Analysis of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson                    Name______________

Directions:  All of the following should be answered in one complete paragraph, unless otherwise stated. All answers should be typed

1. Write a 1-2 page summary of the book.

2. What do you think Rachel Carson’s main purpose was in writing this book?

3. Identify one of the issues raised that you feel is no longer true 40 years later, and give a reason why you feel this way.

4. More than forty years have elapsed since the book was written.  What specifics about the issues raised in the book would you want to investigate in today’s world and explain what your reasons are.

5. Explain two examples/incidents/events from the book that made an impression on you.

6. List five specific things you learned from reading Silent Spring.

7. Write a paragraph relating the issues raised in Silent Spring to the five major themes of environmental science as itemized in your text book.

8. Briefly explain your reaction to reading Silent Spring.
 
 

Rubric for Silent Spring

9-10 pts  Complete; logical, well defined and supported points; clearly written
7-8 Complete; most points are well defined, some points are not supported;
5-6 complete, some points are vague or unsubstantiated
3-4 complete, most points are vague or unsubstantiated
1-2 incomplete
0  not turned in
 
 

2nd, 3rd and 4th Q Book Analyses:

Include the following in your  analysis:
1. Write a 1-2 page summary of the book and identify the main characters, if there are any.
2. Identify the major (environmental or critical thinking)  issues raised in the book.
3. Give at least two specific instances in the book to illustrate the main issues.
4. Identify the author’s point of view, and explain why you did or did not agree with it.  Did the author support his/her position with sufficient evidence?
5. Identify any instances in the book that were surprising to you or that you thought were particularly interesting.
6. Did your book illustrate a conflict between any of the categories of environmental values (utilitarian, ecological, aesthetic, moral)?  If so, identify the conflicts.
7. What was your opinion of this book and why.
 
 

Instructions for Environmental Science Current Events Articles
 
1. You must have 5 articles per quarter.
2. Each article must be mounted on a page or pages of paper kept in a loose-leaf binder.  Use glue or paste, but NOT staples!  Neatness counts.
3. Each entry must have the date and source of the article clearly indicated at the top of each page.
4. Each article must be at least 500 words.
5. For the first article due each quarter (articles #1, 6, 11, 16, which are due in Sept , Nov , Jan , and March ) you must write out and answer the following questions on one sheet of paper.  All answers must be typed.
             A. Write a brief summary- in your own words.
             B. State the major claim in the article:
             C. Identify the specific sources of the report- if they are given.
             D. Identify any evidence given that indicates the claim is supported by other members of the scientific community:
             E. Does the evidence for the claims seem sufficient?  Why or why not?
             F. Do the claims follow logically from the evidence?  Why or why not- briefly explain.
             G. Is there a clear basis for suspecting bias on the part of the source or the writer of the report?  Why or why not

E. For the remaining articles due each quarter , you must write out and answer the following questions on one sheet of paper.  All answers must be typed.
            A. Write a brief summary- in your own words:
            B. State the major claim in the article:
            C. Would you accept or reject the claim based on your critical analysis- give reasons.

Environmental Science Notebook Requirements

I.  1st Quarter
          1. Create a title page
          2. In your notebook, divide the sections by  topic  - not by date or news source.
          3. Create a table of contents for your notebook, listing the title of each article, author and date under the appropriate topic section.
          4. Instead of using page numbers, use "article #1" , "article #2"   etc. within each topic
          5. Select one article that you found most interesting and write a paragraph stating why- write the number of the
               quarter at the top of the page..  Add this to the notebook in  a separate division in your table of contents
               entitled "Most  Interesting".

II. Quarters 2-4
          1. Insert the new articles and their analyses into your notebook according to your system of organization.
          2. Select one article that you found most interesting from the new ones you’ve just added to the notebook, and write a paragraph stating why it was interesting to you.  Add this to your notebook.
          3. Update your table of contents to include the new articles.
 

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