Process
Getting Started
You will be working in a group of 3 or 4. Once your team receives its assignment, your first task will be to do some research on your theory. There are several sources available to you:
Interviews. Interview teachers, your parents, or administrators to get more information on your topic.
Web-research. Relevant web sources are listed below.
Remember to use several sources and to cite each one in your presentation.
Websites
Team One - Abiogenesis/Chemical Evolution
Origins - read this on-line textbook to review the theory and experiments
How Did it All Begin? - here is a summary how life evolved from chemicals
A Volcanic Jump-Start to Life? - a new look at Stanley Miller's experiments
Did Life Evolve in Ice?- some old and new experiments by Stanley Miller
Ken Miller- View a You Tube video where Biology Professor and textbook author provides the scientific evidence for evolution
Team Two - Exobiology/Extraterrestial Source
Introduction to Exobiology from Duke University Chemistry
Are We Alien Life? - from Scientific American
SETI Institute- The Search for Extraterrestial Intelligence. Click on the "Allen Telescope" to see a video about SETI's work, and meet the woman that the movie "Contact" was based on.
Alien Safari - see Earth's most extreme life forms and why they may point to life in space
Team Three - Intelligent Design
Intelligent Design- explains Intelligent Design; view the video about disagreements over Darwin.
Intelligent Design on Trial- view this video where the father of ID explains his arguments
Intelligent Design: The Scientific Alternative to Evolution- orginal document
ActionBioScience - read articles and responses about intelligent design
Team Four - Episcopalian Church and Episcopal Academy
Episcopal Academy- start here to review our school's mission and beliefs
Episcopalian Church - review the history and beliefs of the church
Pennsylvania Diocese - information on our state
Episcopalian Church - review beliefs of the church here
Next Step
You've completed your research. Now it's time ot put your heads together a figure out how to argue your position. Review your research and decide as a group how you will convince the Board that the theory you researched is the best available information on the origin of life. You may want to conduct more interviews to get some ideas.
Also check out this guide on forming a Persuasive Argument.
Put it all together
You will need to produce a presentation to summarize and present your work.
Use PowerPoint to summarize your research and your arguments.
Some PowerPoint tips
Keep it simple - too many bells and whistles distract from your information
Use pictures and links - visuals are good
Don't crowd your pages - too much text is hard to read
Name your sources - include a sources page, including for images
Presentation Prep
Practice your presentation - make sure you are ready for your presentation
Evaluate - check the evaluation page for the rubric