Organelle Elections
You and your partner have teamed up to run a campaign for one of the cell organelles found in eukaryotic cells. You have been hired for your expertise and knowledge of cells, and their organelles’ structure and function. Your primary task is to create a campaign that persuades others to vote your organelle as Organelle in Chief. You will have to argue that without your organelle, the cell and the organism and consequently the world as we know it will collapse. To do this expertly, you must understand the details of the organelle whose campaign you are running. Knowing all about the organelle and its function and why it is the most important one in the cell is paramount in winning this election! Successful campaigns are multifaceted and are composed of many different elements. Your campaign must have the following elements for 60 total points: 1. Campaign poster. 20 points 2. Campaign flyers to distribute. 10 points 3. Mudslinging. 20 points 4. Election Day speech. 10 points 1. Campaign poster – 20 points • The poster should be very visually striking and in color. • Posters should be digitally generated. The program you use to generate your poster is up to you. There are lots of free poster generators available! • Your campaign’s poster must champion the greatness and good deeds of your organelle. You may include a description of why voters should choose your organelle above all others in the election. 2. Campaign flyers or newsletter to distribute to the class. – 10 points •
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You need to create a campaign flyer or newspaper article that describes how amazing your organelle is. Include a catchy graphic on the front as well as details about your organelle’s structure and function. You must relate the structure of the organelle to its function. It is critical for you to make the connection for your voter about why your organelle is the most important. The purpose of the flyer is to tell your voter why your organelle is important for survival of the cell. What would happen to an organism/ecosystem if your organelle was NOT the Organelle in Chief? You must have properly cited references for your flyer. Do not use Wikipedia as your only source of information. Be sure you are using other scholarly sources of information, such as university websites, sources from the class website, and your text. 3. Mudslinging. – 20 points This is the stuff that campaigns are made of. Part of your campaign involves talking smack about other organelles. Sometimes smack talk gets ugly, BUT SHOULD NEVER BE OBSCENE OR PERSONALLY HURTFUL IN ANY WAY. You need to run a smear campaign against at least 5 other organelles. Look up what diseases are associated with malfunctions/why is your organelle better than theirs/come up with some sort of campaign against each of the 5 other organelles that you choose. This mudslinging can include but is not limited to: • A rage comic or meme poster • A postcard • A t-­‐shirt • A short commercial on YouTube (make sure you give me the link) • A song or poem • Other options possible but get approval from me first! Your smear campaign must include language/images that are school appropriate and that DO NOT bully the members of other campaigns. Be creative but keep it clean!!!!!! 4. Election Day Speech – 10 points On this day, you will give your campaign speech on behalf of your organelle. • In your speech, you need to convince the voters that based on structure and function that your organelles in the most important. • You also have to deflect the smear campaigns that the other organelle campaigns have launched against you. • You should also point out how you will work with other organelles if you win the election! • You and your partner will have 3 minutes to give your speech. You will provide me with a transcript of the speech on the same day with your references included. We will hold a class election after all speeches are given. Be creative, be informative, be accurate, and sell your organelle to the voters!!! Good luck and may the best organelle win! Campaign week: September 10 -­‐ 17 Election Day: Thursday, September 18 My Organelle: _________________________ My Partner: ___________________________ Project modified from Lee Ferguson, Allen High School: Allen, TX. Found on AP Central in resources for AP Biology. Organelle Elections: Speech Evaluation It’s Election Day! Remember that your campaign crew (you and your partner) must give a speech that both promotes your organelle as a viable candidate for Organelle in Chief and delivers smack talk about your opponents. Remember, you are trying to convince voters (your classmates) that they should elect your organelle as Organelle in Chief! You only have 3 minutes to convince them! The rubric below shows how you can earn points for your speech. Don’t forget to hand in a transcript of your speech to me!