The Rise of Gang Violence in New York Schools

A Webquest for 7^th grade English by Jackie Ortiz & Jen Cogan

Introduction

Imagine being a twelve year old boy in New York City. Your father took off, your older brother is in jail, and your mother tries to make ends meet. You are left to take care of your eight year old sister. How would you handle this situation? Some kids are mature enough to deal with this; others turn to gangs for support.

Task

Across New York State, there are many problems dealing with gang violence. After reading, Scorpions, by Walter Dean Myers and watching the movie the Outsiders you will be broken up in teams of four. Your job is to become a part of an investigation team at a youth gang task force in Yonkers. Using the PPA system your team will create a policy that will correct the social problem. Your investigation can save your own or someone’s life.

Process

The students will use the PPA system to create a policy to reduce the problems of gang violence in Yonkers.

1. Identifying the Problem and Worksheet #1

2. Gathering Evidence and Worksheet #2

3. Identifying Causes of the problem and Worksheet #3

4. Evaluate the Policy and Worksheet #4

5. Develop a solution to the problem and Worksheet #5

6. Selecting the Best Solution and Worksheet #6

Ø Read Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers

Ø Watch the Movie Outsiders

Ø Research gang violence in Yonkers

Ø Research policies already enforced in Yonkers

Ø Each team will be responsible to present their research in the form of a talk show.

Your will be graded as a group and each member must participate. As a group your will be responsible for handing in your written work.

Ø BE CREATIVE (props, costumes etc…)

Resources

www.google.com

www.askjeeves.com

http://teenink.com/past/1993/3897.html

http://usmayors.org/uscn/best_practices/community_policing_2006.pdf

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fulpage.html?res

Evaluation

You will be graded on the PPA worksheets, written report and classroom presentation. Use the following rubric as your guide.

Rubric

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Plan for Organizing Information	Students have developed a clear plan for organizing the information as it is gathered and in the final research product. All students can independently explain the planned organization of the research findings.	Students have developed a clear plan for organizing the information as it is gathered and in the final research product. All students can independently explain this plan.	Students have developed a clear plan for organizing the information as it is gathered and in the final research product. All students can independently explain most of this plan.	Students have no clear plan for organizing the information AND/OR students in the group cannot explain their organization plan.
Six Step Public Policy Analyst	Students show clear evidence of using several PPA resources and new resources.	Students show some evidence of PPA use.	Students show little evidence of PPA resources.	Students show no apparent use of PPA resources or understanding.
Oral Presentation	Everyone within the group presents using -appropriate tone and clarity of voice-visual aids.	Some members of the group present using – appropriate tone and clarity used some of the time – some visual aids.	Half the members of the group present using – minimal tone and clarity of voice – minimal visual aids.	One member of the group presents using – unclear tone and clarity of voice – no visual aids.

Conclusion

Upon your completion of this web quest, you have researched and analyzed the social problem of gang violence using TIPS Public Policy Analyst guidelines. Through this web quest, you analyzed the causes and effects of gang violence and its appeal on students in Yonkers. Your group reviewed current public policy solutions for preventing other students for following the same pattern. Your research can help your classmates make better choices.