Seventh Grade
Animal Research
Project Packet
Chandler Preparatory Academy
2017-2018
Life Science Research Project Guidelines 2017-2018
Name ______Section ______
Animal (leave blank for now) ______
Welcome to your Seventh Grade Animal Research Project learning experience at Chandler Preparatory Academy! This project is designed to be an enjoyable experience and an opportunity for you to perform extensive research, write a research paper, and later organize and communicate your discoveries in a fun, creative manner through a diorama you construct and an oral presentation to your classmates.
There are four basic components to this project: research, a typed 2-3 page paper, a diorama, and an oral presentation. The seventh grade project is an individual project. It is extremely important to manage your time wisely when working on this project. The research paper will be due on Thursday, November 16. The diorama and oral report will not be due until mid-February.
The Research
· This is a scientific research project, which means a SUBSTANTIAL amount of your effort and time (weeks!) should be spent “digging” for information. You will be learning a great deal about your animal, and some of the information will be complex. As you read, you must spend time thinking about and making sense of the material, which you will then organize.
· You need a minimum of 5 sources – ONE of these required five sources must be a book (or chapter or select pages from a book) and one MUST be a scientific journal. A list of some of the acceptable scientific journals can be found in this packet. You are required to make at least one visit to a local library to search for sources. IF this creates a problem or hardship for your family, your parents must email us to discuss options. Other sources can include Internet articles, websites, field guides, interviews (with a park naturalist or zoologist, for example), television documentaries, and videos or DVDs. Wikipedia, ehow, and books or websites for young elementary-age children may NOT be used as sources.
· As you read about your animal or view a video, take notes on note cards. One successful way to do this is to have each source be a different color note card, so if you use a source in your report or presentation, you know with ease where you found that particular piece of information. These note cards will be collected with your TYPED first draft of your research paper. If you don’t want to use five (or more) different colors of note cards, you can also number your note cards or use a marker to color a bar at the top right of each note card. In other words, all the facts from the same source would have the same number or color bar at the top, right corner of the card. You should ONLY put ONE or two facts per notecard, so that you can easily organize your facts later on into paragraphs. Scraps of paper or post-it notes may NOT be used for note cards. Index cards - which can be purchased at WalMart and many other stores - must be used for this purpose. (See sample notecards in this packet.)
· For this research project, you will be required to submit a typed “Works Cited” page in MLA format, which is a detailed list of the sources you actually took information from for your typed research paper. Samples of Works Cited pages will be provided to you later this quarter.
Source Information
Below are some examples of acceptable scientific journals (ask your teacher about others).
*National Geographic *Smithsonian
*National Wildlife *Audubon
*Sierra Club *Natural History
*New Scientist *World Wildlife Fund
*Nature *Discover
*Scientific American *Science
Research Tips
· Go to the library and use the Internet to gather necessary materials and locate sources for your research. You must turn in a list of at least three sources, including a scientific journal, AND forty note cards on Tuesday, September 19. An additional two sources and forty additional note cards are due on Tuesday, October 3. In the end, you are required to have a minimum of 100 note cards.
Ø Use the public (city or regional) libraries and/or Noble and Hayden Libraries at ASU (you cannot check out from ASU, but you can photocopy articles)
Ø Make use of the reference librarian for help in finding scientific journal articles and other materials – he or she is there to help!
Ø Search online for an article or any relevant and interesting videos. There may also be videos and DVDs at the public libraries which you can check out. With your library card, you can access all of the databases the library subscribes to (we will practice this in class).
Ø Consider if there are any experts you might contact by phone, e-mail, or in person for information regarding your animal. Possible sources might be zoo staff, university professors, pet store personnel, park rangers, wildlife rescue groups, conservation organizations, or State Game and Fish Department employees. (This is an optional source, not a requirement.)
Ø Once you begin gathering sources, go ahead and start making your note cards! Writing your note cards will take longer than you expect, and this is the “backbone” of your paper (AND later, in February, your oral presentation). It is far better to have MORE information and more note cards than you need and be able to pick and choose what you want to include than to come up short on content and note cards! Having plenty of good note cards will make writing your research paper and planning your oral presentation SO much easier and more enjoyable.
Ø IF YOU NEED HELP, SIGN UP FOR A TIME WITH MRS. GOODWIN OR MR. SWANSTROM TO HELP YOU FIND SOURCES. Sign up early on. Do not procrastinate! (Sign up will be in Life Science classroom.)
Life Science Animal Project TYPED RESEARCH PAPER
(You do NOT submit an outline – the outline below is to show you
how to organize your research into FIVE PARAGRAPHS.)
Title/Cover Page with Animal and Classification, Student Name and Section
Two-three pages double-spaced, one inch margins, size 12 Times New Roman font
MLA citations throughout paper
Works Cited page in MLA format at end of paper
______
Paragraph One: Introduction
A. Introduction to animal
B. Any fun, interesting, or surprising facts or statistics
Paragraph Two: Environmental characteristics (habitat) and adaptations
A. Natural environment and habitat (in detail)
B. Where it is found in the world (range)
C Anatomy and physiology; that is, adaptations to its habitat (for example, why does a polar bear have a thick, white fur coat?)
Paragraph Three: Predator/Prey Relationships
A. Natural predators
1. Adaptations for defense against enemies
2. How does it fit into the food chain? Explain.
B. Food sources
1. How is its body adapted for obtaining food?
2. What does it eat? (in general, herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore; more specifically, examples of what its diet consists primarily of)
Paragraph Four: Reproduction and Parental Care
A. Mating habits
B. How long is its gestation period? (for example, humans = 10 months)
C. How do they bear young? (for example, live birth versus eggs)
D. How many young do they bear at one time?
E. Do they nurture their young? Why or why not? If so, which parent? For how long?
F. What provisions do the parents make for the survival of their young?
Paragraph Five: Conclusion
A. Status of the species in its natural habitat (numbers, endangered, IUCN Red List?)
B. IF threatened or endangered, what efforts are being made to protect the species
C. Final interesting facts, statistics, or quote you would like the reader to know about your animal
Life Science Animal Project Timeline
1st Quarter
· Students receive "Seventh Grade Animal Project Packet" in Life Science class – Aug. 16
· Packet signature page with student's AND parent's signature and animal choices due – Aug. 23
· Students practice how to find acceptable sources and write note cards in class – Aug. 31
· Students begin research process – Sept. 5
· Minimum of three sources (including scientific journal) and forty note cards due – Sept. 20
· Additional two sources and forty more note cards due – Oct. 3
2nd Quarter
· All note cards (minimum 100) and typed first draft with typed cover page due – Oct. 26
· Typed Works Cited page due – Nov. 7
· Final draft of typed research paper with cover page and typed Works Cited due - November 16
3rd Quarter: 6-8 minute oral presentation and diorama will be due mid-February (to be determined later). Students will not begin work on these components until AFTER Winter Break.
Sample Notecards
Remember to also make a “key” note card for each of your sources with ALL of the needed information about each of your sources.
Using a certain number
for EACH source. This
fact came from source # 1.
The source number goes
in the top right corner.
The date is the date I found
this information (not the
date of the article or when
the book was published).
The date goes in the top
left corner.
In the bottom left corner
is the page number I found
this fact on.
Not every source will have MAKE SURE TO PARAPHRASE (put in your own words) the fact
a page number. You or two closely-related facts. Otherwise, you are plagiarizing. Also,
obviously will NOT have a LIMIT EACH CARD to ONE fact or a couple of closely-related
page number for a video or facts. Each card should have a NEW fact. Do not have four note
an interview. cards from four different sources that all say the same facts!
OR
(sample title page, attractive and centered horizontally and vertically)
ASIAN ELEPHANT
Elephas maximus
by
Sam Jones
Section 7A
CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidae
Family: Elephantidae
Genus: Elepha
Species: Elephas maximus
Student and Parent Signature Page
(pull off this page ONLY and return to Mrs. Goodwin or Mr. Swanstrom Wednesday, August 23)
I have carefully read and discussed this entire packet and believe I comprehend the required elements of the Life Science Animal Research Project. I am excited to get learning about my selected animal and to begin planning how I am going to share my research results!
Student name (print) ______
Student signature ______
Date ______
Parent name (print) ______
Parent signature ______
Date ______
MY TOP FOUR ANIMAL RESEARCH CHOICES in order (#1 is your first choice)
(be specific: for example, spinner dolphin, NOT just dolphin, or mountain gorilla, NOT gorilla)
1. ______
2. ______
3. ______
4. ______
Parents initial they are aware of choices AND the need for a library card: ______
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