Name: ______Pd: ______Date: ______

Energy Project

As an 8th grade class, you are involved in the 4th year of Northley Middle School’s 8th grade “Energy Expo”. This is a very exciting event and takes a lot of preparation. In class, you will be involved in learning about various energy sources, their uses, their benefits, their drawbacks, and ways you can help make good choices.

The “Energy Expo” will be held on May 21st, 2013 and will be an exciting day where you will be hosting 5th graders and community members to teach them what you know and to help make a difference.

To prepare for this, you will each become an expert on one particular energy source and will learn about the other sources from your classmates.

Project Goal: To research and create presentation materials on how different forms of energy can be used to create the energy we use every day.

You will be assigned one of the following topics (circle the one you are given):

-Solar

-Biomass

-Natural Gas

-Uranium

-Geothermal

-Wind

-Coal

-Propane

-Hydropower

-Petroleum

This project is what is known as a layered assignment. There are specific requirements to attain each grade level, and within each grade level there are specific rubrics that will determine how many points you earn.The grade you earn on this project will be completely based on what YOU chose to do, the amount, and thoroughness of your project.

On the rubric kept in class, you grade will be added up daily, as you hand in parts of the project

*** ABSOLUTELY NO PART OF THIS WILL BE ACCEPTED IF IT IS HANDWRITTEN***

If you need to use a computer here at school, there are plenty, make arrangements with your teacher!!

To earn a C:

  1. Complete required research components DUE ON ______
  2. Typed sheet with information and source (use citation machine)
  3. AND a summary sheet. The facts MUST be in your own words. Copy/Paste is NOT acceptable!
  4. Wikipedia is not allowed
  5. You must include the resource that you got EACH fact from
  6. You must include at least 3 different sources
  7. Create a visual display (Poster) that will be used to teach 5th graders DUE ON ______
  8. This poster will be used at our Energy Expo in May- make sure it is engaging to 5th graders!
  9. It must be visually appealing and easy to read
  10. Images are included
  11. Make it interactive, for example: you can attach a piece of paper with a question on it and then have it be flipped up with the answer underneath

To earn a B: DUE ON: ______

  1. Complete all required components for the “C level” and:
  2. Create a commercial selling your energy source, make an infomercial with your voice recorded over a Power Point,create a newscast, make a flipbook, or another idea approved by your teacher.
  3. See attached rubric for each option, but all must include:
  4. The name of your source
  5. At least 5 facts
  6. Be neat- THIS CANNOT BE HAND WRITTEN
  7. Entertaining or Factual
  8. Another option for a level assignment is an energy photo hunt
  9. Pictures must be taken of 20 energy items from the list
  10. No duplicates (ex: air conditioner at your house and one at a friend’s house)
  11. The project will be a neat compilation of your findings (book, poster, photo album)
  12. Each picture will be accompanied by a 2 sentence captionthat tells the reader the location and how this represents energy. .
  13. No more than 3 of the images can be taken in your own home
  14. See the attached rubric for more specifics

To earn an A: DUE ON: ______

  1. Complete all required “ C level” and “B level” work and:
  2. Create a 3 dimensional working model that can show how the energy source is obtained, how energy is transformed, how the energy gets to its users, how it is used, or idea approved by your teacher.
  3. Or Interview with someone who works in the energy carreer:
  4. It must include:
  5. At least 20 questions that you wrote
  6. The questions must be pre-approved before the interview
  7. They
  8. A typed “script” with your questions and their answers must be handed in
  9. A picture of you with the person
  10. This must be presented in a “book” format or a self-running PowerPoint presentation
  11. A title page must have the picture, their name, their job title, and their job description

See Attached Rubric for each Assignment

Classroom presentations will be held in class beginning on May 13th

Dear Parents,

We are requesting your signature here as a method for us to know that you have heard about this project from the beginning and are aware of the significant size of this. There are many due dates that students will need to keep up on. Throughout the rest of the 4th marking period, this project will make up a large portion of their grade, so it is imperative that they do a good job on this!

A copy of this can be found on our teacher webpages. Please feel free to email us with any questions.

We look forward to seeing the great work your children do on these projects!

Sincerely,

Miss Smith and Ms. Blaisse

Parent signature: ______Date: ______

Grading Rubric and Components

C Level (40/60 points)

Research (15 pts) Due Date: ______

  1. All 10 required components are complete on TYPED SHEET and SUMMARY SHEET ______/10
  2. 5 extra facts/ information * 1 point per fact
  3. Resources are present for all components______/3
  4. At least 3 different resources are used ______/2
  5. Every day that this is late, you will lose 5 points

Poster (25 pts) Due Date: ______

  1. Easy to read, neat, and colorful _____/5
  2. All facts are present _____/10
  3. Interactive _____/5
  4. At least 5 images are included _____/5

B Level (10 pts total) Due Date: ______

-Infomercial:

  • a PowerPoint presentation that is set to self-run with your voice recorded over it
  • 12 total slides, with 1 title page and 1 resource page
  • Includes all of the facts on data sheet
  • Each slide must include at least 1 image- no duplicates
  • Resource slide at the end—remember to include resources for images

-Commercial:

  • Entertaining video (not PowerPoint)
  • Convincing for people to use this source
  • Includes at least 5 facts from data sheet
  • Includes at least 2 images
  • At least 2 minutes long
  • Hand in typed resources page or show on screen
  • Typed script

-Newscast:

  • At least 2 minutes long video
  • Must be like a news story
  • Includes at least 5 facts
  • Includes at least 2 images
  • Hand in a typed resources page or show

-Flipbook:

  • At least 12 pages, including a title page and a resources page
  • NOT HANDWRITTEN
  • Includes at all 10 facts on data sheet
  • Must include an image on each page
  • Creative/colorful

-If you have another idea, you must run it by your teacher and work on a rubric with your teacher

-Energy Search:

  • Include pictures of 15 examples of energy (no internet pictures)
  • Each picture has a complete sentence caption telling the location and how this is related to energy
  • Ex: This geyser is located at 123 Concord ct, in Aston, PA. This represents geothermal energy because it uses the earth’s heat for energy.
  • The final project is neat and colorful
  • The final project must be either a poster, book, or photo album, or self-running PowerPoint
  • What to look for:

  • Air conditioning unit
  • Alternative fuels stations
  • Anemometer
  • Automatic Faucet
  • Bicycle
  • Coal pile
  • Coal train car
  • Compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL’s)
  • Compost pile
  • Corn field
  • Dual-flush toilet
  • E85 Ethanol Pump
  • E85 Ethanol Vehicle (FlexFuel)
  • Electric company substation
  • Electric meter
  • Electric power plant
  • Energy Guide Label
  • Energy Star appliance
  • Gasoline terminal
  • Gas Station
  • Geyser or Hot Spring
  • High Voltage Transmission Lines
  • Hybrid electric vehicle
  • Hydropower Dam
  • Lantern (LED or propane)
  • Low flow shower head
  • Oil/Natural gas drilling site
  • Oil Pump
  • Power Plant
  • Power strip
  • Programmable thermostat
  • Propane grill
  • Recycling center
  • Refinery
  • Residential propane tank
  • Reusable grocery bad
  • Solar panel
  • Solar water heater
  • Tankless water heater
  • Utility worker
  • Wind turbine
  • Weather stripping
  • Other: ______

A Level (10 pts): Due Date: ______

  1. Must have completed all “C-level” and “B-level” requirements
  2. 3-dimensional model that will help your presentation at the Energy Expo.
  3. Model must stand alone (doesn’t need you to explain it), use labels to help!
  4. Interview someone whose profession is in the energy field.
  5. At least 20 questions approved by teacher first
  6. Question and responses need to be typed
  7. Cover page: your name, interviewee’s name, their profession, what they do at their job, date of interview
  8. Include a picture of you and the person
  9. Include at least 5 pictures of your energy source