dear Abby:
    1. The following letter is received:

Students in Mrs. Kent's biology class are calling me primitive because my species has been around for such a long time.  How should I respond to their taunts? 

Signed,
Cockroach in Room 120, Albert Leonard MS

    1. Respond to this letter and write two more letters dealing with cells as well as responses to them.
  1. An Anachronism:  Imagine that Darwin could send e-mails during his voyage to the Galapagos.  Write three e-mails that he could have sent regarding his discoveries.
  1. Write an advice column - Dear Evolu

Dear Evolu,

I know I am beautiful, but it’s literally a drag to pull all these feathers around.  Will you please explain to me why I’m so “birdened.”
Peaked, Pete Peacock in Malaysia

Answer this letter and write 2 more letter about evolutionary adaptations involving  two different species, camouflage or mimicry and answer them.

  1. Write an Editorial: Drawing on social Darwinism, supporters of the 20th-century eugenics movement sought to "improve" human genetic stock, much as farmers do in agriculture.  Write an editorial condemning this practice.
  1. An Interview With Franziska Schwartz: She was a deaf teenager living during the Third Reich who was sterilized under the eugenics program of the Nazi regime. Read her story as related by Ina Friedman and write an interview that effectively tells her story.  (When you get to the site,  click on Teaching Materials and Resources, then go to Victims of the Nazi Era: Handicapped)
  1. Crossword Puzzle:  Construct a crossword puzzle on evolution with a minimum of 20 clues.  A wonderful web site for making puzzles is: www.puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com. Or see me for a program for making puzzles. (one student)
  1. Word Search: (Try the web site above.)   You must have a minimum of 20 words dealing with evolution and each word must be defined. (one student)
  1. Write a Poem, Song, Limerick or Rap about evolution.  (See my rap in human evolution). If you select a limerick, write three of them.

  1. Write a Flat Stanley Adventure – Flat Stanley is a young boy who was flattened by a bulletin board.  Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he decides that his unique shape allows him to go under doors, in envelopes and travel throughout the world.  Each students does one.
    1. Send Flat Stanley to the Galapagos Islands and have him report on some of the unique organisms found there.
    2. Send Flat Stanley goes back to one of the following geological time periods: Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic.  Include a description about the life forms, climate and other characteristics of that period.
    3. Flat Stanley goes back in time and meets human ancestors.  Describe his encounter with Homo erectus, Homo habilis or Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy)
    4. Flat Stanley goes to the Galapagos when they are first formed.  Describe their physical features and creation.
    5. Flat Stanley meets Darwin.
  1. Write a Classified Ad:  Can be "help wanted" or "for sale.”  (4 ads required)

Ex. I am a polar bear in search of a new habitat.  I require…..

I am a flower looking for a pollinator.

I am an organism seeking camouflage.  (be very specific in your  description)

  1. The Evolution Forecast:  (If you pick this, you must do both choices)

                                                               i.      Describe some positive adaptive changes that would occur in a population of _________ if they were suddenly introduced into an island with the following environments:  (select five different ones) and

                                                             ii.      Invent a new species!  It is 50 million years after man.  Plate tectonics, the force responsible for continental drift, has driven the continents of Eurasia, Australia and North America together and turned South America into an island.  For the first time, members of the same and closely related species that have lived independently on different continents and evolved different variations can now mate together.  Man, responsible for many ecological disasters, is now extinct! 

   Here is an example:  During the time of man, ungulates (hoofed mammals like cows and goat) were domesticated and widely used by man for his own purposes. These animals became dependent on man and their numbers dropped dramatically.  At the same time, the rabbit, which man considered a pest because it destroyed crops, developed into several separate forms.  One of these was known as the rabbuck.  He had the hopping gait of his ancestors, but developed strong hind legs for leaping and, over time, the rabbucks evolved the typical deer leg and gait. 

  1. Write a Book Review:  You will be required to read the short story, The Misnamed, Mistreated, and Misunderstood Irish Elk by Stephen J. Gould or Passenger Pigeon by James Audubon.   Set up an appointment with Mrs. Weber to learn the format of a book review. (Two students)

 

  		1.  Draw a Cartoon about evolutionary principles.  Gary Larson may have competition competition!!  (one student)

 

Selections Due:____________________

Project Due: _____________________

Grading Rubric:

 

Scientific Accuracy -             30 points (Graded by Mrs. Kent)

Quality of Writing -              30 points (Graded by Mrs. Weber)

Adherence to appropriate
Newspaper Format -             15 points (Graded by Mrs. Weber)

Creativity -                       15 points (Graded by both teachers)

Appearance -                     10 points (Graded by both teachers)

 

Note:

bulletPlease put your work on a disc.
bulletYou can improve your grade if you edit your articles.
bulletAnyone interested in helping to create this newspaper using Publisher software will receive extra credit.