Williston Northampton School
2014-15
AP Environmental Science
Spearing
2014 AP Environmental Science Summer Work
Required Readings from the Main Text Book:
Friedland, Andrew, Releya, Rick, and Courard-Hauri, David
Environmental Science for AP*
Copyright 2012 W.H. Freeman and Company/BFW New York, NY
All work will be completed, compiled and turned in as a portfolio on the first day of class.
1. Read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.
 Complete a book review as outlined in the summer work assignment below.
2. What Drove Wooly Mammoths to Extinction? Explore website and Watch the NOVA
National Geographic Special video at bottom of this web page:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/nature/what-drove-wooly-mammoths-to-extinction/
 Write a 1-2 page summary and your thoughts.
3. Read The Dodo Bird http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_dodobird.htm
4. Read Leopold, Aldo. On a Monument to the Pigeon. Published in A Sand County
Almanac. Copyright 1953. Oxford University Press.
http://faculty.fortlewis.edu/dott_c/bio%20250swecol/Activities/On%20a%20Monument%20to%20the%20Pigeon.pdf
5. Complete Unit 1: Introduction
a. Read Chapter 1: Studying the State of Our Earth
i. Intro Case Study: The Mysterious Neuse River Fish Killer
ii. Complete Multiple-Choice Questions, Free-Response Questions, and
Measuring Your Impact p 23-25 to be part of the portfolio.
iii. Supplemental: Natural history of humans
1. Explore Early Beginnings of Modern Humans:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/human-origins/modernhuman-evolution/early-beginnings/index.html
2. Read Where did modern humans come from?
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/human-origins/modernhuman-evolution/where/index.html
3. Watch Video. Tracing our genetic ancestry:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/human-origins/modernhuman-evolution/genetic-ancestry/index.html
b. Read Chapter 2: Environmental Systems
i. Intro Case Study: A Lake of Salt Water, Dust Storms, and Endangered
Species (Mono Lake, CA)
ii. Complete Multiple-Choice Questions, Free-Response Questions, and
Measuring Your Impact p 49-51 to be part of the portfolio.
6. Read Meadows, Donella. Thinking in Systems. Introduction: The System Lens and
Chapter One: The Basics p 1-34. Write a one-page summary.
Williston Northampton School
2014-15
AP Environmental Science
Spearing
AP Environmental Science Summer Reading
Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson. ISBN-10: 0618249060 ISBN-13: 978-0618249060
Also seen here: http://www.williston.com/summerscience
Write a 600-900 word, double-spaced review. Please follow the guidelines for writing a review
provided by the Writing Center at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Writing the Introduction:
• Define or identify the general topic, issue, or area of concern, thus providing an appropriate
context for reviewing the literature.
• Point out overall trends in what has been published about the topic; or conflicts in theory,
methodology, evidence, and conclusions; or gaps in research and scholarship; or a single
problem or new perspective of immediate interest.
• Establish the writer's reason (point of view) for reviewing the literature; explain the criteria to
be used in analyzing and comparing literature and the organization of the review (sequence);
and, when necessary, state why certain literature is or is not included (scope).
Writing the Body:
• Group research studies and other types of literature (reviews, theoretical articles, case studies,
etc.) according to common denominators such as qualitative versus quantitative approaches,
conclusions of authors, specific purpose or objective, chronology, etc.
• Summarize individual studies or articles with as much or as little detail as each merits
according to its comparative importance in the literature, remembering that space (length)
denotes significance.
• Provide the reader with strong "umbrella" sentences at beginnings of paragraphs, "signposts"
throughout, and brief "so what" summary sentences at intermediate points in the review to aid in
understanding comparisons and analyses.
Writing the Conclusion:
• Summarize major contributions of significant studies and articles to the body of knowledge
under review, maintaining the focus established in the introduction.
• Evaluate the current "state of the art" for the body of knowledge reviewed, pointing out major
methodological flaws or gaps in research, inconsistencies in theory and findings, and areas or
issues pertinent to future study.
• Conclude by providing some insight into the relationship between the central topic of the
literature review and a larger area of study such as a discipline, a scientific endeavor, or a
profession.