Week 6 & 7: Assessment Task
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Note: These videos are not in any way relevant to the assessment task!
Introducing the Assessment Task
For your assessment task, you are going to research more about a topic that you are interested in and write an information report. Over Week 6 and 7 you will have seven hours of class time to work on this project. You may also need to spend additional time working on it at home.
Selecting a topic:
Topics you may choose from:
If you have another area that you are interested in, you may be able to negotiate this with your teacher, however, the topic must be related to an aspect of Space that we have learnt about during Discovery this term.
Selecting a topic:
Topics you may choose from:
- The sun, earth and moon
- The Solar System
- An in-depth investigation of one selected planet
- Comets, Meteors & Asteroids
- Indigenous Astronomy
If you have another area that you are interested in, you may be able to negotiate this with your teacher, however, the topic must be related to an aspect of Space that we have learnt about during Discovery this term.
Remember: you need to research new information, not just write about what you already know.
Requirements:
You will need to type your draft in Google Docs, and show this to your teacher before you begin to publish it.
Presentation:
Your published version must be printed. To publish you could:
Requirements:
- At least five paragraphs of writing (typed), in your own words.
- Headings and subheadings to help the reader understand the organisation your writing.
- Visual features, for example, pictures with captions, maps, graphs or labelled diagrams.
- A bibliography showing at least four different sources (websites or books) that you used to find information.
You will need to type your draft in Google Docs, and show this to your teacher before you begin to publish it.
Presentation:
Your published version must be printed. To publish you could:
- Edit your Google Doc so that it looks professional.
- Create a Google Slides presentation. (But remember: it will be printed. Don’t waste your time on transitions or moving graphics.)
- Create a poster or book (however, all written components must be typed and printed. There should be no hand-written content, and the poster or book needs to look professional.)
Assessment Rubric:
Features of information reports:
Organisation:
Similar to your speeches, your information report must have an introduction and conclusion paragraph. The body of the report will include at least 3 paragraphs, but hopefully more! (Printable version of structure and language posters) |
Word Choice:
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Visual features:
Information reports are much more interesting to read when visual features are included, such as pictures, labelled diagrams, graphs, maps or tables. These visual features help us to understand the information that is presented in the text, especially when there is a large amount of information. Check out the information reports below for inspiration.
(NOTE: some of these texts are persuasive, as well as being informative. Your space information report will not be persuasive.)
Step 1: Planning
Before you begin researching and drafting your information report, you need to complete a plan. There is not one set way that you have to do this. Think about what type of planning works best for you!
You might like to:
In your plan, you need to include:
Show your plan to your teacher before you begin researching.
You might like to:
- Create a mind map (using Popplet or hand-drawn)
- Write a list of dot points
- Use “voice to text” to explain your ideas and have your iPad type them!
- Draw your ideas.
In your plan, you need to include:
- Your topic.
- What subheadings you will include. (You can change these later though, if you come up with better ideas!)
- What visual features you are going to include.
Show your plan to your teacher before you begin researching.
Step 2: Researching
Finding useful websites:
Click back through the lessons that are most relevant to your selected topic to see which websites we used - these are probably going to be helpful for you! You can also use websites listed on the "Learn More" page. You could use other websites (and books) too, but make sure they are from a credible source (eg: something like NASA and definitely not Wikipedia!)
Click back through the lessons that are most relevant to your selected topic to see which websites we used - these are probably going to be helpful for you! You can also use websites listed on the "Learn More" page. You could use other websites (and books) too, but make sure they are from a credible source (eg: something like NASA and definitely not Wikipedia!)
Keeping a Bibliography:
Before beginning your research, you will need to start a bibliography, which is a list of websites, books or any other sources you used. You must collect these as you are finding information, so that we can give credit to the source where we found the information.
Websites:
For each website that you use, you need to list the title of the website and the copied link.
For example, for this website: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/asteroid-or-meteor/en/ (have a quick look!), in my bibliography it would look like this:
Asteroid or Meteor: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/asteroid-or-meteor/en/
Books:
For each book that you use, you need to list the title of the book, the author's name, and the page number(s) you read.
Paraphrasing:
Paraphrasing means expressing someone else’s ideas with your own words, rather than copying. It is never ok to copy someone's words and pretend that they are your own. This is called plagiarism. To make sure you are not plagiarising you need to paraphrase the information that you find when you are researching.
To paraphrase, we encourage you to follow these 5 steps:
Tips: These five steps to paraphrasing may seem straightforward, but writing an idea in a different way than the published version can actually be difficult. Here are some tips to help you:
Before beginning your research, you will need to start a bibliography, which is a list of websites, books or any other sources you used. You must collect these as you are finding information, so that we can give credit to the source where we found the information.
Websites:
For each website that you use, you need to list the title of the website and the copied link.
For example, for this website: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/asteroid-or-meteor/en/ (have a quick look!), in my bibliography it would look like this:
Asteroid or Meteor: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/asteroid-or-meteor/en/
Books:
For each book that you use, you need to list the title of the book, the author's name, and the page number(s) you read.
Paraphrasing:
Paraphrasing means expressing someone else’s ideas with your own words, rather than copying. It is never ok to copy someone's words and pretend that they are your own. This is called plagiarism. To make sure you are not plagiarising you need to paraphrase the information that you find when you are researching.
To paraphrase, we encourage you to follow these 5 steps:
- Read the text at least twice to fully understand the meaning.
- Take notes about the main ideas or concepts.
- Put the original text away, and write your own sentences about the main ideas.
- Compare your writing with the original text and make minor adjustments to any sentences or phrases that remain too similar.
- Make sure you include the text in your bibliography!
Tips: These five steps to paraphrasing may seem straightforward, but writing an idea in a different way than the published version can actually be difficult. Here are some tips to help you:
- Start your first sentence at a different point.
- Break the information into separate sentences.
- Use synonyms.
Step 3: Drafting
Structuring paragraphs
Your paraphrased information needs to be organised into paragraphs using the PEEL structure (see below). Each paragraph should contain sentences about one main idea.
Remember: you need to write at least 5 full paragraphs for your information report - but a high quality report would probably have more than this! |
If you would like some more tips to help you with your paragraphs, watch this video:
Step 4: Revising & Editing
What does it mean to revise, and why is it important?
Professional writers always revise their writing many, many times before it is published.
Professional writers always revise their writing many, many times before it is published.
Don't forget to use the assessment rubric to help you check that you have done everything to a high quality!
Step 5: Publishing
Publishing options:
Your published version must be printed. To publish you could:
Planning your presentation:
Before you begin publishing, you need to do a quick sketch of what your final published information report is going to look like. Make sure your presentation not only looks good, but is organised in a way that helps the reader understand my information. In your sketch show where your headings and paragraphs will be, as well as your diagrams/pictures/other visual features.
Show your teacher this sketch and your final draft before you begin publishing!
Your published version must be printed. To publish you could:
- Edit your Google Doc so that it looks professional.
- Create a Google Slides presentation. (But remember: it will be printed. Don’t waste your time on transitions or moving graphics.)
- Create a poster or book (however, all written components must be typed and printed. There should be no hand-written content, and the poster or book needs to look professional.)
Planning your presentation:
Before you begin publishing, you need to do a quick sketch of what your final published information report is going to look like. Make sure your presentation not only looks good, but is organised in a way that helps the reader understand my information. In your sketch show where your headings and paragraphs will be, as well as your diagrams/pictures/other visual features.
Show your teacher this sketch and your final draft before you begin publishing!