Astronomy Research Report
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Our universe is filled with many fascinating things, some we can explain, some we have yet to
figure out. Think about a particular topic related to astronomy that interests you. Research
this topic at the school or community library and the internet. You will be using this
information to write a research report about your selected topic.
This is an expository piece of writing and must be at least the standard 5 paragraphs. Of
course, you are welcome to write more than 5 paragraphs! In fact it is strongly encouraged!
The following parts are required:
o Cover – must be illustrated (hand drawn or computerized decorations are fine)
o Title page – must include title of report, your name and the date
o Report – must be at least 5 paragraphs long, typed, and must be DOUBLE SPACED!
Please do not use a fancy/silly font! Times New Roman or Arial will work fine. Please
use 12 or 14 pt. font. Use the writing process to write your report: prewriting, rough
draft, editing/revising, and final copy.
o Bibliography - The bibliography is the last page of your report. It is on a page all by
itself. It tells me the sources of your information. This will be discussed in class. Here
are a few examples of how to write a bibliography for typical sources:
 For any book with one author follow this format:
 Author’s last name, first name. Title of Book. Publishing City: Publishing
Company, year published.
 Holmes, Kevin J. Penguins. Bridgestone Books, 1998.
 For any encyclopedia follow this format:
 “Article Title.” Reference Book Title. Year published.
 “Solar Energy.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 2001 ed.
 For any internet website follow this format:
 Website Name. Posting date (year). Date of Access. <URL>.
 The Mysteries of Space and Time. 2001. Accessed on 10/25/08.
http://library.thinkquest.org/12523/.
o Pictures/Visuals: You may include these in your report if you want. It is up to you.
The following four sections are categories of possible report topics. Most likely your topic will
fall into one of these categories. Please use the sub-questions to guide your research and for
writing your paper. Please understand that these questions are meant to be a GUIDE for your
paper. You will need to elaborate and expand on these ideas. Do not simply answer each
question using one sentence and expect to get a good grade. You are encouraged to add in
more information that you find interesting and or relevant.
o Important Astronomers:
 What was this person’s childhood like?
 What kind of schooling or education did this person receive?
 What contributions to astronomy did this person make?
 Why were these contributions important?
 Include any other fascinating and relevant facts and ideas about this person.
o Planets:
 General statistics about your planet (distance from sun, length of day, length of
year, size, etc.)
Climate and weather on your planet
Features that are unique to your planet (why is this planet different from
others?)
 Include any other fascinating and relevant facts and ideas about the planet.
o Other Celestial Bodies (i.e. stars, super novas, comets, etc.)
 General statistics (size, distance from Earth, temperatures, etc.)
 Where does it come from? How did it come into existence?
 Include any other fascinating and relevant facts and ideas
o Man-made Objects: (telescopes, satellites, space station etc.)
 What does this object do?
 Who makes or controls this object?
 Why is this object helpful to astronomy?
 Include any other fascinating fact or ideas about this object.
Helpful Websites:
o Here are some websites that may be helpful in your research process. Remember be
very careful about using Google for your research. Google has a great deal of
information, but much of it can be misleading or unreliable when writing a formal
research report.
 http://www.askkids.com/
 http://www.dibdabdoo.com/
 http://kids.yahoo.com/
 http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/
 http://www.kidinfo.com/
Poster or PowerPoint:
o You will be creating a poster or PowerPoint to go along with your report. It must
include:
 Title (most likely will be the same as the title of your report)
 Your name of course! Put your name on the FRONT of your poster, or the first
slide of you PowerPoint.
 Pictures/Illustrations – these can be copies from books/magazines, pictures
printed from the internet, your own illustrations, etc.
 You should also include the main ideas or highlights of your report.
 Hints: make sure that your poster does not have huge areas of blank white space!
Fill in the space! On the same note, using a poster color other than white is a
great way to make sure that there are not huge areas of blank white space!
Presentation:
o You will be required to give a 1-2 minute presentation summarizing what you have
learned. Please use your poster or PowerPoint as a visual for your presentation.
Grading: The written report is worth 80% of the grade and the poster/presentation is worth
20%. This will be part of the tests/projects section of your reading language arts grade. It
will be weighted to be worth 2 reading tests.
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Astronomy Research Report Timeline
Report Assigned: Monday October 25, 2010
Report Due: Thursday December 9, 2010
 Monday Oct. 25th: Report assigned. Agreement must be signed and brought back
to school the next day. Begin thinking about a topic immediately!
 Tuesday Oct. 26th: Library day – students will have time to research their topic
during library time.
 Thursday Oct. 28th: By this time students need to have decided on a topic.
 Monday Nov. 1st: If you haven’t already, START WRITING YOUR REPORT!
 Friday Nov. 19thst: This would be a good time to start your poster or PowerPoint!
 Thursday Dec. 9th: Report and Poster due. Presentations begin.
 Friday Dec. 10th: Finish presentations.
Late projects will be penalized one full grade for each day it is late. For example if a project is
turned in on December 10th, the best grade you could possibly get is a B+ or 89%. If the project is
still not turned in a week later (December 16th), I will at that point assume you’re not planning on
doing it and you will receive a zero.
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I, ______________________, have read and understand the instructions and policies for the
Astronomy report.
(student name here)
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(student signature)
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(parent/guardian signature)