Lack of Accessibility Resources for Students with Sensory Disabilities

This WebQuest was created based on P.S. 90Q’s 2022 reading curriculum: HMH Into Reading

Created By: Brittany Faherty

bfaherty@schools.nyc.gov

	Introduction
	The mayor of NYC is asking hardworking and innovative students to design an invention to help our peers with sensory disabilities. Mayor Adams has noticed a problematic impact from remote learning following the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayor Adams has noticed that our peers with sensory disabilities are having a difficult time transitioning back into the classroom and is requesting the help of students to design an invention and create an advertisement showcasing new resources that our students can use to better adjust to in-person learning. Class 4-411 consists of some of the most motivated, hardworking, and creative students to embrace this challenge. Class 4-411 recently finished our HMH reading module about senses and explored the ways in which people use their senses to navigate the world which makes our class uniquely qualified to design accessibility resources for our peers with sensory disabilities. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will use the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) framework to help us design an invention and choose a way we will present this solution. Let’s get innovative! “Somewhere along the way, we must learn that there is nothing greater than to do something for others.” - Martin Luther King, Jr
	Task
	1.      At the end of this WebQuest your group will be able to identify and describe sensory disabilities. 2.      Your group will conduct research to learn about the accommodations students with sensory disabilities currently have access to. 3.      You will design improvements for a resource or design an innovative resource that students would be able to use. With your group, you will select the best solution for a new resource to utilize.  4.     Lastly, your group will decide how you will advertise your invention as a solution to the problem some of our peers with sensory disabilities face.
	Process
	Class 4-411 will use the PPA framework to come up with the best possible solution (invention) for our peers with sensory disabilities. You will work collaboratively in groups through the steps of the PPA framework to design an invention and create an advertisement for the invention. *Need a PPA review? Click through our slides to see how we used the six steps of the PPA framework to solve a problem in our classroom*  FAHERTY- 411 PPA Presentation Day 1: Define the Problem ★ Flipped Classroom- listen to “Just Ask” BEFORE our lesson  JUST ASK by Sonia Sotomayor Read Aloud ★ Socratic Seminar- “Just Ask” ○ Socratic Seminar- Sensory Disability PPA  Days 2-3: Gather Evidence ★ With your group, you will explore different sensory disabilities: https://sites.google.com/schools.nyc.gov/411-ppa-project/home ★ You will complete this group graphic organizer: ○ Gather Evidence Day 4: Identify Causes and Examine Existing Policies ★ With your group, explore different accommodations and resources students might already have access to: https://sites.google.com/schools.nyc.gov/411-ppa-project/gather-evidence ★ Complete the slides with your group: ○ Examine Existing Policies  ○ Your group will pick ONE sensory disability to focus on in order to create an invention Days 5-6: Design Solutions ★ Each group member will design their own invention or improvement to an existing invention / resource ★ Each group member will complete a slide sharing their individual invention: ○ Design Solutions Day 7: Select the BEST solution ★ Evaluate all your inventions and select the best one ★ Complete the evaluation chart: ○ Select The Best Solution Days 8-10: Create a digital advertisement to share your invention ★ As a group select the type of digital advertisement ○ Advertisement ★ Create your advertisement ★ Reflect on your project
	Evaluation
	Rubric
	Conclusion
	Mayor Adams thanks you for all your hard work! You are exemplary critical thinkers and successfully used the PPA framework to create an innovative resource that helps solve the lack of accessibility resources for students with sensory disabilities. Stay curious, be creative, and keep working hard. Extend your learning by using the PPA steps to solve your own social problem: 1. Define the Problem 2. Gather the Evidence 3. Identify the Causes 4. Evaluate an Existing Policy 5. Develop Solutions 6. Select the Best Solution
	Standards
	4W5: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to respond and support analysis, reflection, and research by applying the grade 4 Reading Standards. 4W6: Conduct research to answer questions, including self-generated questions, and to build knowledge through investigating multiple aspects of a topic. 4W7: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from multiple sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources. 4SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners, expressing ideas clearly, and building on those of others. 4SL4: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace and volume appropriate for audience. 4SL5: Include digital media and/or visual displays in presentations to emphasize central ideas or themes.