A WebQuest!

Mr. Michael Dratch

St. Casimir School Yonkers, NY

Remember to have fun while you learn!

“Stealing is unacceptable in a school or classroom and the behavior requires zero tolerance as it infringes the right of pupils and staff to feel safe.” Jenny Mackay

You are at school and come back to your classroom after eating lunch. You notice that your book bag is opened. You look inside and notice that your wallet has been taken. You go to the principal and explain what has happened and how upset you are. The principal states that this has been an ongoing problem within the school and that they have been working on ideas to solve the problem of stealing within the school. The principal asks if you can head a committee that will deal with making a public policy to solve this problem.

Your task is to find a solution for eliminating the problem of theft within the school community. The principal has asked you to head a committee to solve this problem, because you have experienced theft firsthand. You will be assigned 4 other students to be in your committee and work on the policy.

As a committee (group) you are expected to make a report and presentation that will help your principal solve this problem. In your report you are to look into the theft that has been going on within the school community, talk about the current public policies, and develop ideas that will help your principal solve this problem. Then you will make a 5-minute presentation on your report. A PowerPoint presentation will be acceptable.

You will be separated into groups of 5. It will be a committee (group) project.

You will have to follow the steps below in developing and presenting your work. Below you will find a clear explanation for these terms:

(1) Define the problem

(2) Gather evidence

(3) Identify causes

(4) Evaluate a policy

(5) Develop solutions

(6) Select best solution

Use these worksheets to define the problem, gather evidence, identify causes, evaluate a policy, develop solutions, and select best solution.

Use the worksheets linked to define the problem, gather evidence, identify causes, evaluate a policy, develop solutions, and select the best solution.

They should help you to:

- define the problem – social consequences of theft;

- gather evidence: statistics, articles of experts, case studies;

- determine the causes theft;

- outline the present public policies concerning theft problem; state advantages and disadvantages of today’s public policies;

- find ways to improve the present public policy;

- develop possible new solutions;

- select the best solution;

- evaluate potential benefits and costs of the suggested policy;

You will use the following sources to help you with your work. However, you are not limited to these resources. You are strongly encouraged to use newspaper articles, scientific journals and magazines.

www.youthradio.org/education/kcbs2003_theft.shtml

www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=EJ329211

www.hrs.pvt.k12.ca.us/library/pages/polcies.html

www.mvla.net/apps/pub.asp?Q=68

www.thefttalk.com

www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=811374

The work developed by your committee will have to meet the certain criteria in the rubrics below. If your presentation is a PowerPoint, it will be evaluated in the same way as a printed report except you will not have to hand in a printed report.

Evaluation of Your Presentation

Required components of the project	Evaluation of Your Presentation will be:
	65	66-75	76-85	86-95	95-100
Creativity	Oral report without any visualization	At least 1 table or map/picture is presented	At least 1 table and 1 picture are presented	At least 2 tables and 2 pictures are presented	At least 3 tables and 3 pictures are presented
Speech	Boring, mumbling speech that can be heard only by front row students.	Clear and Interesting, but not too convincing for the whole class	Clear, interesting and convincing for the whole class	Clear, interesting, convincing, and triggering class involvement	Clear, bright, strongly convincing, and triggering an exciting discussion
Class voting for a “Good Evaluation”	20% of support	30% of support	50% of support	70% of support	90 % of support

Evaluation of Your Paper Project

Required components of the project	Evaluation of Your Paper Project will be:
	65	66-75	76-85	86-95	95-100
Define the problem	The problem is defined in a short sentence. Definitions are somewhat clear.	The problem is defined in 2 extended sentences. Definitions are somewhat clear.	The problem is defined in 3 extended sentences. Definitions are clear to the group.	The problem is defined in 1 paragraph. Definitions are clear to the class.	The problem is defined in 1 well-developed paragraph. Definitions are clear to the class.
Gather evidence	Evidence is coming from 1 minor source. No tables are used.	Evidence is coming from 1 major and 1 minor source. 1 small table is presented	Evidence is coming from 2 major sources. 2 small tables are presented	Evidence is coming from 3 major sources. 2 extended tables and 1 graph are presented.	Evidence is coming from 4 or more major sources. 2 extended tables and 2 graphs are presented.
Identify causes	At least 1 cause is briefly mentioned.	At least 2 causes are mentioned but not expanded.	At least 2 causes are clearly presented.	At least 3 causes are clearly presented and somewhat inter-connected.	More than 3 causes are clearly presented and strongly inter-connected.
Evaluate a policy	Present public policy is mentioned but not evaluated	Present public policy is mentioned and shortly evaluated	Present public policy is presented and evaluated	Present public policy is clearly presented and evaluated	Present public policy is clearly presented and critically evaluated
Develop solutions	Only 1 solution is presented.	2 solutions are presented.	3 solutions are presented.	4 solutions are presented.	More than 4 solutions are presented.
Select best solution	Solution is put under question by the group members	Choice for the best solution is clear but not explained.	Choice for the best solution is explained clear and briefly.	Choice for the best solution is explained clear and fairly.	Choice for the best solution is clear and well explained, and convincing
Grammar	not more than 4 grammar mistakes	not more than 3 grammar mistakes	not more than 2 grammar mistakes	no grammar mistakes	no grammar mistakes
Typed report, including tables, pictures, and maps	at least 2 pages	3 pages	4 pages	5 pages	6 pages

Thievery continues to be social problem within our communities. Your hard work is a step forward in solving this problem. Although there are certain laws and policies that are enforced on individuals who steal, this problem still continues. The most difficult part in fixing this problem is to encourage a public policy that gets the necessary support. The project you have completed is a small step to solving the problem of thievery and your hard work and brilliant ideas are a great advantage to have. Great job!