Project Critical: A Latin-American
webquest
Human Rights Violations in
Mr. D. Vargo,
PROBLEM: HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS
ARE STILL OCCURRING
THROUGHOUT
You’ve recently viewed the
film In the Time of the Butterflies, in which the tragic deaths of the Mirabal sisters and the extermination of thousands of
black-Haitians illuminate injustices of the
Human Rights are those basic
political, economic, and social rights that all human beings are entitled to,
such as the right to life, liberty, and the security of person, and a standard
of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family. The United Nations Declaration of
Human Rights defines these rights are inalienable, however that does not
stop governments and individuals from infringing upon many of these basic human
liberties.
With specific regard to
Ø
The treatment of
the poor
Ø
The treatment of
indigenous people and blacks
Ø
The
inequality/availability of education
Ø
Humans rights
violations surrounding drug trafficking
Ø
The treatment of
women
Ø
The treatment of
homosexuals
Ø
The treatment of
religious minorities (mainly non-Catholics)
You and your classmates will
create a PowerPoint advocating for a group of Latin Americans that suffers from
human rights violations and present your findings to the class.
More specifically, you and your group members are very
concerned about a specific human rights violation. Your PowerPoint will advocate for, or
represent, the interests and needs of a group that faces human rights
discrimination in contemporary
1. You will
work in groups of 5 with specific tasks assigned to each member by Mr. Vargo (see below).
2. You will
receive one grade for the completion of your own task and a group grade for the
final PowerPoint/oral presentation. All
group members are therefore expected to work together in a collaborative and
cooperative manner.
3. You will use
the “Public Policy Analyst” format.
4. Your group
must pick ONE specific Latin American country to research.
5. Each group
will complete a PowerPoint. The
PowerPoint will contain graphics, pictures, graphs, charts and reports that illustrate/display
all 6 steps of the Public Policy Analyst format.
6. Your
PowerPoint must be completed using in a formal format and style. Therefore, it
must be attractive, capture the attention of the viewer and be informative. A minimum of 8 slides are necessary.
7. Oral
Presentation: Your group will give an oral presentation to the class in which
you act as advocates for your researched group. The PowerPoint will be used in
this presentation. The presentation must be a minimum of 8 minutes and must
capture the attention of the audience.
Estudiante # 1: Recorder- This student will take notes
on information gathered by group members and write an outline for each
PowerPoint slide. These notes will also be used by each member to complete the
PowerPoint & oral report. This student will be responsible for completing
the Public Policy Analyst Worksheets.
Estudiante # 2: Researcher-This student will do the
research, with help of other members. He/she will search the Internet
and gather information that will be used to complete the PPA worksheets and to
guide other group members to websites for their own research.
Estudiante # 3:
Organizer- Will the group on track. He/she will assist in the research, lead
& coordinate group meetings and be aware of teacher made deadlines and
schedules. This student is also
responsible for turning in and justifying the group’s work at the end of each
class.
Estudiante # 4: Presenter-
This student will be responsible to convey the group findings to the class.
He/she will be the main speaker in the Oral Presentation and create note cards,
if necessary. Student #4 will assign others their subordinate roles for the
oral presentation. The PowerPoint must be part
of this presentation. The presenter will coordinate the
oral report but all members will take part in some form.
Estudiante # 5: PowerPoint- This
student will be responsible for creating the PowerPoint. He/she will get input
and research from all group members.
¡OJO!:
You and your group members must do individual research whenever
possible. As a group, you will complete the worksheets (steps) in the Public
Policy Analyst.
Six Public Policy Analyst Worksheets
#1- Defining
the Social Problem
What is
the problem that you plan on addressing?
#2- Gather evidence
of the problem
How do we know that this is a
problem?
#3- Identify the
causes of the problem
What causes this
problem that you plan on addressing?
#4-
Identify and
evaluate the existing public policies
What policies
already exist on your problem?
#5- Developing public
policy solutions
What new public
policy do you want to create?
#6- Selecting the
best policy solution
Decide
with your group the best policy to use for the problem.
A Starting Point…
The
United Nations Declaration of Human Rights
Global
Rights.org - Latin America
Your Rubric for Evaluation
ORAL PRESENTATION & Powerpoint RUBRIC
|
CATEGORY |
40 POINTS
|
30 POINTS
|
20 POINTS |
10
POINTS |
|
Graphics
- Originality (POWERPOINT) |
Several
of the graphics used on the PP reflect a exceptional degree of student
creativity in their creation and/or display. |
One
or two of the graphics used on the PP reflect student creativity in their
creation and/or display. |
The
graphics are made by the student, but are based on the designs or ideas of
others. |
No
graphics made by the student are included. |
|
Graphics
- Relevance (POWERPOINT) |
All
graphics are related to the topic and make it easier to understand. All
borrowed graphics have a source citation. |
All
graphics are related to the topic and most make it easier to understand. All
borrowed graphics have a source citation. |
All
graphics relate to the topic. Most borrowed graphics have a source citation. |
Graphics
do not relate to the topic OR several borrowed graphics do not have a source
citation. |
|
Public
Policy Analysis (POWERPOINT) |
The
PowerPoint includes all 6 required elements as well as additional
information. |
All
6 required elements are included on the PowerPoint. |
All
but 1 of the required elements are included on the PowerPoint. |
Several
required elements were missing. |
|
Q&A
(POWERPOINT) |
Student
can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the PowerPoint and
research. |
Student
can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the PowerPoint. |
Student
can accurately answer about 75% of questions related to facts in the
PowerPoint. |
Student
appears to have insufficient knowledge about the facts or processes used for
create PowerPoint. |
|
Content
- Accuracy (POWERPOINT) |
At
least 10 accurate and current facts are displayed in the PP. |
8-9
accurate and current facts are displayed in the PP. |
6-7
accurate and current facts are displayed in the PP. |
Less
than 5 accurate and current facts are displayed in the PP. |
|
Attractiveness/Length (POWERPOINT) |
The
PP is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness AND
it contains 8 slides |
The
PP is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness AND it contains at
least 7 slides. |
The
PP is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy AND it contains at
least 6 slides. |
The
PP is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive OR it
contains less than 6 slides. |
|
Enthusiasm (ORAL)
|
Facial
expressions and body language generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about
the topic in others. |
Facial
expressions and body language sometimes generate a strong interest and
enthusiasm about the topic in others. |
Facial
expressions and body language are used to try to generate enthusiasm, but
seem somewhat faked. |
Very
little use of facial expressions or body language. Did not generate much
interest in topic being presented. |
|
Preparedness (ORAL) |
Group
is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed. |
Group
seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals. |
Group
is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking. |
Group
does not seem at all prepared to present. |
|
Stays
on Topic (ORAL) |
Stays
on topic all (100%) of the time. |
Stays
on topic most (99-90%) of the time. |
Stays
on topic some (89%-75%) of the time. |
It
was hard to tell what the topic was. |
|
Content
(ORAL) |
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. |
Total: 400
Points
Grading scale
360-400 = A
320-350 = B
280-310 = C
260-270 = D
250 & lower = F
A Final Word
By the end of this project,
you and your group-mates should gain a greater understanding of a contemporary
social problem that affects a specific Latin American country. In doing this, you will gain greater cultural
understandings and be able to draw parallels between what you’ve learned and
researched in Spanish class with your other academic subjects. In the end, you will be able to present a
public policy that, if adopted, could help alleviate some of effects of the
specific human rights violation that you researched.
CULTURES
Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures
- Standard 2.1: Students
demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and
perspectives of the culture studied
- Standard 2.2: Students
demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and
perspectives of the culture studied
CONNECTIONS
(WITH GLOBAL HISTORY & Statistics!)
Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information
- Standard 3.1: Students
reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the
foreign language
- Standard 3.2: Students
acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only
available through the foreign language and its cultures
COMPARISONS
Develop Insight into the Nature of Language and Culture
- Standard 4.1: Students
demonstrate understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of
the language studied and their own
- Standard 4.2: Students
demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of
the cultures studied and their own.
