NAME___________________________________________DATE___________________PERIOD__________
Reading and Writing Science: Nature In the City
This project will consist of three major parts: 1) Field observations and a high quality
field journal page; 2) a descriptive essay describing the area observed; and 3) a
research report that discusses the environmental history of the Los Angeles Basin and
the area that the student observed.
The project has several stages:
 Nature Field Observations/Field Notes Graphic Organizer ) – due 4/2/13
 Final Draft of Field Journal Page – due 4/18-19/13
o (Created using observation notes)
 Descriptive Essay
o Graphic Organizer – due in-class 4/11-12/13
o First Draft – in class 4/18-19/13
o Peer Edit – in class
o Final Draft – due 4/26/13
 Research Based Report: Natural History of the City
o Research Organizer for Report
o First Draft – in class
o Peer Edit – in class
o Final Draft – due
 Portfolio with Field Journal, Descriptive Essay, and Research Report
o Due date:
Field Observation/Field Journal
Students will use their notes on a local area to create a final draft/publication quality
field journal page. The page should include the following:
 A classy and visually pleasing layout.
 Artwork representing the flora and fauna that the student observed.
 Text describing what was observed.
Descriptive Essay
Students will use their field notes/journal to write an essay describing the area that
they observed. The essay should:
 Use specific sensory details to describe the flora and fauna of the observed area.
 Describe the circumstances under which the observations took place.
Research Report
 Use multiple creditable sources for information.
 Use MLA format to cite sources.
 Describe the history of the Los Angeles Basin, paying special attention to how
human activity and development affected the environment.
Portfolio
 Turn in the Field Journal Page, the Descriptive Essay Final Draft, and the
Research Report Final Draft together.
NAME___________________________________________DATE___________________PERIOD__________
Questions your descriptive essay can/should answer:
Where were you? Place, neighborhood, city, state?
What time? What king of lighting (morning/dawn, sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset,
dusk, dark)?
What was the weather like? Were there clouds, rain, or wind? Was it cold, cool,
warm, or hot?
How did you feel?
What were you thinking? Did the area you observe remind you of anything?
How big was the area you observed?
Were you walking? Or standing? Did you kneel down to look at anything?
Were there other people in the area or nearby? What were they doing?
What was the layout of the area?
What kinds of plants did you see?
Did you see any animals?
Did you hear any birds? Or insects? Or other wildlife?
Describe the various plants and wildlife that you observed. For each thing that you
observed, describe the following:
Type? Size? Colors? Shapes? Smell (if any)? Where was it? Did you touch it? What was the texture?
Did it make any noise (especially for animal life)? What was it doing (also for animal life)?
Type? Size? Colors? Shapes? Smell (if any)? Where was it? Did you touch it? What was the texture?
Did it make any noise (especially for animal life)? What was it doing (also for animal life)?
NAME___________________________________________DATE___________________PERIOD__________
Type? Size? Colors? Shapes? Smell (if any)? Where was it? Did you touch it? What was the texture?
Did it make any noise (especially for animal life)? What was it doing (also for animal life)?
Type? Size? Colors? Shapes? Smell (if any)? Where was it? Did you touch it? What was the texture?
Did it make any noise (especially for animal life)? What was it doing (also for animal life)?
Type? Size? Colors? Shapes? Smell (if any)? Where was it? Did you touch it? What was the texture?
Did it make any noise (especially for animal life)? What was it doing (also for animal life)?
Figurative language:
Think of at least three similes (similes use like or as to compare two things) that
you could use to describe the plants or animals you observed:
Example: Water was dripping from the leaf like a single, lonely tear.
1.
2.
3.
Think of at least three metaphors that you could use to compare to the plants or
animals you observed:
Example: The ants on the sidewalk were a row of soldiers, marching out in search of
new territory to conquer.
1.
2.
3.