Theft at Martin Luther King, Jr

PROJECT TIPS WEBQUEST

“Theft at Martin Luther King, Jr. School”

Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School

by Ms. Hawkins

Grade 5

Introduction

Have you ever been a victim of theft?If so,what was stolen from you? How did you feel when you discovered something was taken? Theft has been prevalent at Martin Luther King, Jr. School this past year.Many things have been stolen from students and from teachers by other students. Some of the items that have been stolen have been cell phones, money, and flashdrives.

Some of you might have experienced theft, whether it was at home, in school, or in the park. Theft can happen anywhere. Theft is a serious social problem.It can result in conflict and distrust of other students, distrust from all of your teachers in the building and feelings of not being in a safe environment. Theft can also result in embarrassment, shame and social alienation if you are the one who is stealing.

As we all know, theft is wrong, so why are students stealing? You will have an opportunity to solve this serious social problem of theft. In this webquest you will use the steps of the Public Policy Analyst to develop a plan to help solve the theft problem in the school. Once you’ve finished this project, you will present this to the principal, assistant principal & the student body. You’ll have an opportunity to find policy solutions to solve this serious social problem and make positive changes in your school and community. May your journey during this project be a successful one. Good luck as you tackle this challenge of getting rid of theft at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School.

Task

You will be working in groups of 4. Your task is to find a solution for eliminating theft at Martin Luther King. Your group will do research, create a pamphlet, and do an oral report about theft. You will present your report to the Principal and the student body. You will be assigned to work on a new policy for theft at Martin Luther King, Jr. School.

You will present a report that will help your principal solve this problem.In your report you will need to look into the theft that has been going on at Martin Luther King, Jr., present research on why some students steal, and develop ideas that will help your principal solve this social problem. You will present an oral report where you share your pamphlets and present a new policy for dealing with theft at Martin Luther King, Jr. School.

ORAL REPORT

- must be at least ten minutes long

- all group members must participate in giving the report

- use illustrations as visuals

- be creative and interesting

THE PAMPHLET

- must be completed using MS Word

- must be a minimum of three pages

- must include all 6 steps of the Public Policy Analyst which

will be explained in the process section of the web quest

- must include text, illustrations, graphs and or charts (All of

which will be found on the internet links in the “resource” section)

Process

You will be working in groups of four to explore the theft problem and you will find possible solutions to alleviate this social problem.
Each group will prepare a pamphlet on theft & the consequences of theft. You will then evaluate the pamphlet and use the results in answering the questions of the Six Public Policy Analyst worksheets.
THE PPA: Below, you will see web pages that are part of the Public Policy Analyst process.This process examines social problems and finds appropriate solutions.Click on each site & read the instructions for the step.Then click on the worksheet at the bottom of each page or click on “worksheet” next to the web page and complete the questions. You will then use the information in your pamphlet and form the internet links given in the resources section of your webquest. The PPA worksheets will be the resource material you will use to make the pamphlet. All 6 steps have to be included in your report.Using the research you’ve gathered and ideas that you have developed, create a pamphlet to present your policies that will help get rid of theft at Martin Luther King. In step #6 you will choose the BEST policy to present to the Principal and the student body.

THE PUBLIC POLCIY ANALYST

Worksheet 1: Defining the Social Problem (Worksheet #1)

Worksheet 2: Gathering evidence of the problem (Worksheet #2)

Worksheet 3: Identifying the causes of the problem (Worksheet #3)

Worksheet 4: Evaluating existing public policies (Worksheet #4)

Worksheet 5: Developing public policy solutions (Worksheet #5)

Worksheet 6: Selecting the best public policy solution (Worksheet #6)

Resources

Each group must read and examine a variety of resources in order to understand the problems associated with theft .You will need to take notes on the information you come across. You will then use this information to complete the six Public Policy Analyst worksheets.

General Search Engines:

https://www.google.com/

http://www.yahoo.com/

http://www.kids.yahoo.com/

http://www.yonkerspublicschools.org/

http://scholastic.com/

Specific Search Engines:

http://www.bmef.org/stealing.htm

http://childcare.ygoy.com/is-stealing-common-in-children/

http://www.kellybear.com/TeacherArticles/TeacherTip65.html

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/shoplifting.html

http://www.life123.com/parenting/young-children/stealing/dealing-with-stealing-at-school.shtml

http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/stealing-in-school-age-children-3692.html

http://www.theparentszone.com/behavior-problems/stealing-behavior-in-children-how-to-prevent-it/

Evaluation

The PPA Model Rubric

(4 points)

(3 points)

(2 points)

(1 point)

Worksheets

àHanded-In

àCompleted

àOn-Time

àProblem identified and is very well researched.

àAll six steps of the PPA are addressed.

àProblem identified and reasonably well researched.

àAll six steps of the PPA are addressed.

àProblem identified with limited research.

àAll steps of the PPA are addressed.

àProblem identified but research is lacking.

àIncomplete work.

Group cooperation

àGroup establishes and maintains an equal distribution of labor among all participants.

àDifferences are dealt with maturely and students exercise listening skills, leadership skills, and compromise skills.

àGroup makes attempts to maintain an equal distribution of labor among all participants.

àAlmost all differences are dealt with maturely and students exercise listening skills, leadership skills, and compromise skills.

àGroups make unsuccessful attempts to maintain an equal distribution of labor among all participants.

àOnly some differences are dealt with maturely as students attempt to exercise listening skills, leadership skills, and compromise skills.

àGroup is unable to equally distribute work.

àDifferences are not dealt with maturely.

Oral Presentation

Grade	4-Excellent	3-Very Good	2-Satisfactory	1-Needs Improvement
Oral Presentation	Superior knowledge of theft and presents ten or more examples of exceptional supportive data.	Acceptable amount of knowledge on theft and presents 5 to 10 examples of supportive data.	Little knowledge of theft and presents 2 - 4 examples of supportive data.	No knowledge of preventing theft and presents no supportive data.
Research	All in format and supports the subject and presentation.	Lots of information that supports the presentation.	Not enough information in the understanding of preventing of theft in the presentation	Little support
Worksheets	Complete with a lot of information.	Complete with some information	Complete with only a little information	Incomplete

Pamphlet

CATEGORY	4 Excellent	3 Very Good	2 Satisfactory	1 Needs Improvement
Knowledge Gained	Student can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the pamphlet and processes used to create the pamphlet.	Student can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the pamphlet and processes used to create the pamphlet.	Student can accurately answer about 75% of questions related to facts in the pamphlet and processes used to create the pamphlet.	Student appears to have insufficient knowledge about the facts or processes used in the pamphlet.
Graphics - Originality	Several of the graphics used on the pamphlet reflect an exceptional degree of student creativity in their creation and/or display.	One or two of the graphics used on the pamphlet reflect student creativity in their creation and/or display.	The graphics are made by the student, but are based on the designs or ideas of others.	No graphics made by the student are included.
Content - Accuracy	At least 7 accurate facts are displayed on the pamphlet.	5-6 accurate facts are displayed on the pamphlet.	3-4 accurate facts are displayed on the pamphlet.	Less than 3 accurate facts are displayed on the pamphlet.
Knowledge Gained	Student can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the pamphlet and processes used to create the pamphlet.	Student can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the pamphlet and processes used to create the pamphlet.	Student can accurately answer about 75% of questions related to facts in the pamphlet and processes used to create the pamphlet.	Student appears to have insufficient knowledge about the facts or processes used in the pamphlet.
Attractiveness	The pamphlet is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness.	The pamphlet is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness.	The pamphlet is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy.	The pamphlet is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.

Conclusion

By completing your Public Policy Webquest, you have now learned how to identify theft and initiate strategies to prevent it at Martin Luther King School. Moreover, you have also examined a serious social problem of theft which is a problem for students at MLK & students all over the U.S. As a Public Policy Analyst you have followed the steps by defining the problem,gathering accurate evidence,identifying cause,evaluating current public policy,developing public policy,and selected the best public policy.Let’s hope you made a difference at MLK as a result of your hard work Also, you better understand the role of the public policy analyst & political leaders who make laws that affect every aspect of our lives. Your work has been presented to the AP, the Principal and all of the students. Let’s hope it makes a difference. Congratulations on a job well done!

Standards Addressed

The Arts Standards

Standard 2: Students will be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available for participation in arts in various roles

English Language Arts

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; 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 that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 2: Language for Information and Understanding

Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; 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 that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write 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 use oral and 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: 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. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.