The
Pervasiveness of Poverty
Mr. Donaldson
7th Grade
INTRODUCTION
Poverty is defined as the
state or condition of having little or no money,
Goods, or means of support; condition of
being poor; indigence.
(Dictionary.com).
Currently in
the African American community there is debate about the root causes of
poverty. On one side of the debate is
Bill Cosby, who representative of the black conservative point of view who
feels as though people’s poor spending habits, lack of emphasis on education,
and lack of parental supervision contribute to their being in Poverty. On the other side of the debate, there are
black liberals, like Michael Eric Dyson, a humanities Professor at U. Penn, who
wrote a book about Cosby’s speech and looks at the variables effecting peoples
poverty like structural racism, lack of cultural capital, and social
marginalization and how this ultimately affects the African Americans inability
to escape poverty. This is a critical issue. Millions suffer
the pain of poverty in prosperous
In this web
quest you will produce a news broadcast that will expose the pervasiveness of
poverty in
GOOD LUCK!
TASK 
You will create a newscast that will be
presented to the Senate committee on poverty.
Each group will create a 5
minute news report consisting of:
·
A visual
representation of the factors affecting poverty (poster, power point, pamphlet,
etc.)
·
A summary of the
current arguments on both sides (liberals vs. conservatives, lower class vs.
upper-middle class, etc.)
·
A well-developed
opinion on the issue (students must choose a clear position, include
facts/statistics/evidence that supports the group opinion)
·
A list of 3
viable policies that will alleviate poverty in the black community
·
A rebuttal to the
information presented in the broadcast
·
Students
will use the Public Policy Analyst outline to complete the task
The final script of 3-5 pages will be graded.
Each group is also
responsible for a question and answer session following the broadcast.
PROCESS
This section explains how
student groups will complete the task!
Students will be divided into
groups of FIVE…
Student # 1 will be assigned the role of Anchorman. This student
will present the broadcast
nationwide. The Anchorman
will work with the team to deliver the final report.
Student # 2 will be assigned the role of Producer. The producer
will coordinate the broadcast.
This person will make sure
that all research is done and all of the requirements are met. This person will
be the final decision maker prior to the news broadcast.
Student # 3 will be the Researcher. This person will complete the
public policy worksheet. They will gather the necessary research materials to
carry out the broadcast. All members of the group will be involved in some form
of research.
Student # 4 will be the Scriptwriter. This student will be responsible
for the text of the broadcast. The scriptwriter essentially summarizes the
research materials to create an insightful and well-developed script for the
Anchorman to read.
Student # 5 will be the Rebuttal Guest. This student will defend
the perspective of Bill Cosby and identify the weaknesses in the proposed
plans.
Student groups will
utilize the PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST to complete the task by completing the PPA
worksheets using the links given below
STEP # 1 DEFINE THE SOCIAL
PROBLEM OF POVERTY
STEP # 2: GATHER THE
EVIDENCE FOR THE SOCIAL PROBELM OF POVERTY
STEP # 3: IDENTIFY
THE CAUSES FOR THE SOCIAL PROBLEM OF POVERTY
STEP # 4: DETERMINE
and EXAMINE EXISITING POLICIES
STEP # 5: DEVELOP
SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM OF PVERTY
STEP # 6: SELECT THE
BEST SOLUTION
Read and be sure to complete
each worksheet at the bottom of the PPA step. These worksheets will be used to
complete the five minute broadcast and the script.
In the questions & answer
period following the broadcast each student groups will have to decide
Which explanation is more valid—Mr. Cosby or Mr. Dyson
RESOURCES
GENERAL WEB SITES
SPECIFIC WEB SITES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_poverty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bell_Curve
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4628960
http://www.michaelericdyson.com/comehell/index.php
http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/inequal/gates99.htm
http://www.eightcitiesmap.com/transcript_bc.htm
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/01/04/Columns/On_campus__grim_stati.shtml
EVALUATION 
|
|
CATEGORY |
4 EXCELLENT
|
3 VERY GOOD
|
2 SATISFACTORY
|
1 UNACEPTABLE
|
|
Research
|
Group
researched the subject and integrated 3 or more "tidbits" from
their research into their newscast. |
Group
researched the subject and integrated 2 "tidbits" from their
research into their newscast. |
Group
researched the subject and integrated 1 "tidbit" from their
research into their newscast. |
Either no
research was done or it was not clear that the group used it in the newscast.
|
|
Accuracy
of Facts |
All
supportive facts are reported accurately (3 of 3). |
Almost all
facts are reported accurately (2 of 3). |
One fact
is reported accurately. |
No facts
are reported accurately OR no facts were reported. |
|
Speaks
clearly |
Speaks
clearly and distinctly all of the time and mispronounces no words. |
Speaks
clearly and distinctly all of the time but mispronounces 1 or more words. |
Speaks
clearly and distinctly most of the time and mispronounces no words. |
Does NOT
speak clearly and distinctly most of the time AND/OR mispronounces more than
1 word. |
|
Enthusiasm
|
Facial
expression and body language show a strong interest and enthusiasm about the
topic throughout the newscast, but it is not overdone. |
Facial
expression and body language show a strong interest and enthusiasm about the
topic throughout the newscast, but it is somewhat overdone. |
Facial
expression and body language show some interest and enthusiasm about the
topic throughout the newscast. |
Facial
expression and body language depict apathy or boredom with the topic. |
|
Point
of View - Purpose |
Newscast
establishes a purpose at the beginning and maintains that focus throughout!
Cohesive newscast. |
Establishes
a purpose at the beginning, but occasionally wanders from that focus. |
The
purpose is somewhat clear but many aspects of the newscast seem only slightly
related. |
It was
difficult to figure out the purpose of the newscast. |
|
Group
Work |
The group
functioned exceptionally well. All members listened to, shared with and
supported the efforts of others. The group (all members) was almost always on
task! |
The group
functioned pretty well. Most members listened to, shared with and supported
the efforts of others. The group (all members) was almost always on task! |
The group
functioned fairly well but was dominated by one or two members. The group
(all members) was almost always on task! |
Some
members of the group were often off task AND/OR were overtly disrespectful to
others in the group AND/OR were typically disregarded by other group members.
|
|
USE OF
PPA |
USES PPA
EXTENSIVELY IN ORAL PRESENTATION |
USES PPA
IN MANY PARTS OF THE PRESENTATION |
USES PPA
BUT INACCURATELY AND SPORATICALLY |
SHOWS NO
USE OF THE PPA MODEL |
GRADING:
“A”=22-24 points “B”= 18-21
points “C”=14-17 points “F”=below 14 points
CONCLUSION
From completing this web quest you should have learned
that poverty is a critical issue in contemporary
STANDARDS: 
English Language Arts
Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and
understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and
ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge
generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers
and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted
conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit
information.
Standard
3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical
analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze
experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety
of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and
written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language
to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on
experiences, ideas, information and issues.
Standard
4: Language for Social Interaction
Students will listen,
speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and
written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language
for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers
and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich
their understanding of people and their views.
Social Studies
Standard 1: History of the
Students will use a variety of
intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras,
themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the
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