SS Cow

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Brad Coleman

ELD376

Fall 2013

SS COW

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COW The Most Crowded Country

Problem: Which country is the most densely populated country?

Background: In terms of square miles, Alaska is the largest state in America.According to the United States Census, California is the most populated state is

America. But are either of these states the most densely populated state in our

country? Population densityis the population per unit area. In other words, it

tells us how many people live in an area in relation to the size of that area. Knowing

the population densityhelps people decide where to live, where to build roads,

homes, schools and businesses, and what services to provide to each area. It also

plays a role in determining the number of seats each state holds in Congress.

The Problem: Bill and his family are looking to move into a new home. Together,

they decide it would be best to live in a state where the population density is low.

Billsparents give him a list of possible states to move to and their size. It is up toyou to help Bill figure out which state holds the least amount of residents per square

mile. This will help Bill decide where his family should move.

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Directions:

The chart on the following page gives you the size of each state your family isconsidering, in square miles. Fill in the population column on the chart with

the population of each state

o To do this you will need to do some research. Use your social studiestextbook and/or the internet to find your data

Once your chart is complete, use the data to find the population density ofeach state

o To complete this you will have to do some matho Population Density = State Population / Total Land Area (m2)

Use your newly acquired data to determine which state Bill and his familyshould move to

o In a paragraph, explain why this state is the best option. Include: Advantages to state chosen Disadvantages to state chosen

If any; if not, explain why there are no disadvantages If you agree with this option

If not, which state would you choose, and why? Reasons why other states are not the best option

o Paragraph should contain 6-10 sentenceso Spelling and grammar count, so it would be wise to proof read your

work

HINT: Dont just tell me Because the state has the lowest populationdensity. This answer is incomplete and does not meet the requirements.

Your answer should contain reasoning as to why the population density

makes that state a good place to live. This will require thought and your

opinion.

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Name: _____________________________ Date: _______________________

State Size of State (Sq

Miles)

Population of

State

Population

Density of State

(#/mi2)

California 158,648

Texas 266,874

New Jersey 7,790

Rhode Island 1,213

Kentucky 40,411

Final Decision: Where should Bills family move? Do you agree?

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Rubric

How you will be scored

Requirement Point Value: 3 Point Value:

2

Point Value: 1 Point Value:

0

Your Score

Name Name is onpaper

Name is noton paper

Date Correct date is

on paper

Correct date is

not on paper

Data Chart Data chart iscomplete

Data is accurate

Data chart iscomplete

Some data is

inaccurate

Data chart iscomplete or

mostly

complete

Piece of data is

missing

Substantial

amount of datais inaccurate

Data chart isincomplete

Most or all of

data is

inaccurate

State withLowest

Population

Density is

Determined

Correct state ischosen

Incorrect or nostate is chosen

Response Addresses allpoints asked for

in directions

Response is

clear and

cohesive

Does notaddress one

point asked

for in

directions

Response is

clear andcohesive

Does notaddress one or

more points

asked for in

directions

Response is

understandablebut needs work

Does notaddress two or

more points

asked for in

directions

Response is

unclear and/orincohesive

Spelling andGrammar

Little or nospelling and

grammar errors

Spellingand/or

grammar is an

issue inresponse

Total /10

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Name: GREAT ANSWER SAMPLE Date: ______11/22/13_________

State Size of State (SqMiles)

Population ofState

PopulationDensity of State

(#/mi2)

California 158,648 38,041,430 239.8

Texas 266,874 26,059,203 97.6

New Jersey 7,790 8,864,590 1137.9

Rhode Island 1,213 1,050,292 865.9

Kentucky 40,411 4,380,415 108.4


Bills family should move to Texas. Although Texas is the largest state out of

the five options, it has the smallest population density. There is only about 98

people for every square mile in Texas. The advantage to this is that Bills family can

live in an area that is not too crowded. Since it is not very crowded, they could have

a house with a lot of land, or a farm. A disadvantage, though, could be if Bills family

lived really far from a city. His parents might have to drive far to get to work. I

agree with this option, because there are cities in Texas. If they decide they want to

be around more people, they could move to one of these cities. The other states

would not be the best option for Bills family because there are a lot more peopleliving in a much smaller area, which is not what they want.

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Rubric

How you will be scoredGREAT ANSWER SAMPLE


2


0

Your Score


Name is noton paper

1


on paper

Correct date is

not on paper

1


Data is accurate


Some data is

inaccurate


mostly

complete

Piece of data is

missing

Substantial



Most or all of

data is

inaccurate

3

State withLowest

Population

Density is

Determined



1


in directions

Response is

clear and

cohesive

Does notaddress one

point asked

for in

directions

Response is

clear andcohesive


more points

asked for in

directions

Response is



more points

asked for in

directions

Response is


3

Spelling andGrammar


grammar errors

Spellingand/or

grammar is an

issue inresponse

1

Total 10/10

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Name: OK ANSWER SAMPLE Date: ______11/22/13_________


Population ofState


(#/mi2)

California 158,648 38,041,430 239.8

Texas 266,874 26,059,203 97.6

New Jersey 7,790 8,864,590 1137.9

Rhode Island 1,213 1,050,292 1865.9

Kentucky 40,411 4,380,415 10008.4


Bills family should move to Texas. Texas has the lowest population density

of any state. According to calculations, less than 100 people live in every square

mile in Texas. An advantage to this would be less traffic. Another advantage would

be not a lot of big crowds. The other states are not good options because their

population density is much higher. I dont agree with Bills family. I would live in

California. The population density is not that much higher, and the weather is much

nicer.

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Rubric

How you will be scoredOK ANSWER SAMPLE


2


0

Your Score


Name is noton paper

1


on paper

Correct date is

not on paper

1


Data is accurate


Some data is

inaccurate


mostly

complete

Piece of data is

missing

Substantial



Most or all of

data is

inaccurate

2

Populationdensity for

Rhode Island

and Kentucky

ismiscalculated

State withLowest

Population

Density is

Determined



1


in directions

Response is

clear and

cohesive

Does notaddress one

point asked

for in

directions

Response is

clear andcohesive


more points

asked for in

directions

Response is



more points

asked for in

directions

Response is


2

Does not

addressdisadvantages

for Texas

Spelling andGrammar


grammar errors

Spellingand/or

grammar is an

issue inresponse

1

Total 8/10

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Name: POOR ANSWER SAMPLE Date: ______11/22/13_________


Population ofState


(#/mi2)

California 158,648 38,041,430 239.8

Texas 266,874 26,059,203 97.6

New Jersey 7,790 8,864,590

Rhode Island 1,213 1,050,292 865.9

Kentucky 40,411 4,380,415 88.4


Bills family should move to Kentucky. Kentucky have the lowest population

densidy. This is good because there is not a lot of peopl and more space. This is bad

because he might not have neighbors. I dont agree. I would want to live in

California.

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Rubric

How you will be scoredPOOR ANSWER SAMPLE


2


0

Your Score

Name Name is on

paper

Name is not

on paper

1


on paper

Correct date is

not on paper

1

Data Chart Data chart is

complete

Data is accurate

Data chart is

complete

Some data is

inaccurate

Data chart is

complete or

mostly

complete

Piece of data ismissing

Substantialamount of data

is inaccurate

Data chart is

incomplete

Most or all of

data is

inaccurate

1

Missing data

Populationdensity is

miscalculated

for Kentucky

State with

Lowest

Population

Density isDetermined

Correct state is

chosen

Incorrect or no

state is chosen

0

State isincorrect


in directions

Response is

clear and

cohesive

Does notaddress one

point asked

for indirections

Response isclear and

cohesive


more points

asked for indirections

Response isunderstandable

but needs work


more points

asked for indirections

Response isunclear and/or

incohesive

1

Does notaddress why

other states

wouldnt

work orreasoning for

personal

choice

Spelling and

Grammar

Little or no

spelling andgrammar errors

Spelling

and/orgrammar is an

issue in

response

0

Did not

proofread

Total 4/10

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The poor answer example is a very poor response, and would need to be

redone by the student. The student omitted one piece of data for unknown reasons,

and miscalculated another. Unfortunately, the miscalculation gave the student false

information, which led them to choose the incorrect state as the answer to the

question posed.

Even though the student chose the incorrect state, a strong response wouldhave still earned them the full three points for that part of the rubric. However, this

student gave a very weak response. Their response, while meeting the length

requirements, was choppy and did not flow like a paragraph should. Their

reasoning was general and questionable. They did not answer all of the questions

given in the directions. Finally, there were at least four spelling/grammar mistakes

in the short response.

As a teacher, it would seem that this student put forth very little effort in this

POW. It is possible that the student did not fully understand the task. This matter

would be discussed privately to determine the reasoning for the poor work. As

previously stated, this assignment would be required to be done again.

SS Cow

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