Adopt-a-Volcano

Introduction
Each seventh grader will choose an active volcano to monitor during this school year. The links below are for volcano research and individual student journals. This project will help us all understand volcanoes better. It will also give us a glimpse of the massive amount of information about Earth systems which is being shared by scientists through the internet. If you are a volcano fan, these websites give you all the information you need to become an expert on the subject.

Information about active volcanoes can be found at these three websites. These are the main sites we will use for volcano information.
 * The Global Volcanism Program || This site is organized by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. It gathers information from agencies around the world. Read the weekly activity report to see which volcanoes are active right now. New reports are published every Wednesday. ||
 * Volcano World || This website was begun by a scientist and teacher in 1995 and has just kept growing. It is now sponsored by NASA and Oregon State University. You can read several blogs here. You can even read papers written by university students studying volcanology. ||
 * The Volcano Hazards Program || The US Geological Survey (USGS) also monitors volcanoes around the world and provides a lot of information about volcanoes. ||

Additional Resources: The BBC created a five-minute audio slideshow about volcanoes and has an entire page devoted to them. The US Geological Survey (USGS) makes available a nice book and poster reviewing basic volcano terminology. A famous interactive map from the USGS is entitled This Dynamic Planet. Active volcanoes can also be found using this google map. Many stories, pictures, and movies of volcanoes can be found at this page from the Solar System Views website.

Student Pages
By clicking on the name of the student below, you will be taken to a web page created by the student. Please have a look!

2012-2013
 * **Name of Student** || **Name of Volcano** || **Name of Student** || **Name of Volcano** ||
 * Gavin Curley || Santa Maria || Tanay Bapna ||  White Island ||
 * John Kil || Galeras || Bliss Zheng || Nevado Del Ruiz ||
 * Jung-Woo SHIN || Karymsk || Vivie Englund || Fuego ||
 * Andy Zhou || Krakatau || Niame D.Nugent-Head || Kilauea ||
 * Curtis Chan || Soufrière Hills || Hyun-Je Kim || Shiveluch ||
 * Jia Hui Qiu || Cleveland || Felipe van der Eyken || Grozny Group ||
 * Aanchal Rughani || Tongariro || Moritz Raeth || Apoyeque ||
 * Patrick Shih || Sakura jima || Tiffany Wong || Reventador ||
 * Gallen Chen || Batu tara || Tom || LOKON EMPUNG ||
 * Seoyeon || Sangay ||   ||   ||

2011-2012
 * **Name of Student** || **Name of Volcano** || **Name of Student** || **Name of Volcano** ||
 * Jackie Li || Fuego(Guatemala) || Kevin Park || Dukono (Halmahera) ||
 * Jeffrey Lin || Shiveluch (Russia) || Emma van dijk || Cleveland, Antartica ||
 * Prachi Sukhnani || Kizimen (Eastern Kamchatka, Russia) || Jason Huang || Villarrica ||
 * Elizabeth Zhu || Suwanose-jima (Japan) || HyunJin || Ranakah(Indonesia) ||
 * Julius Moeller || PUYEHUE-CORDON CAULLE (chile) || Sharon Liu || Hierro(Spain) ||
 * Loup Petit || Merapi (Indonesia) || Robin Park || page ||
 * Sam Wong || Suwanose-jima (Japan) || Caroline Sabourin || Popocatepetl ||
 * Jenni Höyhtyä || Rabaul Volcano (Papua New Guinea) || Christopher Jiang || ETNA ||
 * Xenia Niesel || Ibu (halmahera) ||  ||   ||

2010-2011 Student Pages Bagana || Chile || Janus || Fuego || Santa Maria || Tian || Kliuchevsoi || kilauea || Gi-Moon || Ulawun || chaiten || Daniel || Etna || Manam || Jessie || Kirishima Eyjafijallajokull ||
 * **Name of Student** || **Name of Volcano** || **Name of Student** || **Name of Volcano** ||
 * Jenny || Shiveluch || Kimmy || Karymsky ||
 * Nick || Pacaya || Markus || Piton de la Fournaise ||
 * Annie || Suwanose-Jima || Katherine || Rinjani
 * Maddie || =====Planchón-Peteroa=====
 * Won-Gi || Pagan || Sho || Rinjani ||
 * Heun-Ha || Villarrica
 * Spencer || Soufriere Hills || Mackinley || Kilauea ||
 * Ye-Ree || kirishima
 * Min-Ji || poas
 * Samuel || Dukono
 * __Emily__ || Bulusan || Kevin || Mayon ||
 * spencer ||  || Alex || Kizimen ||

Specific Assignments
The project timeline and assignment descriptions will be announced in class and posted below.
 * **Assignment Completion Date** || **Assignment Description** ||
 * September 13, 2013 || All students will choose a volcano to study this year.
 * 1) Click on the link for the Global Vulcanism Project (above). You will see this week's activity report. Choose "Find a Volcano by Eruption Date" under the "Volcanoes of the World" menu at the top left of the page. All of the volcanoes in this list are active.
 * 2) Click on any volcano's name and you will see the page for that volcano. When you reach a volcano page, click on the Weekly Reports link on the left hand side of the page. The volcano you choose should have appeared in the weekly activity reports at least three times this year and three times last year.
 * 3) When you have found a volcano that interests you, return to this page and list your choice next to your name in the table above. To do this, click on the word edit at the top right of this page, enter the name of the volcano in the cell next to your name, and click the word save.
 * 4) Find another volcano and add its name in the cell next to your name.
 * 5) If you make any mistakes, like deleting information on this page, simply cancel your edit.
 * 6) In cases where two or more students are interested in the same volcano, Mr. Robinson will help the students come to an agreement about which volcano each will choose.
 * 7) On your page, make a table for each volcano. Go into edit mode, click on the "Table" icon in the edit bar, and then click enter. The table will appear on your page. It will look VERY SMALL.
 * 8) IN A NEW WINDOW, go back to the weekly reports page for your volcano, as in step two. Click on the most recent month that has reports. Read the report that was written for the week. The first paragraph of the report has new information.
 * 9) On your page, enter the date of the report in the first cell of the first row of the table. In the second cell of that first row, write a description of the activity report in your own words.
 * 10) Repeat steps 8 and 9 with the second most recent activity report. ||
 * Ongoing || Students will check for activity once or twice a month and record their observations on their volcano page. ||
 * April / May 2012 || As we complete the chapter on volcanoes, students will add the following information to their volcano page.
 * 1) What causes my volcano? Describe the plate tectonic activity that caused the volcano to form. Review section 1 of Chapter 3 in the "Inside Earth" book.
 * 2) What kind of lava comes out? Name and describe the lava typically produced by your volcano. Review section 2 of Chapter 3 in the "Inside Earth" book.
 * 3) What type of eruptions does my volcano produce? Review the history of your volcano and describe the major events that have occurred. As in section 3 of Chapter 3, describe if the eruptions are quiet or explosive and find out if pyroclastic flows or other hazards have occurred.
 * 4) Describe the structure of your volcano and the landforms found near it. Review section 4 of Chapter 3 in your textbook. IS your volcano a shield volcano, a cinder cone, or a composite? Is your volcano isolated by itself or surrounded by other volcanoes? Are there any of the following landforms nearby: calderas, lave plateaus, necks, sills, or dikes. Does your volcano have any significant geothermal activity near it? ||
 * June 5, 2012 || The volcano page is finalized and graded. ||

Purpose of this Project
The goal of this project is to teach students the basic terms and concepts of vulcanology while also helping them to appreciate the impact of the internet and other technology on this branch of science. Vulcanology, like other earth sciences, has benefited from the sharing of information through the internet. Studying volcanoes has never been more exciting! Perhaps, one of our students will even become hooked. Is there a future volcanologist among this group?

How the project will be graded
The project will be graded according to the schedule that is shown in the table of assignments above. The rubric used for the project is shown below, but expect some changes to the rubric throughout the year. Mr. Robinson is always trying to define his expectations more clearly and appropriately, so the rubrics do change over time. It must be said, though, that the Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs) do not change, and all rubrics are created using the ESLRs as a guide. Click here to learn more about the HIS ESLRs.

Each column of the rubric describes a different skill that will be practiced as the student undertakes this project. The teacher's expectations for each skill are defined in the row entitled "meeting expectations." The information in each box of the rubric is a phrase that completes a sentence beginning with the words "The student..." For example, to meet the teacher's expectations in understanding scientific concepts, the student uses vocabulary correctly and discusses major topics accurately in his or her own writing. A student who wishes to exceed expectations is encouraged to display a deeper understanding of the concepts through his or her writing.

The purpose of the rubric is to communicate the teacher's expectations clearly. Furthermore, students are encouraged to exceed those expectations through their own initiative. When the student's work is graded, the teacher will provide feedback via the discussion feature on the student's page. In this way, the student will understand the grade and how to improve in the future.

As this project continues, the expectations for some of the skills will be changed. All changes will be announced and explained. The purpose of changing expectations is to raise the level of student achievement. Furthermore, if any of the expectations are not clear, the teacher is very happy to discuss the details and wording of the expectations. Sometimes such discussions result in a change of wording for an expectation, and such changes will also be announced and explained.

A student's grade is determined by examining the student's achievement level in each skill. A student who meets the expectations in all skills earns a 90. Students who wish to earn a grade above a 90 must exceed expectations in one or more skills while meeting expectations in all of the others. A student who approaches all the expectations without meeting any of them will earn a 70. A mixture of a achievement levels results in grades other than 70 or 90. If a student is meeting expectations in three skills and approaching expectations in two other skills, he or she will earn an 82.

The grades received by students during this project will be recorded as "project" grades. The average of the project grades counts as 30% of the final grade.

Project Rubric

 * Achievement Level || Understanding Scientific Concepts || Using Sources of Information || Organizing Information || Punctuality || Authenticity ||
 * Exceeding Expectations || discusses concepts with accurate detail and depth, making connections between concepts and even introducing new ideas. || displays extensive knowledge of the GVP website through the use of links and summaries of the pages. || presents information in an attractive style that emphasizes the most important information. || monitors this project page and meets deadlines without prompting. || uses his or her wiki page correctly and is willing to lead others in doing the same. ||
 * Meeting Expectations || uses vocabulary correctly and discusses major topics accurately in his or her own writing. || displays familiarity with the GVP website by providing annotated links to information pertaining to his or her volcano. || presents information from observations in the required table format and with a style that is clear and easy to read. || completes most observations on or before the stated deadlines (see table above). || uses his or her wiki page to distribute correct scientific information through proper citations and original content. ||
 * Approaching Expectations || uses limited vocabulary or uses some vocabulary incorrectly, preventing concepts from being discussed accurately. || displays familiarity with the GVP website by providing the required links to information pertaining to his or her volcano. || presents information from observations in the required table format, but the style of the presentation prevents the reader from understanding it easily. || completes a majority of observations on or before the stated deadlines (see table above). || provides information on his or her page that is not cited or not original. ||
 * Below Expectations || does not discuss concepts accurately. || does not provide a sufficient number of links to show familiarity with the GVP website. || presents information that is not organized in table format or in such a way that prevents the reader from understanding that information. || completes a minority of observations on or before the stated deadlines || does not cite information, cuts and pastes information, or uses the wiki in ways that are not pertinent to the distribution of correct scientific information. ||