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Brave New You

The 21^st Century Community Schoolhouse

Integrated Term Project

Winter, 2001

• Section 1:  Who Am I? - Human Genetics  (Science, Spanish, and Math Credit)

• Section 2:  Measuring Ourselves - Exploring Linear Relationships   (Math and Science Credit)

• Section 3:  You, Your Rights, and the Law  (Social Studies Credit)

• Section 4: Our Cultural Identity:  The Challenge and Promise of Culture (Spanish Credit)

• Section 5:  What We Learn From Life:  Sharing Your Lessons With Others (English and Health Credit)

 Introduction:

Much of who you are is determined by your genetic makeup.  You get this genetic makeup from your parents and your family heritage.  In order to get a good idea of where your traits came from, you will conduct a family research project that will give you the clues you need to find out who you are.

Part I:  The Traits      (Science Credit)

A.                 Research each of the following traits and determine which are controlled by dominant genes, which are controlled by recessive genes, which are co-dominant or incompletely dominant, and which are controlled by multiple genes.

 B.     Create a neat and organized chart showing your findings on the 25 traits listed above.  Make sure there is a title on your chart. 

Example:

Human Genetic Traits

 Part I:  The Family  (Science Credit)

A.        Collect information for as many of the human traits that you researched in part I for all possible members of your blood-related family* including:

                                1.                  Self

2.                  Natural mother

3.                  Natural father

4.                  Mother’s parents (maternal grandparents)

5.                  Father’s parents (paternal grandparents)

6.                  Brothers and sisters  (full or half, not step)

7.                  Aunts and uncles

8.                  Great grandparents on both sides of the family

You must collect a minimum of 10 traits for all family members.  Extra traits are extra credit.

 * See Ms. Kellar if you have any questions regarding family situations such as adoption, half-siblings, step parents and siblings, deceased family members, or loss of contact with family members such as with divorce, etc.

 B.         Collect additional family genetic information that may be present such as the following sex-linked/sex-limited/sex-influenced traits: 

q       Baldness

q       Color-blindness

q       Heavy beard 

q       Any other genetic trait found in your family you wish to trace such as genetic disorders

C.        Design a data chart to illustrate all this information.  Your data chart should accomplish the following:

1.      Be complete, neat, organized, and professional.

2.      Contain all family members and at least 10 traits.

3.      Show whether the trait held by each of the members of your family is dominant or recessive (color-coding works well for this or bold or italicized fonts).

4.      Have a key explaining the code you use for dominant and recessive traits.

5.      Have a title.

 Example: 

Part III:  The Family Tree   (Spanish and Science Credit)

Create a large-scale family tree illustrating the relationships and generations of your family.

 Your family tree should have all of the following characteristics:

q       Have a clear and easy-to-see descriptive title.

q       Make sure your family tree and information is complete, neat, organized and professional.

q       Include as many family members as possible (use the list on the previous page).

q       Place your generation on the bottom level of the family tree, with each generation back up one level.  (see sample)

q       Use squares to represent males and circles to represent females. (see sample)

q       Use lines to represent relationships.  (see sample)

q       Use “+” to indicate marriages or unions. (see sample)

q       Use a symbol, such as a cross to show if a family member is deceased.  (see sample)

q       Divide each square or circle representing a family member into four quadrants. (see sample)

q       Each quadrant should be used to demonstrate one of four chosen genetic traits (ex: eye color, height, hair color, …)  This can be done with color coding or symbols for the traits. 

q       Have a key on your family tree board that shows the meaning of the symbols or colors you use to demonstrate your chosen genetic traits.  Include in the key which are dominant and which are recessive traits.

q       Give enough space between generations and family members to allow for a descriptive text box. (see sample)

q       In the text boxes below each family member’s symbol, include the following information:  (see example below)

    1.      Name of person

2.      Relationship to yourself.  In English and in Spanish

3.      What traits (of the four chosen genetic traits) each individual received. In English and Spanish.

4.      How each individual received the trait (trace it back in the family tree). 

                            Part VI:  The Game of Chance  (Math and Science Credit)

      A.      Using the same four traits you used in part  III, create Punnett Squares for each trait that illustrates the possible genotypes of your parents for each of the four traits.  You may need to create more than one Punnett Square for each trait to account for all possibilities.

      B.      On each of the Punnett Squares you create, shade in those boxes that could be your genotype for the trait.

C.      Determine what percentage chance you had of getting each of the traits for which you are creating Punnett Squares.

D.      Each trait page should:

                  1.      Be neat, organized, complete and professional.

2.      Have all the Punnett Squares necessary to show the possible genotypes.

3.      Have the boxes representing your possible genotype shaded.

4.      Have the percentage chance you had of getting the trait from your parents.

5.      Have a key for the genotypes (ex:  S= short, s= tall)

6.      Have a descriptive title showing what the trait is. 

			Section II: Measuring Ourselves -  Exploring Linear Functions   Math and Science Credit

In this part of your term project, you will design and conduct an experiment to explore a linear function.  You will be presenting your results in a written report with a graph to display your results.  Use the following outline to complete this part of the project: 

1. Choose an exploration topic from the list. (see Suggested Data for Exploration)
2. Design an experiment to explore the relationship of input to output.
3. Conduct the experiment, recording your data in a table.
4. Graph your data on a coordinate grid.
5. Find the line of best fit.
6. Write an equation for the line.  You may use Algebra or a computer program to assist you.
7. Write a report for your experiment that includes the following parts using proper writing skills (paragraphs, punctuation, etc.):

q       An introduction of this project and your choice of experiments.

q       A description of and a justification for the procedures you chose in your experiment.

q       A diagram of the setup of your experiment.

q       A justification for the units of measurement and the degree of accuracy used.

q       A description of procedures employed to maximize accuracy of data.

q       A table of collected data.

q       A very neat copy of the graph you created including the line of best fit.

q       A thorough explanation of the procedures used to find the equation for your data.

q       The identification of the independent and dependent variables with a description of how they were determined.

q       The identification of the slope and y-intercept of your line.  Show all mathematics used.

q       An interpretation of the equation including what it tells about the data and how it can be used to make predictions about data not measured.

q       A reflection of the reasonableness of the equation found.

q       A conclusion to your presentation.

Suggested Data for Exploration  

The following list provides suggestions for your linear functions exploration.  The ideas were not written with any regard to order, so the variables below are not necessarily the independent variable followed by the dependent. 

• The height of objects compared to their shadows.
• The drop height of a bouncing ball compared to the height of the first bounce.
• The distance a toy car rolls from the end of a ramp compared to the height of the top of the ramp.
• The number of uniform weights placed in a basket suspended from a spring compared to the distances from the floor to the bottom of the basket.
• The time it takes for a candle to burn out compared to the volume of an airtight container placed over it.
• The length of a person’s wingspan (from fingertip to fingertip) compared to their height.
• The height of a person compared to the length of their average stride.
• The number of reported hate crimes in a community compared to the number of new immigrants in that community.
• A person’s resting heart rate compared to the number of days per week that they engage in aerobic exercise.
• A comparison of your own choice for two categories of data that you discover and can prove are related by a linear function.

Section III:  You, Your Rights and the Law -  Equal Protection or Selective Rejection? Social Studies Credit

Discovering yourself and the society in which you live has been the focus during the past term.  Although science has taught us that genetically our similarities far outweigh our differences, human beings often become victims of intolerance and unfair treatment under the law. Although acts of injustice and intolerance have scarred our nation’s history, they also serve as symbols of hope and opportunity, resulting in lessons that promote equality, mutual understanding and respect for the cultural diversity that reflects the United States of America.  The purpose of this section of the project is to learn about, and share lessons, that address the struggle to be treated fairly and secure the right to full equal protection under the laws.

 In teams of six, you must complete the following:

PART 1: ERACISM

In your teams, complete the provided Eracism Episodes Activity.  After discussing each episode with your team, write a one-page letter to the editor of the school newspaper that would outline appropriate strategies for dealing with EACH situation.  Each team will also be expected to read their articles to the class.

PART 2: LEARNING FROM INTOLERANCE: A CASE STUDY

 Based on a brainstorm list generated in class, your team must create a lesson that teaches tolerance and respect for cultural diversity.  Your lesson must reflect how acts of actual intolerance, disrespect and (or) injustice can be used to promote good citizenship and inspire others to respect and honor the diversity of our local community and (or) country. The lesson can be based on ONE of the following

·        collect and present oral histories from people in the Salem community; or

·        present a recreation of an actual historical event. 

Each lesson must include the following: 

                                  ·        Historical background.

·        Cause(s) of the intolerance, disrespect and (or) injustice

·        Effect(s) of the intolerance, disrespect and (or) injustice.

·        An outcome(s) that teaches tolerance and respect for cultural diversity.

Make sure you include all the constitutional issues that apply.

 Your lesson may take the form of a multi-media presentation, magazine article, video, book, discussion panel, role-play (skit), teaching posters, website, power-point presentation, etc (feel free to propose your own idea).

PART 3: THE WALL OF JUSTICE

 On a selected wall in the school, your team will contribute to a section of the school’s Wall of Justice.  Your section must artistically reflect and (or) symbolize the key lessons that you learned from your case study.  While your section of the mural can be completed by an appointed artist(s) on your team, the content of your design must be discussed, drafted and agreed to by all team members before it is painted on the wall.  Each section of the mural will be judged by local community members based on insight, quality and creativity. Grand prize, Second Place, Third Place and Honorable Mentions will be awarded.

For this part of the project you will be required to interview a member of Spanish descent who lives in the community.  The goal of the interview is for you to obtain a better idea of the person’s culture and how that has influenced their life.  Some topics to cover could include the following: general background information, where they grew up, challenges they have faced, would they change anything about their culture, benefits/drawbacks of their culture, are they bilingual, where do they work or do for a living, how has their descent helped them, etc.   

You will be given the opportunity to interview a variety of community members here at school.  However, you may choose to interview someone outside of school.  To do this you would need to notify staff and get prior approval for the change.  Possible candidates for an interview at school are: 

q       Raul Ramirez:  Sheriff of Marion County 

q       Cleo Freauf:  Marion County Probation Officer   

q       Roberta Maestas:  Marion County Probation Officer 

q       …And possibly others   

Your interview must be written up in essay format* and will be graded on the writing benchmarks.  You must include the following: 

q       A summary of the interview. 

q       Identification of the interviewee’s culture. 

q       A comparison of the interviewee’s culture and your own.  

q       A reflection of what your impression was of the interviewee and whether it was different from what you had first thought about them.  

q       Any other pertinent information or thoughts you had during the interview. 

*Native Speakers need to complete their essay in Spanish  

Throughout life, we go through a variety of experiences that mold and shape us into the person we are and will become.  Parents and other family members show us ways to deal with feelings, and our teachers give us strategies to use as well. Friends provide us with advice and often we muddle through on our own.  When we are especially young, we tend to look to older brothers and sisters and our parents to teach us the skills we need to resolve conflict, cope with loss, get along with others, and complete all the other tasks that go along with becoming a complete person.  Some lessons are small: how do you make the loop and tie your shoe?  Other lessons are far larger and more serious. All the lessons are important.

 As the author of a children’s book, you are going to be creating a book that serves to educate an elementary school child about one particular life skill.  These books will ultimately be given away to a kindergarten-third grade child at a local elementary school.  Your book will have a theme, and we have suggested some of these as possibilities: 

                     q       Coping with a friend who moves away.

    q       Dealing with feelings when a loved one dies or becomes sick.

    q       Resolving conflict (coping with anger, frustration, disagreements etc.).

     q       Breaking the chain of infection.

                     q       Making friends and being a good friend.

 Information in the following pages will explain to you how your project will be graded.  School staff will provide some day-to-day instruction to help you and also give you checklists to track your own progress.

contact: school@communityschoolhouse.org