Thought Lotus and Bio Time Lapse
Bio Thought Lotus
First we are going to start class by making a thought lotus
Go up to the board and fill in the 8 squares around the word biology. Fill in the 8 squares with what you think the most important topics in biology are.
Now we are going to draw 8 more 3x3 boxes one for each of our biology topics and write the 8 most important topics in that aspect of biology.
The next step is to pair up with someone in class and pick a 3x3 square. Your assignment is to write a minimum 2 page paper on your topic. All 8 topics within your square need to be mentioned in your paper.
Grading Rubric: 25pts Total
-Mentioning all 8 topics in your paper: 8pts
-Giving at least 1 scientific explanation of each topic: 8pts
-Explaining the importance of each subtopic in regards to the major topic: 8pts
-Reference page: 1pt
Biology Time Lapse
With your partner you are going to make an animation that explains, teaches, or illustrates one aspect of your biology topic.
-Using your smartphone download a time lapse app. It does not matter which one
-Suggested apps
-Stop motion - by Lego
-Using the app, the cellphone tripods, and art supplies, start working on your animation.
-Your animation can be 3D using play-doh, toys, etc. Or it can be 2D drawn on paper. You can draw each step and animate it.
Examples:
-Bozeman Science doing Mitosis and Meiosis
-Stopmotion with Play-Doh about Mitosis
Requirements:
-Your video is going to accompany your paper
-The video should illustrate a concept that is usually hard to explain. Something that would benefit from having an animation instead of just simply describing the process in words.
-The animation should be fun but also explanatory. If need be you can introduce text into your animation to explain a scene or a process. It can be done as simply as writing all of the text on a sheet of paper and adding it as a scene like a silent movie. You can also voice over narration if you choose.
-It should be at least 30 seconds long but can be as long as need be
Grading Rubric: 25pts total
- Creativity: 5pts
- Presentation (neatness, organization, video quality, etc.): 5pts
- Relevance to your paper and topic: 5pts
- Scientific explanations and process (Explaining steps, including AP bio level of information, teachable quality, etc.): 10pts
Tips for a good grade:
- Ask yourself did this animation reveal more than a simple picture. If all you do is simply reveal pieces of a picture from your book then the animation was superfluous. The animation should reveal steps or processes that are not shown in the pictures and diagrams of your book. In this sense the animation heightens the learning experience.
-Did you take the time to make a backdrop or are there random things in the background of your video? This makes the video look sloppy.
-Do you think the underclassmen taking biology would benefit from watching your video? If so then you did a good job.