4.1 Perspectives and Mediums
Task:
In this lesson, you will put your critical reading and viewing skills to the test to form your own perspective on an environmental issue: the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. You will read and view 5 mediums of communication. Follow the steps below to reach your own conclusion about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and how each medium contributed to your final point of view on the environmental issue. For each medium, explain the perspective each resource communicates and the effect the medium had on influencing your perspective.
1. Brainstorming. Use the K-W-L graphic organizer to begin.
- KNOW: Use this space to discuss any background knowledge you have on the topic. What do you already know about the Great Pacific garbage patch?
- WONDER/WANT: What do you wonder about it? What do you want to know? Do you have any questions you want answered about the topic?
- LEARNED: Examine the five resources provided below. What have you learned about the topic? Summarize your learning and respond to the questions you generated.
2. Note Taking. Read the brief text "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" and view the images and resources (website, video, article) provided. First examine how you respond to the material you read and view. Question and make notes of what challenges your beliefs, values, or positions on the issue. Give the resource some context. How can we view and read text in a critical way to best inform our perspective? Use this organizer for your notes.
Assignment 1 - Perspectives and Mediums Note-Taking Worksheet (.PDF)
Assignment 1 - Perspectives and Mediums Note-Taking Worksheet (.DOCX)
3. Responding. In a concluding paragraph of approximately 200 words, write about your final conclusion on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and how each resource contributed to your final perspective. Which medium worked best for you? Has your perspective changed? Why or why not? What is your final point of view or conclusion about the environmental issue?
4. Submit your K-W-L organizer, notes, and paragraph.
Resources
1. Text: Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Imagine an area larger than the size of British Columbia that is made of a dense murky soup of approximately 3.5 million tons of trash - pop bottles, plastic bags, laundry detergent containers, and other garbage. Waste and litter from coastal waters off North America and Japan, trapped by an ocean current called the North Pacific Gyre, has created this floating garbage island. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of an Eastern Patch and a Western Patch that are connected by a 9700 km long current. The Eastern Garbage Patch floats between Hawaii and California, while the Western Garbage Patch is found east of Japan and west of Hawaii.
2. Images:
3. Website: The Ocean Cleanup
4. Video: Great Pacific Garbage Patch Ocean Pollution Awareness
5. Article: Great Pacific garbage patch $20 million cleanup fails to collect plastic
Assessment: Below you will find the exemplary criteria used to assess the assignment.
Learning Target: Exemplary (6/6): Exemplary comprehension of the task and clear accomplishment of the objective. Student insightfully applies appropriate strategies in a variety of contexts to comprehend written and visual information to guide inquiry and to extend thinking. Student uses the diverse information to think critically, creatively, and reflectively to analyze ideas within, between, and beyond texts to form a clear perspective.
Written Expression: Exemplary (6/6): Sentence structure and vocabulary are varied, skillfully written, and carefully chosen. Work has been proofread and there are few or no errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. Content contributes to the central idea and makes insightful connections with logical organization.
Estimated Allotted Time: 1 hr.
Submission:"4.1 Perspectives and Mediums"
This is where you will upload your assignment to your teacher for marking.
You will upload the file (.docx, .pdf, .png, .ppt, etc.) containing your assignment.
Name the file with your name and the title. eg. Sally Brown Perspectives and Mediums
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