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Seniorproject

The document outlines the requirements for a senior project involving community service cleaning up the LA River. Students will spend 10 hours over 3 Saturdays in April helping to clean the river. They will then analyze collected data on waste removed and present their experiences in a reflective paper, art project using marbling techniques, and final presentation.

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50 views5 pages

Seniorproject

The document outlines the requirements for a senior project involving community service cleaning up the LA River. Students will spend 10 hours over 3 Saturdays in April helping to clean the river. They will then analyze collected data on waste removed and present their experiences in a reflective paper, art project using marbling techniques, and final presentation.

Uploaded by

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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Great LA River:

A Capstone to Your Academic Careers as High School Seniors


The purpose of the senior project is to reflect on a real world issue that confronts our contemporary society. As a
capstone to your academic career, this project represents a culmination of your years in education so far and how
to apply your intellectual and practical skills to an area of deserving concern in our community at large. What is
your solution and contribution to one of todays current issues that your generation will not only need to face but
also resolve?
A. COMMUNITY SERVICE completed by Saturday, April 30th
This April, Friends of the
Los Angeles River is
holding its 27th annual
Great LA River CleanUp:
La Gran Limpieza! This
year there is an urgent need
for the 27th Annual Great
Los Angeles River
CleanUp. The dramatic El
Nio swept through the
watershed washing trash
from surrounding areas into
the channel which needs to
be removed. April is Earth Month you have three Saturdays April 16th, 23rd, and 30th and fifteen sites to
choose from along the entire course of the LA River.
1. Sign up online for at least two out of the three community service days (https://folar.org/cleanup/).
2. When you sign up, request a Certificate of Completion on Community Service for each Saturday.
3. Turn in a completed waiver at the Clean Up. Ensure it is signed by your parent/guardian, if you are under
18 years old.
Dates and Locations
Upper River | April 16 | 9:00 am 12:00 noon
Bette Davis Picnic Area | Glendale Narrows Riverwalk
Tujunga Wash @ Haines Canyon Channel | Sepulveda Basin Sports Complex
Mid River | April 23 | 9:00 am 12:00 noon
Arroyo Seco Confluence | Fletcher Dr & Bowtie Parcel | The Frog Spot | Los Feliz Blvd
Marsh Park | Steelhead Park | Sunnynook Footbridge
Lower River | April 30 | 9:00 am 12:00 noon
Compton Creek @ Artesia Station | Compton Creek @ Del Amo Station
Golden Shore Marine Reserve | Willow Street Estuary

B. DATA, ANAYLSIS, SYNTHESIS completed by Friday, May 13th


Data Recording:
During your time with the Friends of the Los Angeles River, you will be providing a great service to the
communities surrounding the river and to Los Angeles as a whole. You will also be involved in work that is
begging to be documented, analyzed and reported to a large audience, and what is more fun than playing with
numbers, data, and PowerPoint presentations? (A scientists answers: NOTHING!)
The data you collect will describe your individual cleanup and is as follows:
Physical Data:
1. How many bags did you fill during your cleanup period?
2. What is the volume of one (1) bag?
3. What types of trash did
you pick up? (Plastic,
metal, organic (food),
etc.)
4. Give an estimate as to
which type of trash was
most prevalent.
Geographic Data:
1. Where in Los Angeles
were you during your
cleanup?
2. What kind of river bed
did the river have? (Concrete, dirt, sand, mixture, etc.)
3. What kind of buildings surrounded the river? (Homes, factories, warehouses, etc)
Data Analysis:
Once you have completed your cleanup, you can begin analyzing your data. Analysis will include the following:
1. In total, what volume of waste did you remove from the river? In total, what volume of waste did you
remove that was plastic? Metal? Organic?
2. What was the average waste removed from the river per student? Share data with your classmates to
calculate this information.
3. How much waste would be removed from the river per year if you were to participate in a clean-up once
a month? What about if you and all of your senior classmates were to join you each month? What about if
all STEM3 Academy students were to participate once a month?
Synthesis:
Now that you have collected the data and analyzed the numbers, lets make some connections between this
project and the community by answering a few questions:
1. Did you notice any correlation between the community surrounding the river and the amount and/or types
of waste removed?

2. Based on you experiences, would you ever help out the Friends of the Los Angeles River or any other
clean-up group again?
3. What specific experiences led to your decision for the question above (#2)?
4. What improvements would you make to the clean-up program? What aspects of the program did you
think worked particularly well and do not need many changes?

Senior Project Data Collection, Analysis, and Synthesis Rubric


Data Collection:
0 - 1 pts

2 3 pts

4 5 pts
All data is collected and
written into a table using
Excel
All data is collected and
written into a table using
Excel
Data is organized neatly and
is easy to follow and
understand; all data is
labeled with proper units

Physical Data

Data is not collected and/or


is incomplete

2 or 3 of the required data is


not collected;

Geographic Data

Data is not collected and/or


is incomplete

2 or 3 of the required data is


not collected;

Organization

Data is not organized and is


difficult to understand

Data is organized with 2 or


3 mistakes and/or
mislabeled information

0 1 pts

2 3 pts

Only 1 of the 3 analysis


prompts is answered

Only 2 of 3 prompts are


answered and

Calculation are not


represented by a table

All calculations are


represented by a table; the
table may not have all items
properly labeled

4 5 pts
All 3 prompts are answered
and calculations for each
prompt are shown
All calculations for the 3
prompts are represented by
a table that is properly
labeled

2 3 pts

4 5 pts

All prompts are answered

All prompts are answered

Each prompt is answered


with less than 5 complete
sentences, some of which
are not clean and concise

Each prompt is answered


with at least 5 sentences, all
of which are clear and
concise

Analysis:

Responses

Presentation of Analysis

Synthesis:

Responses to Prompts

Quality of Prompts

0 1 pts
All 3 prompts are not
answered
Prompts are answered with
incomplete and/or run on
sentences

C. SUMINAGASHI PROJECT completed by Friday, May 20th

1. Students will take pictures representing their 10 hours of service. Pictures will be processed and then
photocopied.
2. Photo-transfer of pictures taken. Students will take the photocopies and photo-transfer them on to
watercolor paper using a solvent. Materials used are as follows: Photo transfer pens/xylene/organic
solvents, bone or other tool, high quality watercolor paper. Writing will also be transferred. The written
material may be adjectives representing the river, nouns representing the ecosystem, a poem involving the
river/water cycle, or personal thoughts about the places they visited.
3. The writing will be copied backwards so that when it is transferred, it will be flipped back to the position
that is readable.
4. Marbling / Suminagashi Process:
Students will create
representations of river/water flow
using an old paint technique where
paint is floated on water and then
paper is dipped in to capture
organic designs. The paints will
be
manipulated with brushes and
sticks to create movement in the
paint.
5. These individual pieces will be
Figure 1 Example of Suminagashi Process
mounted into a collaborative
installation to represent the movement of water and the students experiences at the different rivers.
Requirements/Rubric:
1. Take at least 10 pictures of the rivers visited. Try to frame pictures to capture creative images of the
ecosystem. They should vary in content and include the river itself, the riverbanks, organisms and/or
other interesting landmarks.
2. Determine which pictures are to be used by discussing with peers and adults. Print pictures. Print in color
and black and white so that you have choices when you photo-transfer. Provide me with these images by
the due date that we decide on. (I need to take the pictures to photocopy center in order for the transfer to
work. Regular printers dont work.)
3. Decide what written material you want. Determine font and size. The words dont all have to be in the
same font or size. Be creative. Print this as well and hand in to me with the pictures.
4. Discuss with me whether you want to add color.
5. Photo-transfer at least one black and one color print to see which you prefer as well as to get practice.
6. Photo-transfer the written material.
7. Create 2-5 sheets of marbled, organic designs. (# depends on how designs come out.) Think about river
flow, water drops, puddles and waves when coming up with design.
8. Colors should be chosen based on river theme.
9. Seniors must help decide how to mount project.

D. REFLECTION completed by Friday, May 20th

Taking a more global view in high school on the brink to the next phase in your life, what is your feasible
solution to one of the problems related to water? Focus on one aspect of the water problem that is the most
concerning to you after having collected, analyzed, and synthesized your data from the LA River: Your topic
might focus in the effect of drinking water, pollution, natural resources, the water table, water shortage, fracking,
the locations of industry in relation to water, or the effect on wildlife. What is your role as a social individual
facing this contemporary, real world issue?
Requirements/Rubric:
1. Write a 3 to 4 page paper
without punctuation and
grammatical errors.
2. Includes a clear thesis
statement.
3. State your definition of the
problem.
4. Detail previous attempts
that havent fixed the
problem.
5. Discuss why your solution
is more effective.
6. Synthesize the information
to present a holistic view of
the problem and a solution.

E. PRESENTATION completed by Friday, May 27th


Present the project in all of its entirety to an audience of peers and adults.
Requirements/Rubric:
1. Utilize a minimum of three different types of presentation styles. Examples include PowerPoint, poster
board, handouts, video montage, etc.
2. Present between 15 and 20 minutes.
3. Equally divide the presentation (3-4 minutes each).
DUE DATES
1. Community Service must be completed by April 30th, 2016. Certificates of completion need to be turned
in to Ms. Jarvis no later than Monday, May 2nd.
2. Data, Analysis, and Synthesis portion of the project is due to Mr. Armstrong by Friday, May 13th.
3. The Suminagashi project is due to Ms. Guillaume by Friday, May 20th.
4. The Reflection Essay is due to Ms. Francis by Friday, May 20th.
5. The Presentation to teachers will be held on Friday, May 27th.
6. Final Presentation will be held on Graduation Day, Friday, June 10th.

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