Subject: Science Grade: 8 Title: Are Viruses Alive? Date of Assessment: September 2014 – Due Date will vary on class timing. Description of the Task: • You need to read the article “This is how you get Ebola” and then write a response on whether viruses are alive or not. • You must choose a position (alive or not) and then support it using your scientific knowledge on what makes something a living thing. • Your response must be in the form of a newspaper article for the Abu Dhabi National • Please see the rubric for more information. Criteria to be assessed: Criterion A: Knowledge and Understanding Goal:To inform the public about the Ebola virus due to the recent outbreak in West Africa. Role:A journalist for the Science column at the Abu Dhabi National. …show more content…
The readers of The Abu Dhabi National do not have a scientific background. Situation:There is concern in the community about the Ebola outbreak currently taking place in West Africa. The Abu Dhabi National newspaper has required you write an article outlining if the Ebola virus is a living organism in order to increase awareness about the Ebola virus in the general public. Product: A newspaper article (250 words maximum) outlining if the Ebola virus is a living organism. Using the information in the source article, you need to make a scientifically supported judgment on if a virus is alive or not. You then need to support your judgment by describing all aspects of what makes something alive and relating them to the Ebola virus. This article should be written for an audience that doesn’t have a scientific background and will not automatically know what the characteristics of life