Created by Kamaldeep Mann

November 3, 2014

School: P.S./M.S. 123

How can we treat Depression?

Introduction: Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depression, major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and depression may make you feel as if life isn't worth living.

Task: Students will determine the reasons for depression in youngsters. Students will also find ways that depression can be identified and treated. Students will create an oral presentation on their research and findings.

Process/Resource: You may work in groups of 2 or 3 people on the project or you may work independently.  You can use the Internet and other sources to research information about Depression. You may refer to the following websites to gather information.

· http://www.adaa.org/finding-help

· http://www.webmd.com/depression/

· http://psychcentral.com/disorders/depression/

You will use the steps of the Public Policy Analyst (https://flippedtips.com/plegal/tips/select.html) and complete the following worksheets as a group.

1) Worksheet 1 – Identify the Problem.

2) Worksheet 2 – Defining the Social Problem.

3) Worksheet 3 – Identifying the Cause of the Problem.

4) Worksheet 4 – Evaluate an Existing Policy.

5) Worksheet 5 – Develop Solutions for the Problem.

6) Worksheet 6 - Choose the BEST Solution.

After completing all the worksheets, prepare a 20 minute speech based on the six steps and the worksheets.  Your speech should include the problem, evidence of the problem, causes of the problem, and an evaluation on the current public policy on that problem, how you developed the solution, and the best solution you came up with. Be sure to include why your solution works best. Speech should have an introduction and all members of the team must introduce themselves. Each member of the group will take a turn speaking for four minutes each (total of 20 minutes for the whole group).  Each member should have their own copy of the speech plus a copy for the teacher.  Each member will receive a total of 20 points for his/her part in the speech (a total of 100 for the group).

Evaluation: The following Oral Presentation Rubric will be used to evaluate your presentation.

	Superior	Adequate	Minimal	Inadequate
Content	The speaker provides a variety of types of content appropriate for the task, such as generalizations, details, examples and various forms of evidence. The speaker adapts the content in a specific way to the listener and situation.	The speaker focuses primarily on relevant content. The speaker sticks to the topic. The speaker adapts the content in a general way to the listener and the situation.	The speaker includes some irrelevant content. The speaker wanders off the topic. The speaker uses words and concepts which are inappropriate for the knowledge and experiences of the listener (e.g., slang, jargon, technical language).	The speaker says practically nothing. The speaker focuses primarily on irrelevant content. The speaker appears to ignore the listener and the situation.
Delivery	The speaker delivers the message in a confident, poised, enthusiastic fashion. The volume and rate varies to add emphasis and interest. Pronunciation and enunciation are very clear. The speaker exhibits very few disfluencies, such as "ahs," "uhms," or "you knows."	The volume is not too low or too loud and the rate is not too fast or too slow. The pronunciation and enunciation are clear. The speaker exhibits few disfluencies, such as "ahs," "uhms," or "you knows.	The volume is too low or too loud and the rate is too fast or too slow. The pronunciation and enunciation are unclear. The speaker exhibits many disfluencies, such as "ahs," "uhms," or "you knows." The listener is distracted by problems in the delivery of the message and has difficulty understanding the words in the message.	The volume is so low and the rate is so fast that you cannot understand most of the message. The pronunciation and enunciation are very unclear. The speaker appears uninterested.
Organization	The message is overtly organized. The speaker helps the listener understand the sequence and relationships of ideas by using organizational aids such as announcing the topic, previewing the organization, using transitions, and summarizing.	The message is organized. The listener has no difficulty understanding the sequence and relationships among the ideas in the message. The ideas in the message can outlined easily.	The organization of the message is mixed up and random. The listener must make some assumptions about the sequence and relationship of ideas.	The message is so disorganized you cannot understand most of the message.
Creativity	Very original presentation of material; captures the audience’s attention.	Some originality apparent; good variety and blending of materials / media.	Little or no variation; material presented with little originality or interpretation.	Repetitive with little or no variety; insufficient use of materials / media.
Length of Presentation	Within two minutes of allotted time	Within four minutes of allotted time.	Within six minutes of allotted time .	Too long or too short; ten or more minutes above or below the allotted time.

Conclusion:

By completing this web quest, you now have a better understanding of depression and the effect it has on our society. You also have a better sense of how to evaluate policies and methods to prevent and treat depression.

You have also become better at using technology to research problems, gather evidence, look for information, and present your findings.  You will also have used your creative skills to show your findings.

Most importantly, you have learned how to analyze current policies on social problems and suggest better ones to replace them.  You have become a thinking public policy analyst!

Standards:

Reading Standards for Informational Text K–5

Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Writing Standards K–5

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly

Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.

Speaking and Listening Standards K–5

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.