Cancer Project
Name:____________________
Period:_________
Driving Question:
From what we explore about cell growth and the cell cycle, why doesn’t everyone get cancer?
Essential skills:
2.1 The student will analyze the steps of the cell life cycle, including replication, mitosis and
meiosis and describe the significance of each.
2.2 The student will explain the process of tumor propagation and cancerous cell division.
Overview:
How does cancer arise? We will explore the effect of environmental and genetic factors on cancer
and how cell cycle regulation can go wrong.
Deliverables:
Done in pairs.
1. A scientific news article (essay) about a cancer of choice
2. A news broadcast presented in class with a partner
3. Other deliverables involving mitosis and cell cycle
Cancer Article Guidelines
Hit all the points below for full credit. Write in full sentences, making sure they flow.
Headline: Short, attention-grabbing statement about your topic
Byline: This tells who wrote the story
1. Introduction
a) How many people are affected by cancer in this country?
b) How does cancer rate in terms of leading causes of death in America?
c) What body organs/systems does this cancer affect?
d) Has this changed over the last 10 or 20 years? What is the most recent research?
e) What do we need to know about it and why?
f) How does this cancer affect the body?
g) Does this affect a certain gender, age, group, race, etc. more often than others? If so, which one
and why (if known)
2. Science Behind
a) Describe the steps of a normal cell cycle.
b) How is the cell cycle regulated? (Include keywords: cyclin, growth factor)
c) How does this cancer metastasize and spread?
d) How are cancer cells different from other cells? What causes cancer? (Include keywords: p53
gene, apoptosis, tumor, carcinogen).
e) Why can cancer be considered a disease of the cell cycle?
3. Diagnosis/Detection
a) What are the possible environmental and/or genetic (hereditary) causes of this cancer?
b) What are the symptoms of this disease?
c) How is this cancer diagnosed?
d) What are the stages or progression of this cancer?
e) What is the prognosis for each stage? Why is early detection so important?
f) How can screening tests and behavior changes help?
4. Treatment/Future Steps
a) What are the treatment options? What are the side effects of these treatments?
b) Is there hope? What new treatments are being researched? Any promising clinical trials at this
time? How do you find out about these?
c) Are there any suggestions for preventions?
5. Citations page in APA format: Include at least 4 RELIABLE sources of choice (excluding
Wikipedia).
**TURN IN RUBRIC STAPLED TO YOUR ARTICLE**
Scientific News Article Rubric:
1
Answered a few
of the required
points of topic in a
less than detailed
way
2
Answered some of
the required points
of topic in a
somewhat detailed
way
3
Answered most of
the required points
of topic in a
mostly detailed
way
4
Answered all the
required points of
topic in a fully
detailed way
Research Quality
The student did
not include
enough cited
research for their
statements and
answered each
point with little to
no evidence or
details
The student
included cited
research for some
statements and
answered each
point with little
evidence and
details
The student
included cited
research for most
statements and
answered each
point with some
evidence and
details
The student
included cited
research for all
statements and
answered each
point with
thorough evidence
and details
Science
The student did
not fully explain
the processes,
using little to none
of the required
scientific terms.
The student
explained some
the processes
using some of the
required proper
scientific terms
The student
explained most of
the processes
using most of the
required proper
terms
The student
explained all the
processes using all
of the required
proper scientific
terms
Citations
Little to no
statements are
backed up with
evidence and cited
in APA format.
Some statements
are backed up
with evidence and
cited in APA
format.
Most statements
are backed up
with evidence and
cited in APA
format.
All statements are
backed up with
evidence and cited
in APA format
both in-text and in
the citations
section of the
article.
Requirements
TOTAL GRADE:________________
How to Cite in APA Format
In-Text Citations
According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was
their first time".
It was found that "students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998); what implications
does this have for teachers?
If the website does not state an author:
Another study of students and research decisions discovered that students succeeded with tutoring
("Tutoring and APA,", 2015).
If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material
you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in
your in-text reference. All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the
end of the paper.
Reference List
-On a separate page, at the end of your essay
-All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one half-inch
from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
-Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work
Format: Contributors' names (Last edited date). Title of resource. Retrieved from http://Web
address for OWL resource
Example: Cummings, J. N., Butler, B., & Kraut, R. (2002). The quality of online social
relationships. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01.
**TURN IN ONE RUBRIC PER PERSON FOR YOUR NEWS REPORT**
News Report Rubric
Presentation
skills
Volume &
Confidence
Contribution
Content
1
The student kept
little to no eye
contact with the
class and read
off note cards
The student did
not have visible
confidence and
spoke quietly
The student said
little to nothing
during the news
report.
The student did
not explain most
of the required
points and did
not elaborate or
give details, the
audience was
left confused
TOTAL GRADE_____________
2
The student kept
some eye contact
with the class
and was looking
down at his/her
notes
The student did
not seem
confident and
could be heard
half the time
The student did
not speak as
much as their
partner
3
The student
mostly kept eye
contact with the
class
The student
seemed mostly
confident and
spoke loudly
most of the time
The student
spoke as much
as they should
have for the
most part
The student
The student
explained some
explained most
of the required
of the required
points but not in points in a way
detail and not in most of the
a way most of
general public
the audience
can understand,
could understand keeping it
somewhat
detailed
4
The student did
not read off
his/her note
cards and kept
eye contact with
the audience
The student
spoke loudly and
confidently
The student
spoke exactly
50% of the time
shared with
his/her partner
The student
explained all the
required points
in a way the
general public
can understand,
while still
keeping it
detailed
Cancer News Report Guidelines
For full credit, pick at least 3-5 of the points under each heading to speak about. Make sure to
share statements evenly with your co-anchor.
1. Introduction
First, introduce both of yourselves and state which news channel you are with.
Start with a hook, which is a short-attention grabbing statement about the topic.
(Choose 3-5 of the below questions to discuss)
a) How many people are affected by cancer in this country?
b) How does cancer rate in terms of leading causes of death in America?
c) What body organs/systems does this cancer affect?
d) Has this changed over the last 10 or 20 years? What is the most recent research? (Look up
scientific research articles)
e) What do we need to know about it and why?
f) How does this cancer affect the body?
g) Does this affect a certain gender, age, group, race, etc. more often than others? If so, which one
and why (if known)
2. Science Behind
(Choose 3-5 of the below questions to discuss)
a) Describe the steps of a normal cell cycle.
b) How is the cell cycle regulated? (Include keywords: cyclin, growth factor)
c) How does this cancer metastasize and spread?
d) How are cancer cells different from other cells? What causes cancer? (Include keywords: p53
gene, apoptosis, tumor, carcinogen).
e) Why can cancer be considered a disease of the cell cycle?
3. Diagnosis/Detection
(Choose 3-4 of the below questions to discuss)
a) What are the possible environmental and/or genetic (hereditary) causes of this cancer?
b) What are the symptoms of this disease?
c) How is this cancer diagnosed?
d) What are the stages or progression of this cancer?
e) What is the prognosis for each stage? Why is early detection so important?
f) How can screening tests and behavior changes help?
4. Treatment/Future Steps
(Choose 2-3 of the below questions to discuss)
a) What are the treatment options? What are the side effects of these treatments?
b) Is there hope? What new treatments are being researched? Any promising clinical trials at this
time? How do you find out about these?
c) Are there any suggestions for preventions?
Finish with a call-to-action statement (To learn more, etc…)