The Jungle
Mr. B. Falkenstein
8th Grade Social Studies
Teacher
&
Mrs.V. Liebling
Library Media Specialist
P.E.A.R.L.S.
Elementary
INTRODUCTION
People were eating unhealthy
and spoiled food in the
There would
be meat that had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust, where the
workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of consumption germs. There
would be meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs
would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about on it. It was too
dark in these storage places to see well, but a man could run his hand over
these piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats. These
rats were nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread out for them;
they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would go into the hoppers
together. This is no fairy story and no joke; the meat would be shoveled into
carts, and the man who did the shoveling would not trouble to lift out a rat even
when he saw one – there were things that went into the sausage in comparison
with which a poisoned rat was a tidbit.
(Chapter 14)
The Jungle (1906) is a novel written by American
author and socialist
Upton Sinclair. It was written about the
corruption of business during the early 20th century.
The novel depicts in harsh tones the poverty,
absence of social programs, unpleasant living and working
conditions, and hopelessness prevalent among the have-nots, which is contrasted
with the deeply-rooted corruption on the part of the haves. The
sad state of turn-of-the-century labor is placed front and center for the
American public to see suggesting that something needed to be changed to get
rid of American "wage slavery". The novel is also an
important example of the "muckraking" tradition begun by journalists
such as Jacob Riis.
Sinclair wanted to persuade his readers that the mainstream American political
parties offered little means for progressive change.
Your role in this web quest is to be a newspaper reporter for the New
York Herald Tribune in 1906.
By completing this webquest you will understand how muckrakers, like Upton
Sinclair, brought attention to the conditions in the meat packing industry of
the Progressive Era. He made a difference and saved millions of lives. Let’s
see how.
THE TASK
As a reporter for the New York Herald
Tribune your role will be to interview a person from management of the local
meat packing corporation as well as a number of meat packing employees. You will also research how meat was processed,
packed and distributed throughout the area. The article will be written with the idea that
it will be used as a feature article for the Sunday edition of the newspaper.
You will use the American History
Public Policy Analyst as an outline for your
article. Include all six steps in your discuss.
It is extremely important to inform your readers of the sanitary and health
conditions that exist in the factories.
THE PROCESS
“
- You will be assigned to
work in a group of 3 people.
- As a group
you are
to write a newspaper article about the lack of regulation in the food and
drug industry at the turn of the twentieth century. The article will be a part of your project
package.
·
You
will use the American
History Public Policy Analyst to record your research. These worksheets can be found using the links
below and should be used as a guide to gather the information needed.
What
was the nature of the problem of food handling?
What facts
support or prove the existence of the problem?
List
and describe the causes of the problem.
Describe the laws and policies that were developed
to deal with the problem.
How
effective were these laws in eating healthier food?
·
Your
newspaper article should be two full pages, in a three column format.
·
Include
pictures as evidence of the conditions in
the factories.
·
Your
article should describe the conditions in the meat packing factories and the
unsanitary working conditions.
·
“Interview”
some workers and include their “comments” in your article.
·
Suggest
some changes in law to your Congressman or Senator that in your opinion will
improve these unhealthy conditions.
·
State
how will these changes improve the conditions and the lives of the children?
Use the
following guidelines to prepare your newspaper article.
·
Research
websites (see hyperlinks below)
·
Gather
your information from the websites, your textbook, class notes, and handouts given to
you in class.
·
Search
for primary sources such as old newspaper or
magazine articles.
·
Use
the 4-step
public policy approach
·
Discuss
the problems dealing with the horrible conditions as described in The
Jungle, by Upton Sinclair.
·
What
were the causes of the problem?
·
What
policies were put in place to address the problem?
·
What
were the results of these policies?
·
Did
these policies solve the problem?
How your newspaper article
should look like:
- Create a front page with the
headline stating your topic.
- Include the names of you
and your group related to your article.
- Type your article, without
spelling errors, using a 3-column newspaper format.
- Include the newspaper’s
name.
- Include pictures.
- Include interviews.
- Present a bibliography of
the sources you used.
- Include your 4 PPA worksheets
as part of your final project package.
RESOURCES
Specific sites Wikipedia
JUNGLE
Pure Food
and Drug Act
Pure Food and
Drug Act of 1906
Muckraker Definition
An encyclopedia
article about this
MEATPOULTRY.com
GENERAL Web Sites
Evaluation:
|
|
CATEGORY
|
Excellent |
Good |
Satisfactory |
Needs Improvement |
|
Organization |
Information is very organized with well- constructed paragraphs |
Information is organized with well-constructed paragraphs. |
Information is organized, but paragraphs are not
well-constructed. |
The information appears to be disorganized. |
|
Amount of Information |
All topics are addressed and all questions answered with at
least 2 sentences about each. |
All topics are addressed and most questions answered with at
least 1 sentence about each. |
Most of the topics are addressed, and most questions answered
with 1 sentence about each. |
Three or more topics were not addressed. |
|
Quality of Information |
Information relates to the main topic. It includes supporting
details and/or examples. |
Information relates to the main topic. It provides 1 supporting
detail and/or example. |
Information relates to the main topic. No details and/or
examples are given. |
Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic. |
|
Sources |
All 2 sources (information and graphics) are accurately
documented in the desired format.(Bibliography &Endnotes/Footnotes) |
All 2 sources (information and graphics) are accurately
documented, but a few are not in the desired format.(Bibliography
&Endnotes/Footnotes) |
All 2 sources (information and graphics) are accurately
documented, but many are not in the desired format.(Bibliography
&Endnotes/Footnotes) |
Some sources are not accurately documented. |
|
Mechanics |
Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. |
A few grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. |
Some grammatical spelling or punctuation errors. |
Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. |
|
First Draft |
Draft is neatly presented and includes required information. |
Draft includes required information and is legible. |
Draft includes some required information and is legible. |
Draft is missing required information and is difficult to read. |
|
Paragraph Construction |
All paragraphs include introductory sentence, explanations or
details, and concluding sentence. |
Most paragraphs include introductory sentence, explanations or
details, and concluding sentence. |
Paragraphs included related information but were typically not
constructed well. |
Paragraphing structure was not clear and sentences were not
typically related within the paragraphs. |
|
Graphic Organizer |
Graphic organizer or outline has been completed and shows clear,
logical relationships between all topics. |
Graphic organizer or outline has been completed and shows clear,
logical relationships between most topics. |
Graphic organizer or outline has been started and includes some.
|
Graphic organizer or outline has not been attempted. |
|
Diagrams & Illustrations |
Diagrams and illustrations are neat, accurate and add to the
reader's understanding of the topic. |
Diagrams and illustrations are accurate and add to the reader's
understanding of the topic. |
Diagrams and illustrations are neat and accurate and sometimes
add to the reader's understanding of the topic. |
Diagrams and illustrations are not accurate OR do not add to the
reader's understanding of the topic. |
|
Presentation |
The paper was double spaced, typed and 3-4 pages in length. It
was easy to understand. |
The paper was double spaced, typed 3-4 pages in length. It
contained a few confusing parts. |
The paper was double spaced, 1.5-2 pages in length. |
The paper was not typed and less than 1.5 pages in length. It
was difficult to understand |
Grading
Policy
4=Excellent (90-100)
3=Good (80-89)
2=Satisfactory (70-79)
1=Needs
Improvement below 70
CONCLUSION
By working on
this project you have learned that newspapers have the responsibility to bring
social problems to the attention of the public. In bringing to the attention to
the public of the unsanitary conditions in the meat packing industry in the
early 1900’s, news reporters such as you will be able to create change in the
law so that the public will benefit from it.
You have also experienced the importance of a
‘Public Policy Analyst”. It is this profession that analyzes critical social
problems and formulates innovative policies that improve all our lives.
STANDARDS
This Web quest addresses
to the followings curriculum
standards:
SOCIAL STUDIES
1.1
·
Key
ideas, beliefs and values of American culture.
1.2
·
Important
achievements and contributions of individuals and groups to American society.
2.1
- How economics forces have
shaped American history.
2.2
- Role of economics on daily
and national life.
3.1
- Basic values of American
Democracy.
3.2
- Right and responsibilities
of a
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
English
Language Arts: Standard 1
Students
will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
English
Language Arts: Standard 4
Students will read, write,
listen, and speak for social interaction.