Maroon Team Science
Monthly Current Events Assignment (MCEA)
One of the neat things about science is that our current
knowledge is always changing. Science is constantly being
questioned and analyzed. New discoveries are being made
every day. Sometimes these discoveries add to what we
already know, but sometimes they completely change our
ideas. This year, you are going to keep up with science in the
news with a monthly current events assignment. To help you
start this process, we’re going to walk through it step by step
so that you know what is expected of you in the future.
STEP 1: Finding an article.
You have many resources available to you to find science
articles. There is an online research section of the Brown
Middle School library website with links you can use. You
may also use print sources such as newspapers or magazines
you have in your home; the Boston Globe has a science &
technology section every Monday that is a great place to look.
For now, avoid using Google to find news; we will be
learning about appropriate ways to use Google later in the
year.
Guidelines for choosing an article:
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Your article must be on an EARTH SCIENCE topic.
It may intersect with one of the other branches of
science, but should be mostly Earth Science.
a. Geology (includes plate tectonics, earthquakes,
volcanoes, rocks & minerals)
b. Earth’s Surface (includes erosion, weathering,
glaciers)
c. Astronomy (includes planets, space exploration,
stars, sun)
d. Oceanography (includes currents, El Nino, changing
ocean conditions)
e. Meteorology (includes weather, climate change,
severe storms)
If you are not sure, ask Mr. Toulmin.
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The article must contain some actual scientific
information.
o For example, an acceptable article about
meteorology might be about the forces driving a
hurricane. An unacceptable article might be a
simple weather report saying how many inches it
rained yesterday.
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Avoid articles that are primarily human interests.
o For example, during the 2011 Tsunami in Japan,
acceptable articles would have been about the
earthquake, plate tectonics, the science of tsunamis,
future preventative measures, how scientists study
such events, etc. Unacceptable articles would be
about the people of Japan and how they were
affected, the tragic loss of life, or the destruction
caused by the event.
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Avoid opinion articles. Your article must be purely
factual.
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Choose an article that is easy enough that you can
understand it but difficult enough that you are
challenging yourself somewhat. Remember that
shorter does not always equal easier to interpret or
write about. Your article must be at least 3 paragraphs
long.
STEP 2: Reading the article
Use the strategies we’ve either discussed or that you’ve
learned in English or Social Studies to make sense of your
article. Read it more than once. The first time just read. The
second time through do all of the following:
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circle key terms, and look up unfamiliar words
highlight or underline
write notes/questions in the margin of your article.
You will hand in your marked up article and you will be
graded on evidence of active reading.
STEP 3: Summarizing the article
a) Pick out the main point of the article. Often, the title of
the article provides a good clue.
b) Write the main point of the article. Use your own words.
This should be a sentence that expresses the central idea of
the article as you have determined it from the steps above.
You want to make this sentence catchy to grab the reader’s
attention. It should be like a hook.
c) Write your rough draft of the summary. Combine the
information from the first few steps into a paragraph.
Include all the important ideas, plus:
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Use the author’s key words (topic or content words)
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Follow the original organization where possible
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Include any important data
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Include any important conclusions
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Use quotes to support ideas or concepts (it is OK to
include excerpts from article as long as you give
credit)
d) Edit your version. Be concise. Eliminate needless words
and repetition (avoid using “the author says…,” “the author
argues….,” etc.
e) Compare your version to the original. Double-check to
make sure that you have not plagiarized the author’s words.
Further Tips for Writing Your Summary
 In the summary, you should include only the information
your reader needs to know.
 State the main point at the beginning of the summary.
 Use a more simple level of technicality than the
author(s) of the original article use(s) – don’t write a
summary your readers can’t understand.
 Your summary should stand on its own. Make the
summary clear and understandable to someone who has
not read the original article.
 Write a summary rather than a table of contents. Your
summary should flow.
 Be objective. Don’t add any information not included in
the article. Avoid your own opinions or ideas.
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Don’t plagiarize. It’s perfectly acceptable to paraphrase
– put the author’s ideas and descriptions into your own
words. However, this doesn’t mean lifting the author’s
words directly and only making slight modifications.
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Use quotation marks if you feel that you can’t, with
sufficient impact, paraphrase.
Use the following general outline as a rule of thumb:
1. Main point
2. Main results
3. Conclusion/recommendations
STEP 4: Responding to the article
The final step in the assignment is to include a personal
response to the article. This is an original thought or opinion
that comes from you, not from the author, based on what
you’ve read. It could be:
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Something the article made you wonder about

Something that you thought was really interesting

A personal connection you can make to the material

A connection to what we are learning in class
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An opinion about what you’ve read

A question about what you read

Anything else that the article made you think about
Your personal response should be a separate paragraph at the
end of the article and should be at least 3 sentences long.
Any questions or notes you write in the article margins as part
of your active reading will be very helpful here. Keep your
reflection in mind as you actively read.
Remember, topics should be about earth science (geology,
meteorology, oceanography, astronomy). If you are
unsure….ask.
Brainstormed Earth Science Terms/Topics
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Astronomy
Black holes
Carbon dioxide
Core
Earthquake
measuring devices
Earthquakes
El Niño
Forest Fires
Fossil fuels
Geothermal Energy
Global Warming
Greenhouse effect
Hurricanes
Hydrogen fuel cell
cars (as long as it ties
to atmosphere)
Lightning
Mantle
Meteorology
Meteors
Natural Disasters
Oceanography
Paleontology
Pangaea
Planets
 Plate Boundaries
 Prius automobiles (as
long as it ties to
atmosphere)
 Seismographs
 The big bang
 Topography
 Tornadoes
 Tsunamis
 Volcanoes
 Weather
SUMMARY FORMATING
Your assignment should follow this format:
Your Name
Block
Date
Title of Article
Author
Source (indicate newspaper, magazine, or web)
Date Article Written
First Paragraph:
Using complete sentences write a summary, include
your 5 “W’s and 1 “H”. Use a graphic organizer to
collect your information so it will be easier to write
this paragraph.
Second Paragraph
Using complete sentences write a reflection about
the article. Why did you
choose this article? What did you learn? Do you
agree or disagree? How do you feel about this
topic/issue?
Pre-Summary Submission Checklist
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• Earth Science based article
• Shows active reading
• Typed summary
• Times or Arial Font
• Size 12 pt
• Proper heading
• Two Paragraphs
• Double spaced
• Use complete sentences
• Spell checked/grammar checked
• Article stapled behind the summary
Taken from http://www.chuckwhitley.org/summary.html
The word “summary” has different meanings in different situations. There
are a number of different kinds of summaries, and of course there are
different ways of writing them. The assignment here is just one way to
write one very simple kind of summary.
A summary, here in this situation, is a one-paragraph writing assignment
which students do after reading a selected science news article. This
summary will give readers, in a short and clear way, a simple understanding
of the article’s main point and supporting details.
To be able to write a good summary, a writer has to clearly understand the
material being summarized. After that it is important for the writer to be
able to paraphrase or to reword information in the material. The ability to
paraphrase is necessary for a couple of reasons.
Paraphrasing is important because it helps a writer to present often complex
scientific concepts in words that are easier for readers to quickly
understand. The writer can condense the text, that is, use fewer words to
present the same information.
Paraphrasing is also important because it helps a writer to avoid plagiarism.
Plagiarism is the illegal use of other people’s words or ideas. A writer can
be charged with plagiarism when he or she has copied something written by
another person and/or when he or she doesn’t tell where the information
being used originally came from.
MORE….(your notes)