December 7, 2015 Dear Parents and Guardians, Our classes overall theme for the science/history fair this year is life science. During school we will be working on many mini-projects covering different topics surrounding life science. At home your student will be completing a science project that covers the topic of ecosystems. This packet contains all of the information your student needs to be able to successfully complete this project. In this packet you will find: 1. The project requirements for the display board, ecosystem diorama, and the oral report. 2. Detailed rubrics for each part of the project. 3. A schedule of due dates for different parts of the project. 4. Examples of what a final display board and diorama should look like. I hope you and your student will have fun researching and completing this science project. I am looking forward to seeing and hearing each project at our science fair on February 5, 2016! Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions! Have fun, Mrs. Salvage
4 th Grade Science Fair: 1. Ecosystem Project Requirements- You are to pick an animal of your choice, create your animals ecosystem, and research your animal to be able to give an oral report on your animal choice. a. Display board: The following are required for your board. Keep in mind that these are for visual demonstration. The use of color, larger letters, pictures, charts, graphs, and so on should enhance your topic and help to show what your findings are. Be creative! Please make sure all information that is put on your display board is typed. A. Name of your animal B. Characteristics of your animal a. Invertebrate or vertebrate b. What does it look like? c. Is it warm blooded or cold blooded? d. What is its life span? e. Does it keep its mate for life? f. Classify your animal (mammal, reptile, bird, spider, insect, amphibian; and how do you know?) g. Inherited and/or acquired traits h. Life cycle i. Does it live in the wild? j. Does it adapt or change to survive in the environment? k. What type of shelter does it make or use? l. Does it move around or stay in the same area? m. Does it live in groups or independently? C. What are your animal s predators and prey? a. What does it eat? b. Is it a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore? c. How does it catch its prey? d. How often does it have to catch prey? (daily, once a week, etc.) e. Does it need special vision, hearing, claws, etc. to catch the prey successfully?
f. How does it protect itself from predators? g. Food Chain h. Food Web D. Interesting facts you learned about your animal? a. Endangered, extinct b. Number of species c. Unique abilities such as defense mechanisms d. Talents e. Historical events f. Etc. E. Ecosystem a. Describe the ecosystem your animal live in. b. In what countries can you see this ecosystem? c. What is the weather like during different seasons? d. What is the average population? e. Include a map. f. What is the human interaction with your ecosystem? b. Ecosystem Diorama: You are to create an accurate diorama of your animal s ecosystem. This needs to be a three-dimensional scene, which included models of your animal in its habit. Please be as creative as possible. Use many different types of resources to make this look as realistic as possible. c. Oral Report: You are to present a oral report talking about your animals ecosystem. You can talk a little bit about your animal, but I want you to mainly talk about your animal s ecosystem. This presentation will count as a grade. Students will present to the class and on the night of the science fair. The following are guidelines to help with your presentation. a. Keep your presentation time to 3-5 minutes. b. Prepare note cards to help remind you of important information and steps. c. Use your diorama and your display board in your presentation. d. Be prepared to answer questions about your animal.
Project Title Characteristics of your animal Animals prey and predators Interesting Facts Ecosystem Animal Research Display Board Animal name and student name are clearly displayed. Animal characteristics are clearly displayed and all questions where answered. Animals prey/predators are clearly displayed and all questions where answered. Interesting facts are provided. At least 5 facts are clearly displayed. Animal s ecosystem is clearly explained and all questions are answered. Total /100 Ecosystem Diorama Creativity Your diorama is very realistic and creative. Neatness Diorama is neat and organized. Effort Hard work and effort was shown. Accuracy Your chosen animals ecosystem is accurately displayed. Total 0
Eye Contact Body Language Enthusiasm Elocution Knowledge of topic Science Fair Oral Report Nonverbal Skills: Student makes eye contact with the audience frequently. Does not stare at the poster or paper for more that 3 seconds at a time. Students use their body language to help communicate their ideas and presentation to the audience. EX: Arms are not folded, presenter faces the audience. Verbal Skills: Student seems to enjoy speaking about their topic. They demonstrate a positive feeling towards their topic. Voice is clear, easy to understand. Student does not mumble. Voice is loud enough for the whole audience to hear. Content: Oral presentation shows the student is knowledgeable about the topic. Organization Presents information in a logical way that is easy to follow and understand. Total /30
Schedule of Due Dates This is a list of dates for when different sections of your Animal Ecosystem project are due. Each due date is a 100-point homework grade. Date Assignment Parent Initials December 18 Animal choice approved by Mrs. Salvage January 8 Animal characteristics section completed (section b) January 15 Predators and Prey section completed (section c) January 22 Interesting facts section completed (section d) January 29 Ecosystem section completed (section e) February 1 Oral report completed including notecards February 2 Diorama & display board completed and brought to school February 2 In class oral presentations Grade/Teacher Initials _ February 5 Science/History Fair _
Examples of Work A sample diorama. A sample display board.