A PROJECT CRITICAL WEB QUEST
Ms. E. CHOMA
A.
CIVIL RIGHTS AND GAY MARRIAGE
A SOCIAL PROBLEM THAT NEEDS RESOLUTION
AND
INTRODUCTION
The New York Times, March 19, 2007, a woman, who was in
a relationship with an heiress for 14 years, sues for part of her inheritance
after she dies. Does she have the right to the heritance as would a
heterosexual married couple? Was she considered married after 14 years of
faithful relationship? Are her rights, under the 1st Amendment,
freedom of choice, being violated? There is nothing in the
In another instance, a man wants visiting privlideges
in a hospital in which his male partner for 25 years is dying of cancer. The hospital
only allows immediate family members visiting rights. Should he be allowed to
visit his partner? Moreover, the visiting man’s partner has no health insurance
and owes thousands for his cancer treatment. Should his partner’s health
insurance cover the dying man’s medical expenses as if they were husband and
wife?
These scenarios become more complex as courts consider
social security, Medicare, medicade, inheritance, housing, child care, and many
more. Those, who believe gay marriage is a right guaranteed by the
Constitution, feel their rights are being violated under the Bill of Rights,
the 14th amendment and the right to choose. They feel that sexual
preference should not an obstruction to legal marriage. Courts rulings have set
precedents both for and against gay marriage. State legislation has done the
same. The issue is still to be resolved but the financial and social
implications are enormous. Huge amounts of money are at stake. Legalized gay
marriages would cost the federal, state and local governments hundreds of
millions of dollars in assistance costs. It would also do the same for
insurance companies and private corporations who allow family benefits for
their employees.
In this web quest, you and your group will research
the social problem of denial of rights to gay couples. This policy will affect
millions. You will devise a policy that can be given to the
TASK 
1: Your group will be responsible for
completing TWO products.
2: PRODUCT # 1 will be a four-five page research
paper. The paper must be typed, double spaced using Ms. Word.
-You
should use charts, graphs and illustrations to punctuate your view point
--The
paper will include all of the SIX STEP PUBLIC POLICY ANALSYT linked in the
process section
--You
will be required to hand in the six worksheets with the paper
--Your group will analyze arguments
“FOR” and “AGAINST” gay marriage, define the problem, and find its causes
and come up with public policy solutions. You should include the
political, economic and social factors involved
In a definitive decision.
3: PRODUCT # 2 will be a POWER POINT PRESENTATION of a
minimum of 10 slides
-The
power point must include the steps of the Public Policy Analyst
-The
presentation should address the political, social and economic ramifications of
legalizing gay marriage
-It
must also present a public policy solution
-You
should graphics, illustrations and (limited) text to prove your researched
conclusion
--This
power point must address the issue of Gay Marriage
PROCESS
1: The class
will be divided into groups of five. These groups will have individual
responsibilities that the group itself will decide. The group will be
responsible for completion of the two products. A grade on both products will
be given as a cumulative score so group cooperation is a necessity.
GROUP RESPONSIBILITIES
TWO RESEARCHERS-These students will access the resource sites,
take notes and complete the PPA worksheets. These worksheets will then be given
to the Power point creator and paper writer. All group members may take part in
research but the researchers will coordinate completion of the worksheets
ONE POWER POINT CREATOR-This student will complete the power point
slides using the data from the PPA worksheets and from the input of the two
researchers. This student will also be TME KEEPER and make sure the group is on
task and on deadline.
TWO PAER WRITERS & ORGANIZERS-These students will
coordinate the COMPLETION OF THE FIVE PAGE PAPER. They will coordinate the
paper content with the power point presentation to make sure they are
compatible. These students may delegate responsibilities to other group members
for completion of the paper.
THE PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST
Both products will include
all the steps of the Public Policy Analyst. The worksheets and explanations of
each step are linked below. The researchers will be responsible for accessing
and completing these worksheets. The six worksheets will be used to complete
the products. REMEMBER- You should have an in-depth study of the issues and
problems involved in gay marriage. You should argue BOTH sides of the issues
and conclude with a viable public policy that the governor’s committee can
apply to
1) Defining the
Social Problem
WHERE DOES HE STAND?
2) Gathering Evidence
of the Problems
3) Identifying Causes
of the Problems
4) Identify and
Evaluate Existing Pubic Policy
5} Develop Public
Policy Solutions
The
researchers will access the Internet resources listed in the “resource” section
to complete the task. You can also use print material or outside sources as
well.
RESOURCES
GENERAL
WEB SITES FOR RESEARCH
SPECIFIC WEB SITES FOR “GAY” or “Same Sex” Marriage issue
CBS
NEWS-excellent links to all opinions on all government levels
A Comprehensive History with many links
Essay discussing issue-pro gay
marriage
Religious Argument Catholic Church position
Same
Sex Marriage-financial policies
http://www.datehookup.com/content-the-glbt-resource-page.htm
EVALUATION
|
|
CATEGORY
|
4 Excellent |
3 Very Good |
2 Satisfactory |
1 Unacceptable |
|
Originality |
Presentation shows considerable originality and inventiveness.
The content and ideas are presented in a unique and interesting way. |
Presentation shows some originality and inventiveness. The
content and ideas are presented in an interesting way. |
Presentation shows an attempt at originality and inventiveness
on 1-2 cards. |
Presentation is a rehash of other people's ideas and/or graphics
and shows very little attempt at original thought. |
|
Content - Accuracy |
All content throughout the presentation is accurate. There are
no factual errors. USES PPA FULLY |
Most of the content is accurate but there is one piece of
information that might be inaccurate. USESS PPA FULLY BUT WITH INACCURACIES |
The content is generally accurate, but one piece of information
is clearly flawed or inaccurate. DOES NOT USE ALL STEPS OF PPA |
Content is typically confusing or contains more than one factual
error. HAS LIMITED USE OF PPA |
|
Sequencing of Information |
Information is organized in a clear, logical way. It is easy to
anticipate the type of material that might be on the next card. |
Most information is organized in a clear, logical way. One card
or item of information seems out of place. |
Some information is logically sequenced. An occasional card or
item of information seems out of place. |
There is no clear plan for the organization of information. |
|
Effectiveness |
Project includes all material needed to gain a comfortable
understanding of the topic. It is a highly effective study guide. |
Project includes most material needed to gain a comfortable
understanding of the material but is lacking one or two key elements. It is
an adequate study guide. |
Project is missing more than two key elements. It would make an
incomplete study guide. |
Project is lacking several key elements and has inaccuracies
that make it a poor study guide. |
|
|
CATEGORY
|
4 EXCELLENT |
3 VERY GOOD |
2 SATISFACTORY |
1 UNACCEPTABLE |
|
Organization |
Information is very organized with well-constructed paragraphs
and subheadings. |
Information is organized with well-constructed paragraphs. |
Information is organized, but paragraphs are not
well-constructed. |
The information appears to be disorganized. 8) |
|
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 2 sentences about each. |
All topics are addressed, and most questions answered with 1
sentence about each. |
One or more topics were not addressed. |
|
Quality of Information |
Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes
several supporting details and/or examples. |
Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2
supporting details and/or examples. |
Information clearly 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 sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented
in the desired format. |
All sources (information and graphics) are accurately
documented, but a few are not in the desired format. |
All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented,
but many are not in the desired format. |
Some sources are not accurately documented. |
|
Notes |
Notes are recorded and organized in an extremely neat and
orderly fashion. uses THE PPA IN ALL FORMS |
Notes are recorded legibly and are somewhat organized. USES MOST
OF THE PPA |
Notes are recorded. LIMITED USE OF THE PPA |
Notes ARE NOT RECORDED. DOES NOT USE PPA |
|
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. |
|
Internet Use |
Successfully uses suggested internet links to find information
and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Usually able to use suggested internet links to find information
and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Occasionally able to use suggested internet links to find
information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Needs assistance or supervision to use suggested internet links
and/or to navigate within these sites. |
CONCLUSION
You should have learned from this web quest, the
complexity of social problems and the difficulty in finding public policy solutions.
Gay marriage is one issue that must be resolved. It causes many to suffer
deprivation and humiliation yet involves economic, social and political
implications that have divided
THANKS FOR
YOUR PARTICIPATION
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Social Studies
Standard 4: Economics
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the United States and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and non-market mechanisms.
Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to
demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments;
the governmental system of the