Print bookPrint book

3.2 Reading Projects

Site: Cowichan Valley School District - Moodle
Course: ELA6, CSS, Sferrazza
Book: 3.2 Reading Projects
Printed by: Guest user
Date: Tuesday, 21 May 2024, 1:18 AM

Table of contents

Overview

Consider again the question visited throughout this unit.

How can we contribute to community and care for the environment? 

For your reading project for this unit, choose: 

  • ONE of the following activities: RESEARCH OR ACTION
  • ONE of the following presentation choices: ARTICLE, PAMPHLET, OR INFOGRAPHIC

First, read about the RESEARCH and ACTION choices.

Then, choose ONE of the presentation choices and click on the related page in this book to get more details:

  • A magazine article
  • A pamphlet
  • An infographic

CHOOSE: Research or Action?

Students who demonstrate social responsibility demonstrate a strong sense of community-mindedness, and take actions to support diversity and the environment. Will you become inspired through research or through action? The choice is up to you.  

Once you've chosen your research topic or action project, look through the next three pages to learn about some choices for presenting your project. 

RESEARCH:  

ACTION: 

Choose an activity or organization that contributes to the community or cares for the environment, making the world a better place. See "Research Ideas” below or ask your home facilitator if they know of anything local. 

Research the topic. If you know anyone involved with the topic, call or email them with some questions. 

Narrow down the information you’d like to include. Try to answer 3-5 main questions about your topic. Imagine they are headings in an article or pamphlet.

If researching an organization, you may answer some of the following:

  • Name:
  • Founder:
  • Story behind what they do and why? OR How they help the community and/or environment?
  • What obstacles did they have to overcome?
  • What can be done to help them continue their work? 

Choose an action or activity you can do to contribute to the community or care for the environment.

Make a plan. What will you need? Who will help you? (This could be a great project for you to do with a home facilitator or a friend.) 

Take action. Be sure someone can take photos of you in action to add to your reading project. Tell about it in one of the suggested formats.

RESEARCH IDEAS:

Youth Organizations: Nature Kids BC / 4H / Scouts / Girl Guides / Cadets (If you belong to one of these.) / BC Youth Parliament

National Day: Terry Fox Run. Orange Shirt Day, Pink Shirt Day

Charity Sporting Events: Walk for Water

Famous Canadian Difference Makers: Rick Hansen, David Suzuki, Craig Kielberger, 

Famous National or International Difference Makers: Malala, Greta Thunberg, Mother Theresa

Local Ecology Difference Makers: Eco-villages, community gardens, trail building organizations, field naturalists, Sustainabiliteens

Local Community Difference Makers: Ronald Macdonald Houses Canada, Service Clubs (Lions, Elks, Rotary, Kiwanis), Local Park Soceity

Local or provincial businesses and initiatives (Think the World Differently, Sea Smart, Unbuilders, a Refugee Support Group, Snow Angels, nature conservation places)

 

ACTION IDEAS:

Random Acts of Kindness - Choose a few random acts of kindness and actually "do" them. (You can refer to the article from 3.1I for ideas. Remember, it had a massive list of ideas)

Create your own "Kindness Rocks" kind of project.

Visit someone who could use some company, such as an elderly neighbor or someone who may not get out of the house often.

Arrange to visit a senior center and play a board game with someone.

Organize a beach clean up with a few family members of friends. 

11 year old Natalia had enough “stuff” but cared deeply for animals, so on her birthday, instead of getting presents for herself, she invited donations for her local SPCA. She and her friends had fun decorating animal themed cupcakes; she helped not only abandoned pets but local wildlife as well.

12 year old Gregory and his friend decided to volunteer at a downtown homeless shelter. They helped unload and unpack the food bank delivery, peel potatoes, prepare sandwiches, assist with kitchen clean up, and provided friendly interaction with the visitors. They also learned that for many of the homeless people that stayed in the shelter, the issue of mental illness was a problem as well as the lack of affordable housing.

One student fell in love with trees. He dug a tree out of a lot that was slated for development and repotted it in order to save it. He then helped dig out invasive plants at a local nature sanctuary. 

One student had a personal connection to poverty because her brother had visited Uganda with his baseball team.  She initiated a fundraising effort, creating and selling homemade crafts.  She also made a video to document her journey of self-realization, comparing her life in Canada with life in developing countries.  

 

Choice 1: A Magazine Article

A magazine article will have the following text features.

  • title
  • headings
  • different kinds / sizes of printing on the page (Large title, Medium headings, Smaller text and captions)
  • pictures have captions that explain what is being shown

Content Considerations

  • What is the who, what, when, where, why and how? 
  • What focus will you consider?
  • What is most important? (These will help determine the headings.) 

Audience?

  • Who will want to read the article or story? 
  • Do you want a specific reaction from the reader?                     

What is your purpose? 

  • To explain?
  • To inform?
  • To express appreciation?
  • To convince?
  • To show a problem and solutions or cause and effects?

YOUR TEACHER IS LOOKING FOR:

  • TOPIC: The topic is specific and intended to inform or convince the viewer. 
  • TEXT FEATURES: Title, headings, pictures, captions
  • GRAPHICS/IMAGES: The graphics or images relate directly to the information. 
  • COLOURS:  The colour choices enhance the visibility of the information. 
  • LAYOUT: The layout has the main point at the top (heading), is organized, and makes sense. The organization allows the viewers to understand the information. 
  • INFORMATION: The information is accurate and purposeful.
  • CUPS: The final product has minimal errors in capitals, usage (grammar), punctuation, and spelling. 

TOOLS TO MAKE A MAGAZINE ARTICLE:

When making an infographic, consider the following tools:

1. Microsoft Word or Open Office document. 

2. There are amazing templates you can use here - ask your home facilitator to get you started with a free account:

LUCID PRESS. 

  • Click on TEMPLATES or SMART TEMPLATE. 
  • Under "For Print", choose Newsletters. 
  • When you go to download, you'll need to keep the default settings in order for it to download for free. 
  • (If you want to get really fancy, you can also use a template for "Magazine" and create a cover and name for a magazine that in which your article may be found.)

3. You can always create one by hand on paper and deliver it to your teacher. 

Choice 2: A Pamphlet

Pamphlets are usually to inform, explain, describe, or persuade someone about something. They can show problems and solutions or cause and effects. They are focused on a single subject and answers a small number of questions. If you choose this reading project, be sure you narrow down your topic and don't try to cover too much information. 

Content Considerations

  • What is the who, what, when, where, why and how? 
  • What focus will you consider?
  • What is most important? (These will help determine the headings.) 

Audience?

  • Who will want to read the article or story? 
  • Do you want a specific reaction from the reader?    

YOUR TEACHER IS LOOKING FOR:

They have a title and headings. Information is presented using bullets OR short paragraphs, as well as some visual features (pictures, map, graph, timeline).    

An attractive design has a nice combination and balance of text and images, as well as high contrast colours (usually a dark font, light background). It can be done on a page with two or three panels. These fold when printed back to back so a complete pamphlet would have two pages (a front and a back) and each page would have two or three panels. 

  • TOPIC: The topic is specific and intended to answer a small number of questions. 
  • TEXT/FONTS: The text stands out against the background and is highly readable.
  • GRAPHICS/IMAGES: The images or graphics included relate directly to the information. 
  • COLOURS:  The colour choices enhance the visibility of the information. 
  • LAYOUT: The layout as the main point at the top, is organized, and makes sense. The organization allows the viewers to understand the information. 
  • TEXT FEATURES - Choose a few text features from the list below that will enhance your pamphlet. Do not try to use all of them! Remember, pamphlets have many non-fiction text features, with a nice balance of text and graphics:
  • INFORMATION: The information is accurate and purposeful.
  • CUPS: The final product has minimal errors in capitals, usage (grammar), punctuation, and spelling. 
  • bold/coloured text
  • captions
  • charts
  • diagrams
  • fact boxes
  • graphs
  • headings
  • images/photos
  • lists - bulleted or numbered
  • maps
  • sidebars
  • subheadings
  • tables
  • timelines
  • title

                 

TOOLS TO MAKE PAMPHLETS:

When making a pamphlet, consider the following tools:

1. Microsoft Word or Open Office document:

You can use "Smart Art", "Shapes", and/or "Icons" to help build your pamphlet.

OPTIONAL: After you open the software, under file, you can choose NEW FROM TEMPLATE. You may find a template for a "brochure" or "pamphlet" that you like. You simply replace the images and text on the template with your own. You can also choose a colour scheme that suits your topic.

 2. There are amazing templates you can use here - ask your home facilitator to get you started with a free account:

LUCID PRESS. 

    • Click on TEMPLATES or SMART TEMPLATE. 
    • Under "For Print", choose Brochures / Leaflets. Choose one with two or three panels. 
    • Replace the images and text on the template with your own. You can also choose a colour scheme that suits your topic.
    • When you go to download, you'll need to keep the default settings in order for it to download for free. 

3. You can always create one by hand on paper and deliver it to your teacher. 

Choice 3: An Infographic

Infographics can be used to show almost anything, including cause and effect, problems and solutions, a sequence (timeline, directions), information (to inform or explain), and even to persuade or convince someone. Like other forms of non-fiction text, they have text features - text sizes, headings, bulleted or numbered lists, images or symbols. Unlike other forms, the text is very concise. 

YOUR TEACHER IS LOOKING FOR:

  • TOPIC: The topic is specific and intended to inform or convince the viewer. 
  • TEXT/FONTS: The text stands out against the background and is highly readable.
  • OBJECTS/GRAPHICS/IMAGES: The objects included are repeated to support points. They relate directly to the information. 
  • COLOURS:  The colour choices enhance the visibility of the information. 
  • LAYOUT: The layout has the main point at the top (heading), is organized, and makes sense. The organization allows the viewers to understand the information. 
  • INFORMATION: The information is accurate and purposeful.
  • CUPS: The final product has minimal errors in capitals, usage (grammar), punctuation, and spelling. 

TOOLS TO MAKE INFOGRAPHICS

When making an infographic, consider the following tools:

1. Microsoft Word or Open Office document: You can use "Smart Art", "Flow Charts", "Shapes", and/or "Icons" to help build an infographic. 

2. There are amazing templates you can use here - ask your home facilitator to get you started with a free account:

LUCID PRESS. 

  • Click on TEMPLATES or SMART TEMPLATE.
  • Under "For Tablet, Mobile, and PC", choose Infographics. 
  • When you go to download, you'll need to keep the default settings in order for it to download for free. 

3. You can always create one by hand on paper and deliver it to your teacher.