PROGRESSIVE ERA Web Quest

*Ms. Morrison CSSD lmorrison@cssd.org

INTRODUCTION:

The Progressive Era is the time period surrounding the 20^th century. During this time period, there were many great and many horrible events. As a response to some of the problems, individuals and government became involved in correcting or making “progress” on these issues. They made progress through laws, codes, and constitutional amendments.

Imagine that you were alive at the turn of the 20^th century. What if you did not have any say in your government because you were female? What if you lived in a building that was unsafe and your landlord did not want to fix it? What if the businesses that you had to buy things from cut out all the competition and charged outrageous prices for things you needed to purchase? What if you were shopping at a store and did not know the content or safety of the food you were buying? What if you were a child and working 12 hours a day in a dangerous factory from the age of 5 or 6? What should be done to correct these issues?

TASK:

Use the background you have acquired in your study of the last unit in Social Studies to choose one of the six issues and solutions listed below. You will then use the resources listed to produce a graphic organizer from which you will type a persuasive one page paper in which you will state the problem and what steps were taken to remedy the situation. You will end by persuading the reader whether or not the steps taken were necessary and if they were successful in solving the problem.

1. Women’s Rights/Suffrage that led to the 19^th amendment

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oOdc1mcb5SY/R_9hW1k8h8I/AAAAAAAAAKM/fLpUDjgHRks/s320/Womens%2BSuffrage%2BLeague.jpg

2. Tenement living conditions that led to the formation of uniform building codes

http://imagecache5.art.com/p/LRG/30/3073/MPWDF00Z/berenice-abbott-court-of-first-model-tenement-house-in-new-york-72nd-street-and-first-avenue-manhattan.jpg

3. Business practices that led to Antitrust Laws

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Supreme_Court_History-antitrust.jpg

Modern competition law is modeled on the United States' Sherman Act, which aimed to "bust the trusts" which dominated markets in corporate America.

4. Food Safety/Quality issues that led to the Pure Food and Drug Act

http://www.ruralvotes.com/thebackforty/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/untitled.bmp

5. Child labor that led to child labor laws

http://online-history.org/images/smallmill.gif

PROCESS:

After choosing your topic, complete a graphic organizer and essay that will be due at the end of the block.

You are to research your chosen issue using the links and information provided below. Using this information you are to create a graphic organizer following the 4 sections of the American History Public Policy Analyst - links below. Using your graphic organizer, you will write a one page paper. It must be double spaced, Times New Roman, size 12 font. Your paper will not be accepted if not in this format.

AHPPA Steps

1. Identify Problem

2. Gather the Evidence

3. Determine Causes

4. Evaluate the Policy

RESOURCES:

Find your chosen topic and click on the suggested website to complete your task:

1. Women’s Rights: http://www.history.com/content/womenhist/the-history-of-women-s-suffrage

2. Tenement living conditions: http://www.urbansculptures.com/history/

3. Business practices: http://www.fairfightfilm.org/crf/TRTrustBustingProduction.pdf

4. Food Safety/Quality: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h917.html

5. Child labor/safety: http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/about/us_history.html

EVALUATION:

Category	100-90	89-80	79-65	Below 65
Organization	Information is very organized with well- constructed paragraphs	Information is organized with well-constructed paragraphs.	Information is semi-organized, but paragraphs are not well-constructed.	The information appears to be disorganized, or has no organization.
Graphic Organizer	Graphic organizer or outline has been completed and shows clear, logical relationships between all topics.	Graphic organizer or outline has been completed and shows clear, logical relationships between most topics.	Graphic organizer or outline has been started and includes some.	Graphic organizer or outline has not been attempted.
Quality of Information	Information relates to the main topic. It includes supporting details and/or examples.	Information relates to the main topic. It provides 1 supporting detail and/or example	Information relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given.	Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic.
Argumentative	Argument is clear and elaborated on using proper sources	Argument is clear and uses some sources to elaborate	Argument is not clear and used little sources	Did not argue or use any sources
Grammar	Paper contains less than two grammatical errors	Paper contains a few grammatical errors	Paper contains many grammatical errors	Paper is unreadable or incomplete

CONCLUSION:

By completing the American History Public Policy Analysis of your chosen issue, you are now able to understand how important the issue was as a public issue in the United States. Some view these issues as needing to be regulated by government intervention. Others feel the government had not right to intervene. Either way, these issues are considered major social issues in United States history.

STANDARDS:

Social Studies

Standard 1: History of the United States and New York
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 United States and New York.
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 nonmarket 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 United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional
democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

English Language Arts (primary focus)

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.