Mrs. Bambino

English 8

North Syracuse Junior High School

sbambino@nscsd.org

Addressing the Problems of Onondaga County Families dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease:

Developing New Policy Solutions

Introduction:

In Heartbeat by Sharon Creech, Annie’s grandfather is experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease. These symptoms often make Annie’s grandfather feels upset and confused. Annie’s family spends a great deal of time and energy supporting her grandfather. Alzheimer’s Disease puts a great deal of stress on those who suffer from it and their families. The Central New York community has some resources in place to help people with Alzheimer’s Disease, but there are fewer resources to help family members. What resources are available in our community to support families coping with Alzheimer’s Disease? What additional resources should exist?

Your Task:

The County Executive has selected our class to analyze the problem of the lack of resources for families who are affected by Alzheimer’s Disease. Using the steps of the Public Policy Analyst, examine the causes of this problem (step 3 of the PPA) and the existing resources (step 4 of the PPA) available to families in Central New York dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease. Your goal is to develop a new public policy solution (PPA steps 5 and 6). With a team of two or three other students, evaluate a problem relating to our community and Alzheimer’s Disease (remember to use the PPA steps).

· What resources are currently in place?

· What additional resources should be in place for those suffering with the disease and their families?

· After your group has completed the PPA steps, you will write a script and create a Public Service Announcement to inform others of what you have learned.

Your Process:

First, work in your assigned group of three to complete the PPA steps. Once your group’s definition of the problem is complete, have it checked by Mrs. Bambino.

Follow the Public Policy Analyst steps below:

1) Define the problem relating to Alzheimer’s Disease. Worksheet 1

2) Gather evidence to prove that the problem exists in society.  What are some examples?  Worksheet 2

3) Identify what causes the problem Worksheet 3

4) Evaluate the existing policies and practices.  Worksheet 4

5) Develop solutions What new policies regarding Alzheimer’s Disease should be in place? Worksheet 5

6) Choose the best solution As a group, decide what solution from step 5 is the most feasible and the most effective. Worksheet 6

When your group is confident that all six steps of the PPA have been completed, bring your work to Mrs. Bambino to be checked.

Finally, work together to create your PSA. Begin by writing a script for your PSA. Your PSA should be informative and should present a solution to the problem your group addressed. Your group will need to use the information you gathered during the PPA steps to write the script correctly. Once the script is completed, use the Pod-casting technology you learned about in class to begin creating the actual PSA. It should be between 45 and 60 seconds long.

Resources:

www.alz.org - National Alzheimer’s Association

www.alz.org/centralnewyork - The Central New York Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association

Evaluation:

Your group will be evaluated based on the following rubric. You must complete all steps of the process to receive full credit for the assignment.

Rubric for Alzheimer’s Research Assignment
Point Value	25	20	15	10
Research Worksheet	The research worksheet is complete and correct. Complete sentences were used.	The research worksheet is mostly complete and correct. Complete sentences were used.	The research worksheet is somewhat complete and correct. Complete sentences were partially used.	The research worksheet is incomplete or inaccurate. Complete sentences were not used.
PPA steps	The PPA worksheets are thoughtfully complete. The worksheets demonstrate that the group worked well together.	The PPA worksheets are mostly thoughtful and complete. The worksheets demonstrate that the group worked well together.	The PPA worksheets are somewhat thoughtful and complete. The worksheets demonstrate that the group worked somewhat together.	The PPA worksheets are incomplete or lacking thought. The worksheets demonstrate that the group did not work well together.
Public Service Announcement Pod-cast	The PSA is correct, thoughtful and professional. An audience member learns something a lot watching the PSA.	The PSA is mostly correct, thoughtful and professional. An audience member learns something from watching the PSA.	The PSA is somewhat correct, thoughtful and professional. An audience member learns a few facts from watching the PSA.	The PSA is inaccurate or inappropriate. An audience member learns little from watching the PSA.
PSA script	The PSA script is complete, neat and professional. It includes a works cited list.	The PSA script is mostly complete and contains a works cited list.	The PSA script is somewhat complete. It contains a works cited list that may have mistakes or be incomplete.	The PSA script is incomplete or missing. The works cited may also be incomplete or missing.

Conclusion:

Now that you have researched how Alzheimer’s Disease impacts our community, consider how Annie’s family often dealt with her grandfather’s struggles. As a family, did they cope well with his symptoms? What community resources could Annie’s family have benefitted from?

New York State English Language Arts Standards:

Reading #1: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Writing #6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Writing #7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

Speaking and Listening #4: Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.