"It's In The Cards"

1. Task

   1. Background:

      You have been hired as an editor at a magazine.  As your first assignment, you have been asked to review an article about sports card collecting.  The author of the article has included the attached table and graphic with his text.  You must use your knowledge of ratio and proportion and percent of change to check the accuracy of his work.  Finally, you must write a memo to the writer summarizing your findings and the need for any revisions.

   2. Alignment to Standards:

      Numerical relationships standard for Grade 8:  (1) Write and use a proportion, including variables, to solve problems involving similarity, ratios, rates, unit prices, unit conversions, and percents, and (2) choose, describe and use a variety of strategies to estimate and solve problems involving percent, including percent increase and decrease.  Language Arts standard for Grade 8: Write persuasive essays.

   3. Purpose:

      You will examine the writer's work with the goal of turning out an article that is factually correct and free of errors.

   4. Audience:

      Your audience is the writer of the article, Michael Carey, to whom you will write a memo describing any revisions that you feel may be necessary to his work.

2. Access Information: Procedure Analyze & Organize

   1. Procedure:

      1. On a separate sheet of paper, check the author's work for the "% increase" column of his table.  You should set up proper proportions for each one and show the correct answers.

      2. Look at the numbers that the author got in the "% increase" column of his table.  See if you can determine what procedure he used which led to the errors he made.

      3. Write a memo to the author of the article.  In the memo you should explain to him the error that he made in doing his calculations.  In addition, you should explain the proper procedure and include an example of a correct computation for one of the cards.  Keep in mind that your job is to work with the author to turn out a finely polished article.  The tone of your memo should reflect the fact that you are working together, and not just criticizing the author.

      4. Look carefully at the table and the accompanying graphic that shows the ten different cards listed in the table.  There is another error here that a good editor would find.  Can you find it?  Include in your memo an explanation of his error and a request to the author to correct it.

      5. Use the attached assessment list to evaluate your own work.

      Note:  This table actually appeared in the October 2000 issue of "Tuff Stuff,"  a magazine for the sports card hobby.  Perhaps they could use your skills as an editor!

   2. Resources:

      Need to enter Textbook or information to reference the task.

3. Produce & Deliver: Assess, Evaluate, & Modify

   1. Assessment List

      • View the Assessment List and Teachers Task Paperwork

   2. Examples of Student Work by Standards [Grade 8]

 Next Step: Please click on the student group level below you want to view.

• Sample of Below Standard

• Sample of At Standard

• Sample of Above Standard

3. Feedback [View after viewing student work]

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Revised: 07/08/2005