Juvenile Crime in Harlem

Ken Marseille

KMarsei@schools.nyc.gov

IS 195 – ROBERTO CLEMENTE INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

Class: 701 -710 – 711- 803

INTRODUCTION:

During a staff weekly meeting in our school, the Principal, Ms. Shaw, has shown data that indicates a sharp increase of incidents involving violence in our school. Some incidents occurred in the hall ways. Many of them happened in classroom. Violence among teenagers in Harlem has escalated. Data collected from different schools in Harlem show a sharp increase of incidents such as jumping, bullying, verbal assault, physical aggression, and robbing. This has become a crucial problem for parents, school and local leaders, psychologists, and politicians. Students of IS 195 will have the opportunity to investigate this complex problem, and propose their solutions.

Have you ever been a victim of violence or do you know a student who has been a victim of violence in Harlem?

TASK:

Students will work in groups of (4) four to (6) six.

a) Write a 5 page-report, and an analysis of the problem that they will present to the class.

b) They will also individually write a letter to the borough president of Manhattan and, their representative in the US Congress, the mayor of New York City, and the governor of the State of New York.

PROCESS/RESOURCES

Using the PPA steps, students will identify the problem and show their understanding of the issues of juvenile violence in Harlem. They will conduct researches about the matter, using newspapers, magazines, and internet. They will also interview parents, other students of their community, local leaders, and other people involved in the making of decision in the community.

In the first page, they will present and define the problem.

The second page will be used to gather evidence and show their investigation about the leading cause of violence among youth in Harlem. (STEPS 3—6)

In the next two pages, they will summarize the causes and evaluate the existing policies. The final page will be used to state their three proposed policy solutions and their reasons for selecting their best policy.

Students may attach pictures and other documents that are relevant to the issue.

For your research, visit the following websites:

EVALUATION

Rubric: Project and Subject specific

Excellent	Satisfactory	Good	Need improvement	Unsatisfactory
Students have demonstrated a complete understanding of the task.	Students have demonstrated a complete understanding of the task.	Students have demonstrated a good understanding of the task.	Students have demonstrated some understanding of the task.	Students have demonstrated no understanding of the task.
Fully complete all assignment. Provide adequate information supported by pictures, graphics and texts.	Complete all assignment. Provide adequate information supported by pictures, graphics and texts.	Complete all assignment. Provide some relevant information supported by pictures, graphics and texts.	Complete all assignment. some information supported by pictures, graphics and texts.	Assignment is incomplete and does not provide any important information. No pictures, graphics and texts.
Work is very well organized and presented (nice, neat, and clean). Language used is conformed with the English standard. Correct grammar and spelling.	Work is well organized and presented (nice, neat, and clean). Language used is conformed with the English standard. Correct grammar and spelling.	Work is somehow organized and presented (nice, neat, and clean). Language used is conformed with the English standard. Correct grammar and spelling.	Work needs to be better organized and presented (nice, neat, and clean). Language used is conformed to the English standard. However, there are many flows in the use of grammar and spelling.	No organization. Work is not organized. Poor choice of words and language used is not conformed to the English standard.
Each member of the group participated effectively to complete the assignment.	Each member of the group participated effectively to complete the assignment.	Students had some difficulty working together to complete the assignment.	Students had difficulty working together to complete the assignment during all steps of the process	No evidence of a group work..

Rubric: Oral Presentation

CATEGORY	10 EXCELLENT	8 VERY GOOD	5 SATISFACTORY	2 UNSATISFACTORY
Enthusiasm	Facial expressions and body language generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others.	Facial expressions and body language sometimes generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others.	Facial expressions and body language are used to try to generate enthusiasm, but seem somewhat faked.	Very little use of facial expressions or body language. Did not generate much interest in topic being presented.
Preparedness	Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.	Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.	The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.	Student does not seem at all prepared to present.
Speaks Clearly	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, and mispronounces no words.	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, but mispronounces one word.	Speaks clearly and distinctly most of the time. Mispronounces no more than one word.	Often mumbles or can not be understood OR mispronounces more than one word.
Content	Shows a full understanding of the topic.	Shows a good understanding of the topic.	Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic.	Does not seem to understand the topic very well.

CONCLUSION

Congratulations! You have completed your project. We are very impressed of your presentation. Everything had worked. You have touched an issue that affects many students in our community and your work speaks value. You have demonstrated a great understanding not only of the task but also of the problem of juvenile violence in schools in Harlem.

You should have learned from the WebQuest that Juvenile violence is a major social problem that affects not only our schools in Harlem, but also many youths all over the United States. You have concluded that the impact of this problem is devastating to our future as a nation. May you continue using the Public Policy Analyst to examine and address other social concerns.

Congratulation to all of you!

Your work had made a great difference in the search of solution to a human problem: Juvenile violence.

STANDARDS

Social Studies

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

Standard 1:  Information and Understanding: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. Students will:

· collect data, facts, and ideas

· discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations

· use knowledge generated from written, and electronically produced texts 

Standard 2:  Literary Response and Expression: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for literary response and expression. Students will:

· develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions of the texts

Standard 3:  Critical Analysis and Evaluation: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. Students will:

· analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria.

· use 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.

Standard 4:  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

· use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

Technology:

Standard 1: Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate,

to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.

Standard 2: Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies

Standard 5: Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products

and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.