<h2>
	<a name="TOC-OVERVIEW"></a>OVERVIEW</h2>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The goal of this activity is for students to get all of the pieces together and put together their posters. Making the posters will mostly be about summarizing and communicating that information and thinking a bit more about what it means. The poster will include all the stages of the research project &ndash; from gathering the background information, to designing the project, to data analysis, and drawing conclusions from the work.</p>
<h2>
	<a name="TOC-GETTING-READY"></a>GETTING READY</h2>
<ul>
	<li>
		All the project materials and the poster outline (<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/mercuryourwatershedfriends/watershed-experiences/unit-6/a-outling-the-project">Activity A</a>) should be at hand.</li>
	<li>
		<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Download the <a href="#t">poster template</a></span>.</li>
	<li>
		Access to a whiteboard, sticky notes, and paper, scissors, and tape is useful during the draft stage.<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
	<h2>
		<a name="TOC-ACTIVITY-PROCEDURE"></a>ACTIVITY PROCEDURE</h2>
	<p>
		&nbsp;</p>
	<ul style="margin-top: 0in;">
		<li>
			Begin by showing the students the <a href="#t">poster template</a>. Note that it is 3 feet by 4 feet in size. Ultimately the information will need to be pasted into the template, but it&rsquo;s best to start with a mockup that can be changed and elements moved.</li>
		<li>
			Draw a large rectangle on the white board. This represents the poster space. Have students write the title of each poster section on a sticky note (e.g., Introduction, Methods). Stick these subtitles on the white board, inside the poster.</li>
		<li>
			Working from the poster outline(s) the students have developed, have them cut out or re-write the various sections and stick them on the board where they belong. Also stick on photocopies of key graphs or sketches of maps and photos. The goal here is to mock up what will go on the poster, and approximately where.</li>
		<li>
			Work with the group to discuss the text, order of items, and general layout. Edit the text and move elements around until there is agreement about the material on the poster. Remember that this is just a draft so the appearance of items doesn&rsquo;t matter much.</li>
		<li>
			Now, have students open the poster template and begin typing in the text they&rsquo;ve developed on the mockup. Paste in figures, photos, and graphs where they belong. SAVE THIS DRAFT frequently.</li>
		<li>
			Once all the material is on the poster, have students work a bit with the layout &ndash; it&rsquo;s best to do this LAST, even though it&rsquo;s tempting to re-size things as they type. Just get all the material down then move and resize things afterwards. Now is the time (after SAVING again) to experiment with background colors, change the fonts, and make an eye-catching design. However, encourage students not to go overboard &ndash; the most important thing is to have a poster that people can read and understand &ndash; <b>so NO busy backgrounds and hard-to-read fonts and colors that detract from the presentation and take a very long time to print.</b></li>
		<li>
			Once finished the poster can go through a round of peer-review. This means sending the poster to another class or to the cooperating scientist to get constructive criticism. Because students were so involved with the project they might think some details or information are obvious when, to someone outside the project, it needs to be spelled out. Peer review is an important part of scientific communication and will help improve the overall quality of the poster.</li>
		<li style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
			Make any final edits following the peer review and SAVE the poster (again).<span>&nbsp; </span>Contact the partnering scientist about printing the poster.</li>
	</ul>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
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			<h4 class="sites-embed-title">
				Grammar note: &ldquo;Data&rdquo; is a plural noun!</h4>
			<div class="sites-embed-content sites-embed-type-text">
				<div class="sites-embed-content-textbox">
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						<div style="display: inline; margin: 5px 10px; float: right;">
							<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/mercuryourwatershedfriends/watershed-experiences/unit-6/b-authoring-a-research-project/t-shirt.jpg?attredirects=0" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://sites.google.com/site/mercuryourwatershedfriends/_/rsrc/1290787662967/watershed-experiences/unit-6/b-authoring-a-research-project/t-shirt.jpg?height=200&amp;width=200" width="200" /></a></div>
						<br />
						A very common mistake is to use the word &ldquo;data&rdquo; as a singular noun. The singular of &ldquo;data&rdquo; is &ldquo;datum&rdquo;. The word &ldquo;data&rdquo; should be used as follows:<br />
						<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
							&ldquo;The <b>data show</b> that&hellip;&rdquo;; &ldquo;The <b>data support</b> the hypothesis&hellip;&rdquo;; &ldquo;The <b>data were</b> analyzed&hellip;&rdquo;</div>
						<br />
						When writing about data, try substituting a regular plural noun to see if it sounds right.<br />
						<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
							For example, &ldquo;The <b>dogs was</b> analyzed&hellip;?&rdquo; &ndash; no! It&rsquo;s <b>dogs were</b>, or <b>data were</b>.</div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div>
	<p>
		&nbsp;</p>
	<a name="t"> </a>
	<h2>
		<a name="TOC-HANDOUTS"></a>HANDOUTS</h2>
	<p>
		These documents can be viewed by clicking the links below.&nbsp; Individual PowerPoint files of each document can be downloaded from the &quot;attachments&quot; at the bottom of this web page.</p>
	<ul>
		<li>
			<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=sites&amp;srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxtZXJjdXJ5b3Vyd2F0ZXJzaGVkZnJpZW5kc3xneDozZjgzNmY2N2VjYmE0Nzk1" target="_blank">Poster template</a> (includes notes and guiding descriptions)</li>
		<li>
			<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=sites&amp;srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxtZXJjdXJ5b3Vyd2F0ZXJzaGVkZnJpZW5kc3xneDo3ZTBhMDkzMjkzZDJhNTlh" target="_blank">Blank poster template</a> (all content removed)</li>
	</ul>
</div>
