Web Quest

Ms. Bergfeld

Freshman English

Lehman High School

 

 

The Rise of Hate Crimes

 

Introduction

 

In Night, you read a memoir of Elie Wiesels experience through the immense brutality, cruelty, and dehumanization that was the Holocaust. You learned about the seeds of prejudice, racism, and the human potential for evil. The world stood silent while millions of innocent people were murdered because of their religion. We think that something like this could never occur again, but the small-scale crimes that occur today have the potential to lead in a horrible direction. In our society today there is still hatred directed towards innocent people because of their race, religion, and sexual orientation.

 

In this web quest, you have been asked to study the various hate crimes that have occurred in the United States since 2000. You will perform research for both Night and in the United States of America today. You will draw comparisons between the two that will strengthen your study and your conclusions.

 

Pretend that you have been selected by the Mayor of New York City to serve on a task force to create a public policy to better deal with various hate crimes. You will use the

 TIPS public policy analyst program to assist you in completing this task. 

 

 

The Task

 

For this project, you will work in pre-selected groups of two. You will research and examine hate crimes in both Night and The United States of America, since 2000. You will use the Public Policy Analysis to develop new policies for deterring and dealing with Hate Crimes. Your group will present your information in a 10-minute report to the class.

 

The Process

 

Use the Public Policy Analysis to study and evaluate the problem. You have two worksheets due each week. The final project will be due at the end of the fourth week.

 

Project LEGAL's

 

 

 

Public Policy Analyst

 

 

Public Policy Analysis

 
 
Step 1: Identify the Problem

Focus on the rise in hate crimes since 2000

 

Step 2:

 

GATHER EVIDENCE OF THE PROBLEM

1.Night

a) Give specific examples from the text of characters that commit crimes of hate

2. Internet

a) Gather evidence that this is a problem for the United States of America

b) Use the provided links as research to begin searching

c) Complete Worksheet 2 to document your research

3. Survey

a) Create a survey to gather evidence in your own school or community. Record the information from your survey in statistical values. You can develop an online survey using a survey creation site such as Zooerang

Step 3:

 

 IDENTIFYING CAUSES

1. Night

 a) From the background work that you have done in Night, list the reasons that these people chose to commit that acts of violence that occurred during the Holocaust

 2. Internet

 a) Research the common causes in The United States. Which areas of our country are there a higher percentage of crimes committed against specific groups of people

b) Complete worksheet 3 to document your research

3. Survey

 a) Use the information gathered from your survey to identify possible of potential causes for people to commit these crimes

 

Step 4:

 

EVALUATING EXISTING PROBLEMS

1. Use the Internet to research existing policies and evaluate the positive and negative aspects of each policy that you can find Document your research and evaluation

  a) Use  Worksheet #4 from the TIPS PPA website

 

Step 5:

 

DEVELOPING PUBLIC POLICY

1. Use Worksheet #5 from the TIPS PPA webpage

 

 

 

 

 

Step 6:

 

SELECTING THE BEST PUBLIC POLICY

>1. Choose the best public policy to solve this problem

a) Worksheet #6 from the TIPS PPA webpage

 

PRESENTATION

 

Prepare a presentation of your research. You should have a visual aid to share with the class. (A handout or poster or your statistical findings)

 

RESOURCES

           

            The following websites will be able to provide you with information or links to information to assist in developing your webquest.

 

pullcart_library_book_open_md_wht.gifSearch Engines

www.google.com

 www.ask.com

 

 

Organizations

            The Anti Defamation League

            http://www.adl.org/main_hate_crimes.asp

            A teen website:

            www.stophate.com

 

Statistical Source

>FBI hate crime source

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/civilrights/hate.htm

 

 

Grading Rubric

>

TIPS PPA Worksheets

All are clear and complete- 25 points

Survey

A copy of the survey and a copy of the statistics have been submitted -25 points

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMPLETION OF THE PPA PROCESS (50 points)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRESENTATIONS (50 points)

 

 

ELA Standards

 

 

5

4

3

2

1

Information

Accurate Statistical Information from multiple sources

Accurate, Statistical Information from limited sources

>, Accurate information, no statistics

Inaccurate information or no sources referenced

Inaccurate information and no source referenced

Organization

Presentation has a clear, logical and interesting sequence

Presentation is logical and can be understood

Presentation is primarily logical but deviates occasionally

Presentation is difficult to follow at some points

Presentation is unorganized and cannot be understood

Clarity

Students use a clear, loud voice that can be easily understood

Students are clear and can be heard by most audience members

Students are clear but difficult to hear

Students cannot be heard or understood

Students cannot be heard

Cooperation

Group members work productively together and participate in all aspect of the project

All group members participate in research & presentation

Unequal participation among group members

One or more group members does not present

Group members are unable to work together

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STANDARD 1

Students will read, write, listen, and speak 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 to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

STANDARD 2

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.

Students will read and listen to oral, written and electronically produced texts and performances, relate texts and performances to their own lives, and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language for self-expression and artistic creation.

STANDARD 3

Students will read, write, listen, and speak 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 present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

 


Social Studies Standards

 

• analyze the roles and contributions of individuals and groups to social, political, economic, cultural, and religious practices and activities

• explain the dynamics of cultural change and how interactions between and among cultures has affected various cultural groups throughout the world

• examine the social/cultural, political, economic, and religious norms and values of Western and other world cultures

 

 

 

Conclusion

            It is hoped that students will gain an insight into the nature of hate crimes by considering how these acts can affect a society when taken to extremes. The reading of Night is designed at having an understanding not only of an historical event, but an appreciation of how such an event could happen at all. Through a study of the holocaust and modern hate crimes students can better understand the problem and the need for effective public policies to deal with it.