Chemistry Capstone Essay: One World Essay

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by Jessica Eakin

UNIT TEMPLATE: Text-Based STEM Inquiry

This template provides an approach for creating a science investigation that includes reading-focused inquiry to build student science literacy skills. The template was created to support library media specialists and STEM teacher cohorts in year two of the School Librarians Advancing STEM Learning project, led by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management (ISKME) in partnership with Granite State University, New Hampshire, and funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Part I: Unit Title: Chemistry Capstone Essay Project: One World Essay

Part II: Background on LMS and Science Teacher relationship:

Part III: Unit Description:

One World Essay is a chance to discuss how chemistry connects to larger global issues; its benefits and limitations. An understanding of the chemical concepts learned over the course of the year is necessary to understand the wider implications of the chemical and to be able to communicate the information to clearly and concisely in an essay.

For example, if a student were looking at the use of pesticides, the student would first focus on a specific chemical or compound, for example paraquat. The student would then need to understand the underlying affinity of paraquat and its electron structure that allows for paraquat to bind to dopineregic neurons. ^[a] The student would need to understand this underlying science and the impact on humans. The student would also, the underlying science of how the compound’s specific role as a pesticide. The student then selects larger world-connections, such as cultural (perhaps looking at migrant workers and their risk of exposure), environmental (perhaps looking at the cost of not using paraquat) and economical (perhaps looking at the costs of using or not using paraquat). So while the science is not the focus, students must have an understanding of the science to discuss the larger world connections.

Using inquiry-focused reading, students will read selection from The Disappearing Spoon to gain an understanding of science essay-writing. Students will then be guided via class and online discussion through a series of local listserv posting that discuss a real-world issue: the spraying of invasive plants in a public nature area. Through the postings, students will examine how science is communicated to the public, the types of sources of science texts (science magazines, science reference sources, academic journals, government publications and websites) and how to evaluate and access the various science texts.

Students will then select their own topic in which to address the essential question: How does environmental and material chemistry connect to broader societal factors?

Over the course of the unit, students will find and evaluate a variety of texts to grown their knowledge of a particular chemistry-based issue and to connect that issue to broader societal factors including moral, ethical, political, social, environmental and economic.

Part IV: Standards Addressed

NGSS/State STEM Standards

HS-ETS1-1: Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
HS-ETS1-3 : Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

NGSS Crosscutting Concepts (either Patterns or Cause and Effect - Mechanism and Explanation)
CCSS Science Literacy Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.2: Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.6: Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, identifying important issues that remain unresolved.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.8: Evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis, and conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the data when possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other sources of information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.9: Synthesize information from a range of sources (e.g., texts, experiments, simulations) into a coherent understanding of a process, phenomenon, or concept, resolving conflicting information when possible.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.

Part V: Unit Essential Question

How does environmental and material chemistry connect to broader societal factors?

Assignment: Identify an environmental or material chemistry topic and relate it to two of the following categories: moral, ethical, political, social, environmental, economic.

Part VI: Goals for Using Inquiry:

The ultimate goal for our students when they leave high school, is for them to be informed democratic citizens. Being able to read, understand, and make connections between science and the larger world is an important piece for being an informed citizen whether our students are making health decisions or voting on whether or not to put fluoride in the water supply. We recognize that in many cases our students will be seeking out their own information and an important skill to practice and understand is how to evaluate and find information.

The goal for using inquiry in this unit is for students to select their own area of research (an element or chemical compound), to develop their own research question in regard to the larger world, to select and evaluate text with the skills introduced in online discussions and sample texts. The science teacher and the media library specialist have selected an anchor text to demonstrate science essay writing, in addition to a variety of different types of science text and provided support for students as they select texts in their own research.

Part VII: Summative Assessment Description and Rubric

(The summative assessment should assess both science content and literacy skills.)

One World Essay ( 800 +/- 15 words )

Students must include 3 of the following:

Moral - Personal view of what is right or wrong
Ethical - Society’s rules or code of conduct
Social - Related to people, groups
Economic - Related to profitability (the ability to make money)
Political - Relate to government
Cultural - Ideas, customs and behaviours of a society
Environmental - Human impact on the natural world

Research Paper Rubric

Collaboration

Leading up to the essay, the classes will be guided through the process of thinking about how chemistry connects to larger issues by reading a series of local listserv entries and related resources including, magazine articles, journal articles, blogs and websites. They will answer a series of questions and respond to one another through collaborative technologies. Examples of collaborative technologies that could be used are Visual Classroom, Google Hangouts, and build in discussions in LMS platforms. In addition to having an example of how a chemical compound connects to the larger issues listed above, they will also be learning to evaluate those sources and the information provided.

Part VIII: Prior Knowledge Needed

Chemistry:

Prior knowledge needed is somewhat dependent on the topic the student chooses and therefore, this assignment is best given toward the end of a Chemistry course. However, most commonly, students will need to understand: Periodic Trends, Chemical Bonding, Properties of aqueous solutions and acid-based chemistry.

Literacy Skills:

Knowledge of how information is organized online (databases, websites, etc).

Knowledge of MLA formatting (Works Cited and in-text citations)

Part IX: Student Learning Objectives

(Breakdown of the unit into discrete units of both science content and literacy skills.)

The purpose of this assessment is to understand the interdependence of science in society. You need to be able to:

Discuss how science is applied and used to solve specific problems in life and society.
Explore local and global scientific issues and evaluate the interaction between science and the scientific developments with social, economical, political, environmental, cultural, and ethical factors.

The student will be able to understand their topic in relation to a combination of the following implications: moral, ethical, social, economic, political and cultural.
The student will understand the organization and distribution of information in the sciences (i.e. databases).
The student will understand the structure and purpose of different texts related to their environmental or material chemistry topic.
The student will be able to evaluate a claim regarding their environmental or material chemistry topic and demonstrate in an annotated bibliography.
The student will be able to select and evaluate text from online databases and websites.
The student will properly attribute information in their writing by the use of correct MLA citations.
The student will understand the importance of attribution (citing) in writing and it’s overall importance within the science community.

Part X: Text Set Description (used by the teacher and media specialist as they analyze the purpose and goal of each text they provide to the students)

Text Title & Hyperlink

Text Purpose
(indicate purpose and goal of each text)

Text-Dependent Questions (created by the teacher/librarian to help students analyze the text)

Accommodations for Diverse Learners

We used The Disappearing Spoon as our anchor text, however, the following essays that are available online could be substituted as a set a essays for an anchor text. Di Justo, Patrick. “The Science of Ricin” The New Yorker. Di Justo, Patrick. “The Fertilizer Bomb.” The New Yorker. Owen, David. “The Artificial Leaf.” The New Yorker. Lemonick, Michael. “Ununpentium, the Newest Element.” The New Yorker. Groopman, Jerome. “The Plastic Panic.” The New Yorker.	This is my Anchor Text, designed to provide students with an example of science essay writing that both provides science content and context while addressing larger societal connections.	1. Provide a specific quote and annotation about something that stood out as very important to you. 2. Provide a specific quote and annotation about something that stood out as shifting your mindset. 3. Provide a specific quote and annotation about something that stood out as something you want to explore more.	1. Tier Two words will be chosen ahead of time and a definition will be added as footnotes to copies of the text.2. Specific chunks will be chosen ahead to support students in breaking the reading down into manageable sections.
Supporting Text #1: Local Listserv PostingsFinding any local issue that has been written about in the newspaper or other media could replace these listserv postings.	These texts are from a local listserv and serve as an example of how science is communicated, understood and its connection in the world. Students will use these texts and the embedded sources (listed below) to go through a process of understanding different types of science texts, their purpose and ways to evaluate reliability, beyond where the source is from, but also from the viewpoint of what the source’s scientific argument and data.	Text-specific questions are at the end of this document, but here are a sampling of questions: What type of source does the link take you to? Who is the intended audience of the linked article? What is the purpose of the linked article? Is this article current? What is the article's authority? What is the article's accuracy? What is the article's purpose?
Supporting Text #2:Parkinson's Disease and Pesticides: What's the Connection?	This text is evidence submitted by a community member as evidence as to why not to spray the Milt Fry Nature Area. Students are asked to understand the text (what it’s from, it’s purpose, audience, etc) and then are asked to evaluate its argument and whether or not it is effective evidence for the argument against spraying.	What chemical was studied?What properties does this chemical have?How does this chemical work on plants? How does its properties allow for it to have an impact in the brain? What is the connection to Parkinson’s?What are the potential economic, cultural, etc connections?Does this article influence your opinion on whether or not to spray the Milt Fry area?
Supporting Text #3: The Dangers of Glyphosphate	This text is evidence submitted by a community member to support their position of not spraying the Milt Fry Nature Area.Students are asked to understand the text (what it’s from, it’s purpose, audience, etc) and then are asked to evaluate its argument and whether or not it is effective evidence for the argument against spraying.	What chemical was studied?What properties does this chemical have?How does this chemical work on plants? How does its properties allow for it to have an impact on humans? Does this article influence your opinion on whether or not to spray the Milt Fry area? What type of source does the link take you to?Who is the intended audience of the linked article?What is the purpose of the linked article?Is this article current?What is the article's authority?What is the article's accuracy?What is the article's purpose?
Supporting Text #4: The Dangers of Triclopyr	This text is evidence submitted by a community member to support their position of not spraying the Milt Fry Nature Area.Students are asked to understand the text (what it’s from, it’s purpose, audience, etc) and then are asked to evaluate its argument and whether or not it is effective evidence for the argument against spraying.	What chemical was studied?What properties does this chemical have?How does this chemical work on plants? How does its properties allow for it to have an impact on humans? Does this article influence your opinion on whether or not to spray the Milt Fry area? What type of source does the link take you to?Who is the intended audience of the linked article?What is the purpose of the linked article?Is this article current?What is the article's authority?What is the article's accuracy?What is the article's purpose?
Supporting Text #5: Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases III: Manganese, neurological diseases, and associated pathologies.MIT States That Half of All Children May be Autistic by 2025 due to Monsanto	This text is evidence submitted by a community member to support their position of not spraying the Milt Fry Nature Area.Students are asked to understand the text (what it’s from, it’s purpose, audience, etc) and then are asked to evaluate its argument and whether or not it is effective evidence for the argument against spraying.	What type of source does the link take you to?Who is the intended audience of the linked article?What is the purpose of the linked article?Is this article current?What is the article's authority?What is the article's accuracy?What is being studied? How does it function in humans? What are the potential economic, cultural, etc connections?Does this article influence your opinion on whether or not to spray the Milt Fry area?

Part XI: Suggested Lesson Breakdown/Pacing

Day

Student Learning Objectives

Aligned Student Learning Task and Suggested Timing

Formative Assessment

Important Accommodations

Homework over the course of two weeks	Students begin to identify the function of science essay writing by reading selected essays that connect material chemistry to the world.	1. Students read selected chapters from The Disappearing Spoon on their own using annotation strategies.2. Students enter reading responses into shared Google Doc. Provide a specific quote and annotation about something that stood out as very important to you. Provide a specific quote and annotation about something that stood out as shifting your mindset. Provide a specific quote and annotation about something that stood out as something you want to explore more.	1. The (teacher/LMS) will monitor student responses.2. The (teacher/LMS) will monitor progress to see if certain areas are confusing and to see if patterns of responses or areas of interest are developing.	1. The (teacher/LMS) will provide the article ahead of time to students with high need.2. The (teacher/LMS) will provide a list of defined vocabulary for the student to use during the 2nd reading.
One 50-min class period	Students recognize the need to be able identify and communicate the role of environmental and material chemistry in the greater world.	Introduction to the idea of the essay What is the role of writing in science Presentation of why it matters beyond the classroom and in the workplace Purpose of writing: create a list as a class Discussion of what is the purpose of Disappearing Spoon Introduction to science news cycle	The (teacher/LMS) will lead a presentation on chemistry outside the classroom and the importance of being able to communicate and understand science. Our classroom discussion focused on telling the story of a friend who did not intend on working with chemistry but how her path of geology and public health led her to working with chemistry everyday and with populations such as the Navajo. Our discussion of the Navajo and the issue of arsenic poisoning led to a conversation about the importance not only of how science is communicated, but also the importance of understanding the people. The (teacher/LMS) will lead a discussion about the purpose of the anchor text. Give students a pre-test of understanding of science research.
Online Discussion Over 1 week period using Visual Classroom	CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.6: Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, identifying important issues that remain unresolved.	Using Visual Classroom, students post 1 original posting and 2 comments on other posts. Other online discussions platforms could be used.	Online discussions are meant to lead students through the process of evaluating science texts. This is done with the texts from our local issue above. The postings and questions are listed. But this could be done as a class discussion.
One 50-min class period		Discussion review. In-class discussion of responses from town people	The (teacher/LMS) will lead a discussion of online discussion and introduce ideas of how could information be better communicated? Introduce the science news cycle.
Online Discussion Over 1 week period using Visual Classroom		Using Visual Classroom, students post 1 original posting and 2 comments on other posts	The (teacher/LMS) will monitor next series of online discussion.
One 50-min class period	CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.2: Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.6: Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, identifying important issues that remain unresolved.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.8: Evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis, and conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the data when possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other sources of information.	In-class discussion of text-set:What type of resources? How would you approach researching this problem?Introduction to different types of information and finding resourcesStudents select topic	The (teacher/LMS) will lead students in reviewing text set from list-serv postings and introduce students to the different types of science texts and how to locate those sources. Students share topic ideas with the class.
One 50-min class period		Students locate resources on topic and conference	Students come to the library to locate resources and conference with teacher and LMS about their topic.
		Paper Outline Due	Students turn in a skeleton outline in which they detail which 3 greater world areas they want to focus on
One 50-min class period		Students work on research and drafting. Conference with teachers.	Students continue researching and conference with teachers to discuss their science understanding and its relation to their greater-world topics. LMS reviews bibliography progress.
		First draft of paper due	Teacher/LMS provide students with draft feedback
One 50-min class period		Student peer-review papers	Students spend ½ of the period commenting on one paper and then moving onto the next one. Students leave computer open so all comments appear to come from paper owner so comments are anonymous. Students rotate so students receive feedback from people they do not typically consult. Students consult with teacher/LMS for additional feedback or help on their own.
		Students turn in paper with annotated bibliography.	Students take a post test on understanding science research.

Part XII: Attachment of Student Work Examples

Sample question and answers from Prior-Knowledge Quiz

Visual Classroom Discussion

Visual Classroom Student Interaction

Visual Classroom Wordcloud

Visual Classroom student interaction web

Part XIII: Teacher and Librarian Reflection on the Implementation of the Lesson

Jessica (LMS): I thought the implementation of our lesson went well. Kevin and I work well together and are both genuinely excited, interested and curious about science, learning and research. I felt that the students picked up on that and that made them more interested and excited to do elements of the lesson. Looking at the science standards, I felt this lesson filled a real hole in our curriculum. Not a lot of time has traditionally been dedicated to reading and evaluating different types of texts in science and so this lesson provided a way to introduce a lot of different types of texts and ask students to not only evaluate those texts, but explain their evaluation and bring together lots of different concepts and ideas that grow out of chemical concepts. The one thing I would suggest would be to introduce different types of science texts (essays, research journals, different types of figures, references sources, etc) over the course so each unit incorporated a text element. Then this essay is really a bringing together the understanding of chemical concepts and science literacy concepts.

Notes:

School Librarians Advancing STEM Learning, Granite State University, Concord, NH, February 2016. Funding provided by IMLS.

[a] re-write to double-check the specific science