On Monday of this week, students were assigned a new mini project that will be due March 21st. About 90% of this project will be completed in class and finishing touches should be the only thing they need to do at home. Students were asked to draw an element out of a cup and design either a superhero or villain using the physical and chemical characteristics of that element. If you check to the right, you can see my example. They were also tasked with writing a one page short story about their superhero/villain that shows how the character uses the qualities of that element. You can find my story (which turned out to be longer than a page) and my research for "Leedsium" (my completely imagined element) can be found to the right and below. I have also attached the instructions, research portion, and rubric to the bottom of this blog for your convenience!
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I had spent the better part of my Saturday locked in the deepest corner of the library. My research project on the city history was far from complete, but my stomach growled with the sound of a thousand lions. I had spent hours looking for just one thing, ANY thing interesting about our little town. But I found nothing.
Well, I can’t say nothing. Some people long ago had talked of the great Leeds Legend, a superhero so powerful he had eradicated any threat from the city and the surrounding 10 mile radius. Unfortunately, as far as I could tell, the Leeds Legend was just that. A legend. No one had heard or seen him in over 50 years. Not that we needed rescuing here in Leeds. It just would have been nice to know we had a backup plan.
The audible groan from my stomach made the person in the next cubby glare me down. I decided it was time to go. As I packed up my iPod and highlighters, I gazed out the window. The heat waves sizzled off the pavement in thick ribbons. I was NOT looking forward to walking all the way back home with a backpack full of books in the roasting temperature.
As I approached the front door, the intense heat made me pause to catch my breath. Was the road moving? Surely the heat was playing tricks on me, but I was almost positive that I could see the asphalt boiling. I closed my eyes to refocus and told myself that I had to find something to eat before I lost my mind.
I stepped out the front door and immediately felt the burning fire on my skin. I withdrew to the shade and gasped as my arm began to blister in front of my eyes. What on Earth was happening? Looking closer I realized that the tires on cars had melted into pools of black goo and paint from signs and buildings was dripping and gathering in the sewer drains.
An evil laugh jolted me from my trance. The high pitched squeal made me cringe the way nails on a chalkboard make your spine tingle. I was seconds from clawing the ears from the side of my head when the 80 year old librarian trudged out beside me.
“Get back inside!” I shouted! He stared at me for just a moment before stepping out into the intense heat. “What is wrong with you, old man? You’ll die out there!”
Right then, in a flash of concentrated green hues, the old man transformed into a lime and emerald mix of muscles. What was once a hunched and slow moving old timer now stood before me as a massive mountain of a man. He turned to me and his eyes glowed orange like a fire was burning inside.
My memory struck me as I stared at the strange man. I fumbled for my notes inside my book bag and flipped through the weathered pages furiously. I read over my scrambled notes looking for that one paragraph that described him. By him, I meant the savior of the city. The Leeds Legend.
The man in front of me extended his arm toward the sky and began shooting forth a green wave that stifled the evil laughter. As I stared at him, I compared my vision with the notes I had taken earlier. Large. Check. Green. Check. Wave-shooting. Check. I gaped as the man plucked a small orb that rotated around his belt. I checked my notes. “The Leeds Legend was known for using the 8 valence electrons that orbited his belt to disable villains. His super high boiling point and resistance to flammability allows him to face the toughest of opponents face to face. The fact that he is a very poor conductor of heat and electricity helps him to insulate himself from attack. Although he is a solid at normal temperatures, he can phase into a liquid state when the need arises.”
The Legend lunged as he threw the small electron from his belt at the sky. I listened, waiting for whatever might happen. As I stared at the man, he began to melt before my eyes and formed a protective layer around me. I squeezed my eyes as tight as I could not sure what was about to happen. Through the green goo I felt the shockwave explosion that rocketed from the sky over the library.
When I opened my eyes, the old librarian was hobbling back inside the library. I looked out toward the street, and although it was hot, it did not even compare to the raging temperatures of a minute ago. Sure I wasn’t crazy, I checked my notes again to reread what I had just been studying. But it was gone.
As he pulled open the door and the air conditioning rushed to meet me, the old librarian turned around to face me. “It’s a real scorcher out there today” he mumbled as he winked at me. “Best you hurry home before the sun catches you.”