SCIENCE CURRENT EVENT HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT DIRECTIONS: SAVE THIS PAPER FOR
REFERENCE WHEN DOING THIS HOMEWORK. PLACE IT INTO YOUR BINDER.
Ms. Karen Green
2013-2014
7th grade Science
Today’s date: ____________
1) Objective:
 Students will be able to further enhance their ability to connect Science to their daily lives and the world
around them.
2) Due Dates:
 There will be 2 current events due for each grading period, until the end of the year. Students will
receive a list of the due dates for the CE homework. These due dates should be posted in the agenda
AND the sheet placed into their Binders under the FORMS divider.
3) Type Of Assignment: Homework, 15% of student’s total grade for the six weeks.
4) Legibility:
 CEs need to be legible, done in PEN ONLY, using blue or black ink.
 If it’s computer-generated, needs to be printed in blue or black ink, size 12 font or larger, using Arial or
Roman or a standard print font.
 Any CE turned in done in pencil WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. If a student chooses not to follow these
directions and has to take the CE home to do it over, it WILL be counted LATE.
 If I cannot read it, I cannot grade it.
5) Length of CE:
The CE sentence lengths below are MINIMUM amounts and students can write more in their
summaries than the minimum amount if they wish.
 The CE needs to be at LEAST 15-20 sentences, seventh grade, Advanced quality sentences, if you are
signed up for Advanced classes.
 The length needs to be at 12-15 quality sentences if you are signed up for PreAp
 CE length is 10-12 sentences if you are signed up for Regular/Academics.
 Do NOT number the sentences in the margin or at the end of each sentence when doing the CE.
 CE is written in paragraph/essay format.
6) Sources to use:
 Only PRINTED Science news will be used for the CE, which may be from magazines, newspapers,
and/or Internet articles.
 The Source needs to be from a publication of the current calendar year. In December, if a student
wishes to work ahead on their CEs, they may use a December publication for their January CEs.
 Watching or listening to radio or TV news and then writing about it does not count for this assignment.
The CE has to be from PRINTED news.
 Do not use encyclopedias, textbooks, or any sort of Science encyclopedia , including encyclopedias on
CDs. Do NOT use WIKIPEDIA as a source; your assignment will NOT be accepted if you do.
 No advertisements may be used for the CE homework. Do not use the weather forecast for your CE.
7) Plagiarism:
 If the CE is copied exactly from the printed article, it will not be accepted and a grade of zero will be
given for the assignment.
 It is imperative that the summary is in the STUDENT’s words and not the author’s, or someone else’s.
 If a person in the article is quoted in the CE summary, quotation marks need to be used and no more
than two quotes per CE should be used. Quotes are not required for the CE summary.
8) Summarization:
 Choose an article of some substance, that is, it’s not super short. It needs to be long enough that you
can gather enough information to write the required number of sentences for your summary.
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9)
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READ the entire article FIRST, and then put it into your own words in the summary.
Summaries usually include WHO did WHAT, WHERE it occurred, and WHY it relates to Science. This
doesn’t mean that you simply change a few words and copy all the rest of the article. Summarizing
involves REPHRASING the information in your OWN words, expressing in written format, what you
learned from the article.
At the end of the summary, include HOW the information relates to Science and WHY or HOW the
information is beneficial(helpful) to you. Do NOT respond with “I don’t know” to either of these last
questions. These two statements can be part of the required number of sentences in your CE
summary.
Mechanics, Format, and Computer Problems:
After reading the article, cut it out, copy, or print it and staple it BEHIND your written CE summary
before turning it in on the due date. If it is an internet source, print a copy of the article.
 Do NOT turn in the entire magazine or newspaper, cut out the article you used.
 Twenty points will be deducted if the article or a copy of the article is not attached at the time of turning
in the article on the due date.
 If you have printer or computer problems, do NOT turn in a thumb drive in place of your written CE
summary. WRITE IT OUT IN BLUE OR BLACK INK if your printer and/or computer fails. .
 If you’ve chosen an Internet article and your printer won’t print, then choose an article from a
newspaper or magazine.
 Computer problems will NOT be an excuse for the CE to be turned in late.
 NO notes from parents will be accepted to excuse you from late penalties. No thumb drives turned in
because of printer issues.
 Plan AHEAD and that will give you time to work around possible computer problems.
 One point will be deducted for each misspelled word. Use spell check or a dictionary or ask someone
at home to proofread it for you.
 Your heading goes in the upper right hand corner: first and last name, date, class period.
 No rough draft is required. You may use one for your own purposes but it’s not to be turned in.
 Please double-space your work, whether it’s typed or handwritten.
 The NAME of the article goes in the center of the paper at the top. The DATE of the article goes under
the name of the article. The SOURCE of the article goes under the date. The source is the name of
the newspaper or magazine or Internet article where you found your article. The author’s name isn’t
necessary on the CE. SEE the SAMPLE I’ve provided for you with this information packet.
 NO CURRENT EVENT HOMEWORK (OR ANY ASSIGNMENTS) ARE ALLOWED TO BE EMAILED
OR FAXED TO THE TEACHER. STUDENTS NEED TO WORK AHEAD IN ORDER TO
TROUBLESHOOT PRINTER AND COMPUTER PROBLEMS. WRITE THE CURRENT EVENT
SUMMARY OUT BY HAND AND CHOOSE A DIFFERENT ARTICLE THAN THE ONE ONLINE IF
THERE ARE COMPUTER PROBLEMS.
10) Late work and NO NAME papers:
 All CEs will be date-stamped on the day they’re turned in.
 If a CE is turned in late, write HOW MANY DAYS late it is and how many points will be deducted
because of the lateness of the work. Take responsibility for your late work.
 If the CE is late because of an absence, write ABSENT at the top.
 If you are at school for part of the day and leave to go to an appointment or on a field trip, you will need
to turn in your CE BEFORE you leave for the day. If you come to school late and miss Science and a
CE is due, you may come turn in the CE after school.
 Do NOT leave ANY assignments clipped to the classroom door. Do NOT slide work under the door.
 If there’s no name on the paper, it goes in the NO NAME tray. It will be up to YOU to retrieve it, put
your name on it and turn it in at the late work box before the end of the current six weeks.
 THEFT of papers from the No Name tray has sometimes been a problem. If one of your No Name
papers is stolen out of the No Name tray, you’ll have to deal with the grade of a zero because the
teacher will not be playing referee concerning this. Also, you won’t be able to do it over and turn it in
again. So, yes, putting your name on it is important!
KEEP THIS SAMPLE CE IN YOUR BINDER AND USE IT FOR REFERENCE WHEN DOING YOUR
CURRENT EVENT HOMEWORK SO THEY’LL BE DONE CORRECTLY. 
Karen Green
September 7, 2013
2nd period
“A Quick Dip in a Dirty Pool”
August 10, 2013
Time Magazine
The Centers for Disease Control projects that thousands of swimmers could be ill this summer
from enjoying the public swimming pools. Many parasites and bacteria are showing up in pools
tested all over the United States. Some swimmers are showing up at the hospital with a rash or a
very upset stomach.
One of the most dangerous bacteria found are Cryptosporidium. It is a parasite that can multiply
in your digestive system, leak out through a baby’s diaper in the pool, and then, if swallowed, it can
cause diarrhea. The tricky thing about Cryptosporidium is that it is highly resistant to chlorine and
is able to survive in pool water for a few days.
E.Coli is another common bacteria found in pools. It is also a bacteria that is found in the
stomach and intestines of animals and is spread through feces particles, leaded out of dirty diapers
in pools. E.Coli is more easily destroyed by the chlorine in pool water than Cryptosporidium.
One of the ways you can do a visual check for these microbes is to look at the water before you
jump in. It should be clear enough for you to see through at least ten feet of water and see objects
such as the stripes on the bottom of the pool clearly. If you see foamy or bubbling water along the
pool’s edge this could be a sign that there is pollen or bacteria in the pool water. The best advice is
to keep your mouth closed while swimming. Sometimes swimmers accidentally swallow some pool
water and then ingest the microbes right along with the water into their digestive system. Also, be
on the lookout for babies wearing diapers. Parents need to be changing their baby’s diapers
frequently and washing their hands after diaper changes. If you go to the restroom while at the pool
be sure to wash your hands thoroughly when you’re done before re-entering the pool.
This article relates to Science because it gives information about bacteria and germs. It is helpful
to me because now I know what to watch out for at the public swimming pools.
Today’s Date:_______________
SCIENCE CURRENT EVENT HOMEWORK DUE DATES FOR 2013-2014
POST THESE DUE DATES FOR YOUR CE HOMEWORK IN YOUR MMS AGENDA.
Keep this paper along with your directions and sample of the CE to use when you do your CE
homework.(Maybe even put it in a page protector.)
You are encouraged to work ahead on your CEs but do not turn in the CEs until the due date. If you
know you will be absent on a CE due date, see me for turning it in early for that reason.
If you turn in a CE past the due date, whether it’s for an absence or it is late, place your Seat
assignment at the top and turn it in at the LATE WORK FOLDER. With your seat assignment at the
top, it will be easier for me to place the graded work back into your take up folder we use for
collecting work.
Some due dates are closer together in the first semester because it is only 79 class days long. The
second semester CEs are spread out more because the second semester is 99 days long.
If you misplace these directions, look on my website and reprint them.
NOTE: All the due dates are Mondays, which is the all 8 period day schedule.
FIRST SEMESTER:
1st grading period: September 9,
September 23
2nd grading period: October 7, October 21
3rd grading period: November 4, November 18
SECOND SEMESTER:
4th grading period: January 13, February 3
5th grading period: March 3, March 31
6th grading period: April 28, May 12