ALIZA GREENSTEIN DEUTSCH
IS 52 Inwood
650 Academy Street
New York, NY 10034
Recent incidents reflect a growing number of police departments in America apply excessive force in dealing with blacks
INTRODUCTION:
Recently, America has been faced with what appears to be an increase of excessive force by police departments targeting the black community. The most famous recent examples of use of such force have been the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases. Statistics are showing that since 2001, the numbers of such cases have significantly increased. Something must be done to reduce police aggression toward this minority group!
TASK:
In this WebQuest, your task will be to research different articles and videos in order to compare use of excessive force in the past to recent use of excessive force. You will use the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) and the websites listed in the Resources section to help with your research. You will use the research to develop a social policy in order to decrease the use of excessive force in the black population. When finished, you will present your findings to the class on a poster and a short oral presentation.
PROCESS:
1. In small groups assigned by your teacher, research the data of recent use of force and past use of force using the websites and links provided to you in the section below. Use the PPA worksheets to help summarize and consolidate your ideas.
a. Define the problem: Worksheet #1
b. Gather evidence of the problem: Worksheet #2
c. Identify the causes of the problem: Worksheet #3
d. Evaluate public policy solutions: Worksheet #4
e. Develop your own original public policy solution: Worksheet #5
2. Write a three to five paragraph essay comparing past use of force to current use of force by police officers to the black population. Be sure to clearly portray how things have changed over the past fifteen years. When using references from texts, be sure to clearly cite the texts used.
3. After analyzing past policies, and analyzing the trends of the use of excessive force on the black population, you will create a poster in which you depict through text and use of pictures a proposed policy to address this excessive force. The posters and research will be presented to the class in a short oral presentation.
RESOURCES:
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb9Y0be78NM
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFsU_00mcZI
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_32r31JZ1E
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Michael_Brown
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Eric_Garner
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_brutality_in_the_United_States
· http://thehill.com/homenews/225497-un-blasts-us-for-police-brutality
· http://www.thenation.com/article/190937/why-its-impossible-indict-cop
EVALUATION:
You will receive your score based on the following rubric:
|
Assignments |
Needs Improvement |
Satisfactory |
Excellent |
Grade |
|
PPA Worksheets |
Answered most questions sufficiently |
Answered all questions sufficiently |
Answered all questions sufficiently and used critical thinking skills |
|
|
Essay |
Unorganized, poorly written |
Appropriate organization and writing |
Superior organization and writing skills exhibited |
|
|
Poster and Presentation |
Did not present a proposed policy sufficiently |
Adequately presented a proposed policy |
Demonstrated his/her policy in an extremely articulate manner both orally and in the poster |
CONCLUSION:
Upon concluding your Webquest, you will be extremely familiar with the research regarding past and present use of excessive force by police officers against the black population. Based on the research that you did, you were then able to establish a policy to address this excessive force. You summarized your research in writing, through a poster and an oral presentation. You and your peers should now have a clear understanding of the research that you conducted!
STANDARDS:
ELA Common Core Standards Used--
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.
Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation.
Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people.