Mr

Mr. Robert Melendez

John B. Russwurm Elementary School

(5^th Grade)

Fire Safety

Our Schools

Introduction

Fire safety in our schools has become a major issue in our communities. The lack of implementation of safety measures threatens the lives of all those who work in our schools. We have to realize that our school environments are combustible with tons of paper products, chemicals, and over-used electrical circuits. As communities look for cost-saving ways to run our schools – preventive measures must be taken to ensure the safety of all those in our school buildings.

Since the precious lives of our students are threatened with the lack of preventive measures taken to combat fire hazards in our schools, you have been appointed by the mayor of your city to propose a solution, a solution that is both feasible and economical.

Task

You have been assigned the responsibility of researching the problem of fire safety in our schools using the A:\Public Policy Analyst (PPA). It will be your task to gather information about the problem of fire safety in our schools. You will then identify some causes to this problem of fire safety in our schools. Next you will need to review the current policies that have been followed to deal with fire safety. Using all the information you have gathered in this research you will propose some new policies to deal with the problem of fire safety in our schools. These new policies will be presented to the mayor of your city in the form of a written paper and an oral presentation to the class.

Process

You will use the six-step Public Policy Approach to complete this activity.

1. Define and describe the problem using the following worksheet https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppae/ws1.doc

2. Gather the evidence, statistics, case studies, surveys, or articles using the following worksheet

https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppae/ws2.doc

3. Identify the causes of the problem using the following worksheet https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppae/ws3.doc

4. Describe and evaluate the existing policy for the New York City or local school system using the following worksheet https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppae/ws4.doc

5. Develop several policy solutions and/or strategies using the following worksheet https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppae/ws5.doc

6. Select the best policy to institute and follow using the following worksheet https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppae/ws6.doc

Resources

Search Engines Yahoo!

Web Sites Public Policy Anaylsis: Introduction

Fire Safety in Schools

New York City Fire Department

School Fires

Evaluation

	Level 4	Level 3	Level 2	Level 1
*Worksheets*	Completes each worksheet and provides more than 3 supporting bits of researched information	Completes each worksheet and provides a minimum of 3 supporting bits of researched information	Completes each worksheet and provides a minimum of 2 supporting bits of researched information	Completes some of the worksheets showing minimal effort
*Research Paper* *(Content)*	Clearly presents the proposal citing the problem – its causes – previous policies & a suggested new policy	Clearly presents the proposal citing the problem – its causes – and a suggested new policy	Presents the proposal identifying the problem but failing to identify either its causes or a new policy	Identifies a problem but does not present its causes or a new policy
*Oral Presentation*	Speaks clearly with authority on the subject matter and is able to respond effectively to questions	Speaks clearly with authority on the subject matter	Orally presents the information with little or no authority	Unable to present the information orally in a logical manner

ELA Standards

1. Students will read and write for information and understanding.

2. Students will read and write for literacy response and expression.

3. Students will read and write for critical analysis and evaluation.

4. Students will speak and listen for social interaction.

Social Studies Standards

1. Students will explore the meaning of American culture by identifying the key ideas, beliefs, and patterns of behavior, and traditions that help define it and unite all Americans.

2. Students interpret the ideas, values, and beliefs contained in the Declaration of Independence and New York State Constitution and United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other important historical documents.

3. Students analyze how the values of a nation affect the guarantee of human rights and make provisions for human needs.

4. Students value the principles, ideals, and core values of the American democratic system based upon the premises of human dignity, liberty, justice, and equality.

Conclusion

By completing this WebQuest activity you will have a better understanding of the process by which Americans can be involved to affect change in their communities. No problem is too big a problem that it can’t be solved. Living in a democratic nation provides us the opportunities to create new policies and laws to conquer the problems in our communities. Start now and who knows – maybe one day you will be proposing a change to the mayor of your city or town.