Poverty

In New York City:

Haves and Have-nots

“The Mother of Revolution and Crime Is Poverty “

-Aristotle

Presented by: Ms. D. Russell

PS 129M

New York City, NY

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever heard of the “Haves” and the “Have-nots”? The haves are people who are considered the wealthy Americans. This group range from the super wealthy, followed by the upper - middle class. The have-nots’ are people who are described as the lower-middle class, working poor, or the unemployed poor. Have you noticed the homeless living on our streets? Or, people driving cars that cost more than many people make in years? Which group do you think is the largest in our city, have or have-nots? You will be surprised!

Poverty and wealth have existed since the first settlers came upon the shores of North America. The Haves and Have-nots were essential to the establishment of the thirteen colonies and the birth of a young nation’s hard won independence from its colonizer, England (Great Britain), in 1776. This nation would be known as the United States of America.

Like the citizens of New York City, in cities across America many people continue to struggle and live in poverty. Who are these people in our city and how are they identified? What factors lead to or contribute to the state they are in? What makes them counted among the poor? In this web quest, you will learn the answer to these questions and more. You will investigate the problems faced y those in poverty and find public policy solutions to close the gap between the “Haves and Have-nots”. This is a critical task. Our city and country face a constant threat from crime and revolution because of economic inequality. Mayor Bloomberg clearly understands the problem.

New York City Mayor Bloomberg’s Thoughts on Poverty

New York City’s Mayor, Michael Bloomberg believes, in order to successfully fight poverty, the poor must be correctly identified. On July 14^th, 2008, New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg revealed to the citizens of New York City a new formula for identifying residents who live in poverty. Mayor Bloomberg explained that he believes his formula to be more accurate than the formula used by the federal government. The mayor feels that with proper identification of our city’s poor, we can effectively reduce poverty in New York City. In order to do so, Mayor Bloomberg has created a Commission on Poverty Task Force.

Congratulations!

You have just been selected by Mayor Bloomberg to be a member of the city’s Task Force on Poverty. You will serve the citizens of our city by helping to identify the causes, affects, and impact s of poverty on the citizens of our great city.

Your job as a member of the Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty will be to gather data on the issue of poverty in our city, and identify and document the effects and impact of poverty on our citizens. You and your committee members will also develop solutions to help improve the lives of our fellow New Yorkers. Your research findings and suggested implementations will be used by Mayor Bloomberg to assist in the fight against poverty.

I wish you good luck and great success! You can and will make a difference!

TASK

A) You will be divided into groups of five. Each group will produce a 3-5 minute

ORAL PRESENTATION and a ten – slide (minimum) POWER POINT PRESENTATION.

You will use the SIX-STEP PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST, described in the “process” section of the web quest as an outline for both the power point and oral presentation.

B) The first slide is to be the introductory slide; it gives the title of your presentation and list the name of the Groups’ members. The last slide included should list all of the references you used done in MLA Format (See the handout on the MLA format).

Each group member is to participate actively in the oral presentation.

You will use the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) to assist you in your research. Begin by taking the PPA tour. Click on “standard version” Public Policy Analysis and begin.

PROCESS

I} After completion of the tour, you will use the six steps Public Policy Analyst, as listed by clicking on the links below.

You are to read each step and complete each of the six worksheets linked at the bottom of each web page. Use the MS Word version worksheet (PPA):

Step1: Define the Problem

Step2: Gathering Evidence of the Problem

Step3: Identifying the Causes of the Problem

Step4: Evaluating Existing Public Policies

Step5: Developing Public Policy Solutions

Step6: Selecting the Best Public Policy Solution

Each group will complete and hand in worksheets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, that appear at the bottom of each step of the PPA.

II} The six worksheets will be completed by using the INTERNET web sites listed in the resource section of the web quest. You may outside text material and your groups’ ideas as well.

III} After your group completes all six worksheets, you will use the information to construct your power point. All six steps must be included on the slides in the PowerPoint. You may divide the slides as you wish among the six steps. For example, step # 1: identify the problem, may use 2 slides. Step # 2 may use 3 slides etc. This will be a group decision.

Research, Presentation & Reporting

ALL TEAMS will be divided their responsibilities as follows:

STUDENTS #1& #2:

You are responsible for getting the research information on poverty in New York City from the web sites in the resource section. All group members will help with this task. Your data gathering is to include statistics on poverty, which you will give to Student #3. Use the links found in the INTRODUCTION and ADDITIONAL RESOURCES. You will give this information to student # 3:

STUDENT #3:

You are responsible for analyzing the statistical data given to you by the researchers. For example, what does the data tell us about the haves and have-nots? You are to use the statistics to create a graph or table. You will also complete all six worksheets with the help of group members. You will also be responsible for organizing the ORAL REPORT.

STUDENT #4 & #5:

You are responsible for making sure the worksheets are correctly completed. Secondly, you are both responsible for putting together the power point presentation. This includes the citation of works page in MLA Format.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

SPECIFIC WEB SITE- For completion of the six PPA worksheets

§ Children in Poverty

http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_684.html

§ Time For Kids/World Report/The Fight Against Poverty

http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/wr/article/0,28391,782319,00.html

§ The Poor in New York City

http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/demographics/20030415/5/348

§ Evictions affect Poor

http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/eviction_in_new_york_city_disproportionately_affects_poor_black_and_elderly/

§ Solving Poverty in America

http://www.solvingpoverty.com/PovertyFacts.htm

§ Hunger in America

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/8-7-9/73235.html

v In addition to the above sites, you can use google.com. to search for additional information.

GENERAL SEARCH ENGINES

WWW.GOOGLE.COM

WWW.YAHOO.COM

EVALUATION

RUBRIC FOR GRADING

The following are the rubrics for the assigned tasks. Please read carefully any rubric which applies to you and will assist you in doing a super job.

RUBRIC FOR GRADING AND REQUIREMENT

Ø Microsoft Power Point Rubric

Ø Oral Presentation Rubric

1. Microsoft Power Point Rubric

Microsoft Power Point Rubric

CATEGORY	4 - Above	3 - Meets	2 - Approaching	1 - Below	Score
Requirements	All requirements are met 10 slides, plus title and works cited slides.	Most requirements are met. Less than 10 slides but more than eight, plus title and works cited slides.	One requirement was not completely met: less than 8 slides but more than 5, plus title and works cited slides.	More than one requirement was not completely met: less than 5 slides. Plus title and works cited slides.
Attractiveness	Makes excellent use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance the presentation	Makes good use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance to presentation	Makes use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. but occasionally these detract from the presentation content.	Use of font, color, graphics, effects etc. but these often distract from the presentation content.
Mechanics	No misspellings or grammatical errors
Content & Organization	Covers topic in-depth with details Content is well organized using headings or bulleted lists to group related material.	Includes essential knowledge about the topic Uses headings or bulleted lists to organize, but overall organization of topics appears flawed.	Includes essential information about the topic Content is logically organized for the most part.	Content is minimal. There is no clear or logical organizational structure, just lots of facts.
Originality	Product shows a large amount of original thought. Ideas are creative and inventive.	Product shows some original thought. Work shows new ideas and insights.	Uses other people's ideas (giving them credit), but there is little evidence of original thinking	Uses other people's ideas, but does not give them credit.
Permissions	All permissions to use graphics "borrowed" are properly cited.( more than one)	All permissions to use graphics "borrowed" are properly cited. (1 source)	Most permission to use graphics "borrowed" are properly cited.	Permissions were not properly cited for several graphics "borrowed".

2. Oral Presentation Rubric

Oral Presentation Rubric

CATEGORY	Excellent	Good	Satisfactory	Needs Improvement
Speaks Clearly	Speaks clearly and distinctly all the time, and mispronounces no words.	Speaks clearly and distinctly all the time, but mispronounces one word.	Speaks clearly and distinctly most of the time Mispronounces no more than one word.	Often mumbles, cannot be understood, OR mispronounces more than one word
Posture and Eye Contact	Stands up straight, looks relaxed and confident Establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation	Stands up straight and establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.	Sometimes stands up straight and establishes eye contact.	Slouches and/or does not look at people during the presentation.
Volume	Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members throughout the presentation.	Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members most of the time.	Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members some of the time.	Volume often too soft to be heard by all audience members
Content	Shows a full understanding of the topic	Shows a good understanding of the topic	Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic	Does not seem to understand the topic very well
Time-Limit	Presentation is no more than 10 minutes in length.	Presentation is 4 -8 minutes long.	Presentation is 1-5 minutes long.	Presentation is less than a 4 minutes long.
Preparedness	Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.	Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.	The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.	Student does not seem at all prepared to present.
Stays on Topic	Stays on topic all of the time	Stays on topic most of the time	Stays on topic some of the time	It was hard to tell what the topic was.
Comprehension	Student is able to accurately answer almost all questions posed by classmates about the topic.	Student is able to accurately answer most questions posed by classmates about the topic.	Student is able to accurately answer a few questions posed by classmates about the topic.	Student is unable to accurately answer questions posed by classmates about the topic.

CONCLUSION VS

Upon the completion of this web quest, you should have gained a better understanding of the meaning of poverty, in relationship to the City of New York. You now are better able to explain the problem of poverty in our city. You can identify who are the have and have-nots along with identifying some of the causes of poverty and its adverse affect on the quality of life in New York City. You should have come to realize that policies can be formulated to alleviate this drastic social condition. You have actually become a “Public Policy Analyst” by identifying possible solutions to reduce poverty and thus improve the quality of living for all New Yorkers. Let’s hope you have helped Mayor Bloomberg!

NEW YORK SATE STANDARDS ADDRESSED

A) ELA STANDARDS

Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

• Identify essential information for note taking

• Listen in planning or brainstorming sessions with peers

• Listen to and follow multistep directions that provide information about a task or assignment

• Recall significant ideas and details, and describe the relationships between and among them

• Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant oral information

• Make, confirm, or revise predictions by distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant oral information

• Draw conclusions and make inferences on the basis of explicit information

• Recognize that the speaker’s voice quality and delivery impact communication, with assistance

Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

• Present clear analysis, using examples, details, and reasons from text

• Present a hypothesis and predict possible outcomes

• Select content and choose strategies for written presentation on the basis of audience, purpose, and content

• Present a subject from more than one perspective by using various resources (e.g., news articles, nonfiction texts, personal experiences, and other school subjects)

• Explain connections between and among texts to extend the meaning of each individual text

• Compare and contrast literary elements in more than one genre and/or by more than one author

• Maintain a writing portfolio that includes writing for critical analysis and evaluation

B) SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS

Social Studies Standards

Standard 4	Economics 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 U.S. and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.
Standard 5	Civics, Citizenship, and Government Use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the U.S. Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

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Glossary

1. Upper - middle class

Occupying the upper part of the middle socioeconomic range in a society

2. Middle class

The socioeconomic class between the working class and the upper class, usually including professionals, highly skilled laborers, and lower and middle management.

3. Lower-middle class

Occupying the lower part of the middle socioeconomic range in a society.

4. Working class

The socioeconomic class consisting of people who work for wages, especially low wages, including unskilled and semiskilled laborers and their families.

5. Unemployed

Out of work, especially involuntarily jobless.

6. Working poor

People who are economically disadvantaged despite the fact that they are fully employed. The working poor do not have sufficient income to improve their overall lifestyle.

7. Wealthy

Having wealth; rich.

MLA Citation Style
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition

Follow these color codes:
Author(s)	Title of Book	Title of Article	Title of Periodical	Volume
Place of Publication	Publisher	Date	Other Information	Pages

Newspaper or Magazine Article

Di Rado, Alicia. "Trekking through College: Classes Explore Modern

     Society Using the World of Star Trek." Los Angeles Times 15 Mar.

     1995: A3.

Website

Lynch, Tim. "DSN Trials and Tribble-ations Review." Psi Phi: Bradley's

Newspaper or Magazine Article on the Internet

Andreadis, Athena. "The Enterprise Finds Twin Earths Everywhere It

     Goes, But Future Colonizers of Distant Planets Won't Be So Lucky."

Astronomy Jan. 1999: 64- . Academic Universe. Lexis-Nexis. B.

Davis Schwartz Memorial Lib., Brookville, NY. 7 Feb. 1999 <http://

     web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>.

Notes

• Arrange the items on your reference list alphabetically by author, interfiling books, articles, etc.
• DoubleSpace all lines.
• Indent the second and following lines 5 spaces (or one half inch).
• If no author is given, start with the title.
• Abbreviate the names of all months except May, June, and July.