summer reading packet for grade 6
DESCRIPTION
Welcome to BGA, 6th graders and 6th grade staff! This packet -- plus a copy of Hoot -- is all you need to complete summer reading this year. Due Friday, September 5, 2014.TRANSCRIPT
Name: _________________________________________________
Advisor’s name: ______________________________________
Summer Reading Packet
GRADE 6
due Friday Sept. 5, 2014
HOOT & 2 SOLAR
INNOVATORS
DIRECTIONSHOOT by Carl Hiaasen
Directions: 1. Read the entire book. 2. After you read, choose one or two of the projects on the MENU (PAGE 3). 3. Do your project(s) and make sure it meets the guidelines on the RUBRIC (PAGE 6).4. Bring this packet, your Hoot book, and all of your work to school on Friday Sept 5th.
2 SOLAR INNOVATORS
This summer, we will meet amazing innovators from two developing countries (Kenya and The Phillippines) who bring light and electricity to people who don’t have access to it using renewable energy (solar) and sustainable engineering practices. These women and men use recycled parts that are available in their towns -‐-‐ like scrap metal, plastic bottles, old bicycle frames, and solar panel pieces that big companies have thrown away.
Why are there BOLD words above? Check out the GLOSSARY on PAGE 14 of this packet for de9initions!
Directions:1. Read the two articles in this packet and watch the two videos:
(1) ILLAC DIAZ, innovator #1, makes solar bottle lightbulbs in the Phillippines. (PAGE 7)Video: PBS Newshour “Agents of Change: Illac Diaz’s Lightbulb Moment,” 6 min, at http://video.pbs.org/viralplayer/2292613397/
(2) EVANS WADONGO, innovator #2, makes solar lamps in Kenya. (PAGE 10)Video: “CNN Heroes: 'Saving lives' with solar-‐powered lights” at http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/02/11/cnnheroes.wadongo/
2. Complete the SUSTAINABLE TRIANGLE WORKSHEET (PAGE 16)3. Complete the FAMILY / HOME ACTIVITY WORKSHEET (PAGE 17)
WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th?
• From 9:00 - 10:00 AM, we will have SEMINARS organized by grade level in which we will talk about our readings and turn in our worksheets.
• From 10:00 - 12:00 noon, we will have a creative and energizing EVENT in which each grade level team of students and staff will design and build a sculpture out of local recycled materials, which will then be displayed in our new building, the Taft building in Brighton! Please invite your parents or guardians to join us for this fun day!
Any questions, comments, or concerns? Call or text me at 781-‐266-‐6493 or email me at [email protected]. Thank you, and happy learning! -‐-‐-‐ Mr. Hall, Library Teacher, BGA
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Summer Reading Menu
Directions: After reading Hoot by Carl Hiassen, choose one or two of the following projects, designed to show your understanding of the book. Please either choose one project that equals 100 points, or two projects that equal 50 points each. Choose the projects that you are most interested in and that you will have fun with! Remember, the project you
turn in should equal 100 points.
100 points each (Choose 1) o Create a word and/or picture collage representing the entire novel (main characters, major events,
turning point, etc.). This must be done on a large sheet of drawing paper or poster board (8” x 11” paper is too small). Then, on a separate piece of paper, write 1 page explaining why you chose those words and pictures.
o Re-write one or two chapters in comic book form. You should remain true the setting and characters.
o Do several pieces of art about the novel (paintings, drawings, sculptures, etc.) Be sure to include the major themes and characters. These should be accompanied by written pieces explaining how the art pieces relate to the book.
o Answer the comprehension questions for each chapter. ** (This is the only option that should be done AS you read, not AFTER you read) (PAGE 4 -- next page)
50 points each (Choose 2)o Select a character from the book. Then select 10 quotations from the text that you feel reveals the
character’s personality. You must explain what each quotation/sentence tells you about the character. You must also tell which page the quotation/sentence came from.
o Story Bag: Put together a bag that contains at least 10 items that would be useful to or significant to a character in your novel. Include a description of each item and how it relates to the story.
o Select a character from the novel and “interview” her/him. What kinds of things would you like to ask her/him & how would s/he respond? Write this up in an interview format.
o Write a book review for the novel. Briefly outline the main characters, setting, plot, and theme. Also tell whether or not you would recommend this novel to someone your own age and specify who might enjoy it.
o Redesign the cover of the book to include information about the characters, setting and plot. Include a written description of what you included and why.
o Write a song or a rap about the book including relevant information about the characters, setting and plot.
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Hoot Comprehension QuestionsDirections: If you choose this option from the Menu on the previous page, you will (1) pick 2 questions from each section and (2) answer them in complete sentences on a separate piece of paper.
Chapters 1-2 1. Give two descriptors of Dana Matherson. 2. What are two strange things about the running boy. 3. What was the vandalism that Curly reports to the police station? 4. How did Curly respond when Officer Delinko asked him what would happen to the owls? 5. Why did Roy’s family move so much? 6. What did Roy do to Dana? 7. What did Roy have to do for punishment?
Chapters 3-4 1. Curly called Officer Delinko to the construction site a second time because ___________. 2. How did Roy’s parents react to Roy getting into trouble at school? 3. What is one thing you learn about Beatrice in these chapters? 4. What happened to Officer Delinko’s car and why?
Chapters 5-6 1. Roy found ___________ in the third plastic garbage bag. 2. What was peculiar about the snakes? 3. What was Officer Delinko’s punishment for falling asleep on the job? 4. What did Roy find when he reached the campsite of Mullet Fingers?
Chapters 7-8 1. Beatrice and Roy got to the junkyard by ____________. 2. Roy brought the kid he’d seen running ___________. 3. Who is the running boy related to and how? 4. How did the running boy get his nick name? 5. What did Beatrice do to the tire and why?
Chapters 9-10 1. Garrett warned Roy that _____________. 2. What does Curly see when he arrives at the construction site? 3. Who rescues Roy from Dana? 4. What happened to Mullet Fingers? 5. Why did they take hamburger with them?
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Chapters 11-12 1. When Officer Delinko stops by the construction site, he finds _________. 2. For protection, what does Curly have on the construction site? 3. Why does Officer Delinko go to the Eberhardts’ home? 4. Where do Beatrice and Roy take Mullet Fingers? 5. Why are the Eberhardts confused when they get to the hospital?
Chapters 13-14 1. How does Roy’s father react to the story of Mullet Fingers? 2. What advice does Roy’s mother give him? 3. What happened after Beatrice wrote a letter to Mother Paula’s company?
Chapters 15-16 1. What did Roy do to convince Dana to come outside? 2. What lie did Dana tell Curly? 3. Dana was unable to escape Officer Delinko because _________________. 4. What does Curly discover while he is looking for his gun?
Chapters 17-18 1. Chuck Muckle’s answer to the burrowing owls was _____________.2. Curly told Roy the owls were really _____________. 3. What does Roy discover about the permits at City Hall? 4. How does Roy decide to help the owls?
Chapters 19-20 1. When Roy told everyone at the groundbreaking ceremony about the owls, Chuck Muckle said _________. 2. No one could go after Mullet Fingers because he had _____________. 3. After Chuck Muckle “killed” the rubber snakes, he _______________.
Chapters 21-end 1. Mullet Fingers’ real name was ______________. 2. Why was Mother Paula’s file missing? 3. Why was Mullet Fingers sent to a juvenile detention center? 4. How did Mullet Fingers leave Roy a sign that he was well when he left the detention center?
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Name _______________________
Summer Reading Final Project RubricThe final project you complete after you read Hoot should be organized, show that you read the book and should equal at least 100 points based on the Summer Reading Menu.
Exceeding Meeting Approaching Beginning
Understanding/Knowledge
Final project shows deep understanding of the characters, conflict and themes of the book Hoot.
Final project demonstrates understanding of the characters, conflict and themes of the book Hoot
Final project shows some understanding of the characters, plot and conflict of the book, but is missing major elements
Final project does not reflect any understanding of the book. It seems as though the student did not read the book.
Organization / Clarity
The ideas are expressed in an organized and clear manner and the project reflects time and effort.
The ideas are organized but may be unclear at times or hard to follow.
The ideas are mostly disorganized but the project reflects some time and effort.
The ideas are disorganized and hard to follow and the projects reflects little time and effort.
Completion
The final project exceeds 100 points on the Summer Reading Menu.
The final project is equal to 100 points on the Summer Reading Menu.
The final project equals 50 points on the Summer Reading Menu.
The final project equals less than 50 points on the Summer Reading Menu.
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ILLAC DIAZ, innovator #1
“Plastic bottles light up lives”
By Kotoe Oshima, CNN news, August 30, 2011. Adapted by Lucas Hall.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
1 Bottle bulbs are being used to light dark homes in Manila, the capital of the Phillippines
2 The homes are built close together, so they do not have much natural light
3 Recycled bottles are milled with bleach and water and placed in roofs
4 Electricity is often unavailable or it is too expensive
A new twist on recycling is transforming Manila's slums. Plastic bottles are not seen as trash anymore.
They are now being seen as a cheap and sustainable way to light homes.7
Shanty Town homes in Manila are often built so close to each other that they have no windows or natural
light. With electricity unaffordable or unavailable, many families often have to work, do chores, and eat in
near darkness.
Now a simple innovation called the "Solar Bottle Bulb" is popping out of roofs and illuminating the lives of
many.
Placed into holes in a corrugated iron roof, the "bulb" is a recycled plastic bottle that contains bleached
water. The bottle bulbs refract the sun's rays to create 55-‐watts worth of light. This is more light than a
traditional window can bring. Plus, windows can crack or leak during typhoon season.
Illac Diaz, who runs the non-‐promit My Shelter Foundation, brought this simple, cheap and innovative
technology to the Philippines through his project, "A Liter of Light."
"You can imagine how big the effect of this light is in these homes," said Diaz.
The bottle bulb was inspired by engineer Amy Smith, from the D-‐Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Diaz started experimenting with the "Solar Bottle Bulb"
technology after watching a YouTube video of her work in Haiti.
Aiming to create a green market for sustainable lighting, "A Liter of Light" has donated over 100 solar
bottle bulbs to others across the Philippines to replicate (copy) the project.
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Diaz's team of eight trains and shares tools and technology with others across Manila's neighborhoods as
well as with locals from towns like Cebu and Visayas. The bottle bulbs are sold and installed for around $1
per piece.
With the help of many local governments, "A Liter of Light" and its collaborators have installed 12,000
solar bottle bulbs, lighting 10,000 homes in mive Filipino provinces.
Families can save $6 per month by using bottle bulbs instead of electricity or generators. The Philippines
is reported to have the most expensive electricity in Asia, and slum homes do not have electricity meters.
They use illegal connections to electric power, which costs more than legal electricity.
The bottle bulbs provide a constant light during daylight hours. They are promoted as a better choice
than candles and electric lighting, which may have dangerous or faulty wiring and could cause mires.
Diaz has high hopes for the future of his plastic bottles and is planning to expand his project to 36 towns
across the country.
His idea was recently picked up by Civil Military Operations group of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
that is set to distribute 10,000 bottle bulbs to different parts of Metro Manila's slums. "Once people see
the benemits to the community, they will grab the technology," Diaz said. "It will spread like a drop of ink."
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EVANS WADONGO, innovator #2
“35 Innovators Under 35, 2013 -- Evans Wadongo”
By David Talbot, MIT Technology Review. Adapted by Lucas Hall.
Growing up in Kenya, he struggled to read by the dim, smoky light of a kerosene lantern. Now he’s
making solar-charged lanterns.
Kenya’s unreliable electric grid doesn’t reach Chumvi, a village about two hours southeast of Nairobi.
Here, many of the 500 residents live in mud-‐walled, grass-‐roofed homes and make a living raising goats
and growing kale, maize, and other crops. Yet an economic transformation is taking place, driven by an
unlikely source—solar-‐charged LED lanterns. These lanterns are the vision of Evans Wadongo, 27, who
grew up in a village like this one.
As a child, Wadongo struggled to study by the dim, smoky light of a kerosene lantern that he shared with
his four older brothers. His eyes were irritated, and he often was unable to minish his homework. “Many
students fail to complete their education and remain poor partly because they don’t have good light,” says
Wadongo, who speaks slowly and softly.10
In Chumvi, Kenya, Irene Peter helps her son with English homework by LED light, which is cleaner and less expensive than kerosene.
As a student at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, he happened to see holiday
lights made from LEDs and thought about what it would take to bring LEDs to small villages for general
lighting. After taking a leadership training course, he designed a manufacturing system for portable LED
lamps that could be recharged by sunlight. While these kinds of lamps are already for sale in stores—and
are increasingly making their way into villages in poor countries—Wadongo decided that his lanterns
would be made in local workshops with scrap metal and off-the-shelf photovoltaic panels , batteries,
and LEDs.
Wadongo worried that if people were given the lamps for free, that they would not become people’s
permanent choice for lighting. But the lanterns normally each cost 2,000 Kenyan shillings (about $23),
which is too much for many villagers. So he uses donations to provide the mirst batches of lamps to
villages. Residents are usually quick to see the value in the LED lamps because of the money they save on
kerosene. Wadongo then encourages them to put the resulting savings into local businesses.
The transformation in Chumvi began two years ago, when a woman named Eunice Muthengi, who had
grown up there and went on to study in the United States, bought 30 lanterns and donated them to
women in the village. Given that the fuel for one $6 kerosene lamp can cost $1 a week, the donation not
only gave people in the town a better, cleaner light source but freed up more than $1,500 a year. With this
money, local women launched a village microlending service and built businesses making bead crafts
and handbags. “We’re now able to save 10 to 20 shillings [11 to 23 cents] a day, and in a month that adds
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up to to something worthwhile,” says Irene Peter, a 43-‐year-‐old mother of two who raises maize and
tomatoes. “Personally, I saved and got a sheep who has now given birth.” She also got started in a business
making ornaments and other small objects.
As promits rolled in from new businesses like these, the women who got the original 30 lamps gradually
bought new batches; according to Wadongo, they now have 150. “Their economic situation is improving,
and this is really what keeps me going,” he says. Some people are even making enough to build better
houses. “The impact of what we do,” he says, “is not in the number of lamps we distribute but how many
lives we can change.”
Wadongo is also changing lives with the manufacturing jobs he is creating. In his Nairobi workshop, two
of his employees hammer orange and green scraps of sheet metal into the bases of the next batch of
lamps (soon to be spray-‐painted silver). Each base is also stamped with the name of the lamp—Mwanga
Bora (Swahili for “Good Light”). The three men in the workshop can make 100 lamp housings a week and
are paid $4 for each one. After subtracting rent for the workshop space, each man makes over $110 per
week—far above the Kenyan minimum wage.
Each lamp is stamped “Mwanga Bora,” which means “Good Light” in Swahili.12
Some of the lamps are completed in the kitchen of a rented house in Nairobi. Three LED elements are
pushed through a cardboard tube so they stand up inside the lantern’s glass shade. The LED lights,
photovoltaic panel, and batteries are sourced from major electronics companies. Overall, the lamps are
rugged; the steel in the housing of the lantern is strong. If a housing breaks, it can be mixed locally—and
the electronic parts are easily swapped out.
Wadongo now runs Sustainable Development for All, the nonpromit organization that gave him his
leadership training, and he is focusing on expanding the lamp production program. It has made and
distributed 32,000 lamps and is ready to increase that number dramatically by opening 20
manufacturing centers in Kenya and Malawi. Wadongo says that teams in those centers will manufacture
not only the lamps but “any creative thing they want to make.”
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GLOSSARY
ALTERNATIVE ENERGYsunlight (solar), wind, and water (hydro)
CONVENTIONAL ENERGYfossil fuels -‐-‐ coal, oil, natural gas, kerosene
clean healthy; does not cause health hazards or air pollution
toxic poisonous; causes health hazards and/or air pollution
abundant tons left
scarcenot much left
renewable won’t run out on earth
nonrenewable will eventually run out on earth
accessible easy to get, easy to use
inaccessible hard to get, hard to use
affordable expensive
reliable energy that does not shut down, black out, disconnect, or stop working
unreliableenergy that shuts down, blacks out, disconnects, or stops working
localmade or grown within a 500-‐mile radius of a home or business
imported brought into a country from another country
corrugated: a sheet of metal that has been rolled into a parallel wave pattern to make it stiff and rigid.
dim: not shining brightly or clearly.
developed countries (also known as industrialized or First World countries): countries that generally have a high average income per citizen, high quality goods and public services (such as healthcare, electricity, plumbing, schools, transportation, police and mire services), and a longer life expectancy (the average expected life span of a nation’s citizens).
developing countries (also known as agricultural or Third World countries): countries that generally have a low average income per citizen, widespread poverty, poor quality goods and public services (such as healthcare, electricity, plumbing, schools, transportation, police and mire services), and a shorter life expectancy (the average expected life span of a nation’s citizens).
donation: something that is given to a charity, especially a sum of money.
element: one part of a larger item.
engineer: a person who designs and makes complex products using science and math, matter and energy.
Filipino: someone who is born or lives in the Philippines.
housing: a sturdy case or cover that protects a piece of delicate equipment.
innovator: a person who creates and introduces a new or original idea, method, device, or product.14
kerosene: an oil used for fuel to make light. It comes from petroleum and is used especially in lamps, heaters, and jet engines.
LED (Light-‐Emitting Diode): A long-‐lasting light technology that requires very little power.
manufacturing: making items with machines and/or in factories.
microlending: the practice of lending very small amounts of money to people in need, usually to those who are poor and want to start a business.
off-the-shelf: an item that available for sale from a store's supply of goods; it isn’t ordered from somewhere else or custom made.
photovoltaic cell (PV cell, solar cell): a device that converts radiant energy (light from the sun) into electrical energy.
photovoltaic effect: a process in which radiant energy (light from the sun) creates an electrical current (called voltage and measured in volts).
photovoltaic panel (PV panel, solar panel): a group of photovoltaic cells or modules connected together. Use of solar panels is a sustainable building strategy because buildings don’t have to rely on nonrenewable sources of power, like electricity, that are distributed through the grid system.
provinces: a principal administrative division of certain countries or empires.
recycled: materials that are thrown out and used again.
refract: to make a ray of light change direction when it enters at an angle.
scrap metal: small pieces of metal that are left over and thrown out after the big pieces of the metal have been used.
shanty town: a section of a city or town where people are poor and live in small, roughly built houses.
slum: a crowded, usually urban area marked by poverty, run-‐down housing, and social disorganization. This word can be offensive, similar to ”ghetto.”
solar: energy that comes from the sun.
solar cells: see photovoltaic cells.
solar panel: see photovoltaic panel.
sustainability: practices that ensure the continued viability of a product or practice well into the future. living in a manner more in concert with natural systems.
sustainable development: The process of observing, identifying, and researching key problems affecting a specimic community and then working with the community to develop local solutions to these problems.
sustainable engineering: the process of designing and using systems so that they use energy and resources sustainably, i.e., at a rate that does not compromise the natural environment, or the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
toxic: poisonous.
typhoon (also called hurricane or cyclone): a storm with strong, violent winds
unreliable: something that cannot be relied on; undependable, untrustworthy, inconsistent.
urban: related to a city.
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SUSTAINABILITY TRIANGLE WORKSHEETDIRECTIONS:
1. Re-‐read the Illac Diaz article OR re-‐watch the video. In the GREY half-‐circles below, use a few phrases to describe how the technology and ideas are sustainable in terms of each of the three factors -‐ environment, economy, and equity.
2. Re-‐read the Evans Wadongo article OR re-‐watch the video. Fill in the WHITE half-‐circles below in the same way.
ARTICLE / VIDEO # 1 ARTICLE / VIDEO # 2
innovator’s name: innovator’s name:
ILLAC DIAZ EVANS WADONGO
technology discussed: technology discussed:
solar bottle bulbs solar lamps
Which technology or idea is more sustainable -‐-‐ i.e. which one BETTER meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations? Why?
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FAMILY / HOME ACTIVITY WORKSHEET: POWERless!!
(A) POWERless HOUR: Choose one dark night this summer and -‐-‐ with your parent/guardian’s permission -‐-‐ turn off all of the lights for one hour. For that hour do not use any electric appliances including cell phones, computers, television, radio, or any battery-‐powered devices. You can use pen/pencil and paper to make a list of everything you notice in this hour (sounds, sights, smells, feelings, etc.).
(B) FAMILY/HOME DISCUSSION -- After doing this activity, talk for at least ten minutes with your parent(s), guardian(s), or other family members who live in your home.
• How dark was it in your home?• Did an hour seem like a long time?• What memories do family members have about times in the past when they had no electricity? (In your
Remlection below, write out at least one of those memories). • What could you & your family do without electricity? • What couldn’t you & your family do that you normally do in the evening? • How dark would it be if your whole neighborhood lost electricity? What couldn’t people and businesses in
your neighborhood do that they normally do in the evening?• Imagine living with little or no electricity. How would your life be different today? How would it have been
different growing up?
(C) REFLECTION -- Now re9lect and write for ten minutes
What was powerful, meaningful, important, interesting, inspiring, confusing, or troubling about this activity? Write a detailed response. Share the main things that you & your family members discussed, including one memory about a time in the past when they had no electricity.
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