Race and Class Inequality in
A WebQuest
MALC HS
Mr. Espin
“Neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the
party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
The Thirteenth Amendment signaled the beginning of
the Reconstruction era, as the United States faced the challenges of the post-Civil War era.
The amendment began the process of freeing African-Americans from the
grips of slavery, by outlawing the practice of slavery or involuntary
servitude, unless of course, it is used as a punishment for crime. Ironically, over 150 years since the
amendment, we are confronted with the fact that there Blacks and Latinos
comprise approximately 65% of the prison population, yet are only 25% of the
national population. Specifically,
poverty and poor educational opportunities contribute to this racial
inequality.
You have been asked to serve on a
panel of community representatives whose goal is to make recommendations that
can reduce this serious state and national problem. Your report to the governor
could make a major difference and affect future generations of young people in
our state. Good luck on your project!
Governor Patterson has specifically asked for your panel to
research the nature of the problem of minority incarceration in NY State’s
prisons. Your task is to develop a report and a PowerPoint presentation that
will both underline the problem and present possible solutions for the
legislature to consider. This should be interesting and convincing in its
presentation of realistic solutions.
Meeting in groups of four,
your team will use the Public Policy Analyst process to gain an understanding
of the seriousness of the problem of minority incarceration in New York State
today. The process involves six steps and the completion of worksheets for
each. Your team is to submit a completed set of these six worksheets as part of
your report. Links to the worksheet are as follows:
Step 1: Define the Problem
Step 2: Gather the Evidence
Step 3: Identify Causes
Step 4: Evaluate a Policy
Step 5: Develop Solutions
Step 6: Select Best Solution
After discussion within the
group your team will choose a course of action that you feel will best address
this issue and give a realistic solution. Each person in the group is to
write a separate report to be included in the group’s “packet.” It is quite
possible that there will be disagreements as to which course of action is best,
so “minority reports” may be written by individual team members.
The team will work together to develop a PowerPoint presentation of at least eight slides that outlines the nature of the public problem and the possible solutions that the group considered. At least a couple of these slides should be devoted to promoting the course of action that the group feels will offer the best solution to the problem. If the group is split, and cannot reach an agreement on the best course of action, then an equal number of slides should be developed presenting each opinion.
Look at the following
websites for information. You can use general search engines such as google.com
and yahoo.com.
Look at the following rubrics for a guide as to
how your work will be graded:
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CATEGORY
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4 - Above Standards |
3 - Meets Standards |
2 - Approaching Standards |
1 - Below Standards |
Score |
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Focus or Thesis Statement |
The thesis statement names the topic of the essay and outlines
the main points to be discussed. Uses all six PPA steps |
The thesis statement names the topic of the essay. Uses five of
the six PPA steps. |
The thesis statement outlines some or all of the main points to
be discussed but does not name the topic.
Uses PPA steps inaccurately |
The thesis statement does not name the topic AND does not
preview what will be discussed. Does not use PPA steps. |
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Attention Grabber |
The introductory paragraph has a strong hook or attention
grabber that is appropriate for the audience. This could be a strong
statement, a relevant quotation, statistic, or question addressed to the
reader. |
The introductory paragraph has a hook or attention grabber, but
it is weak, rambling or inappropriate for the audience. |
The author has an interesting introductory paragraph but the
connection to the topic is not clear. |
The introductory paragraph is not interesting AND is not
relevant to the topic. |
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Closing paragraph |
The conclusion is strong and leaves the reader solidly
understanding the writer's position. Effective restatement of the position
statement begins the closing paragraph. |
The conclusion is recognizable. The author's position is
restated within the first two sentences of the closing paragraph. |
The author's position is restated within the closing paragraph,
but not near the beginning. |
There is no conclusion - the paper just ends. |
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Persuasiveness |
The final product was extremely persuasive, giving more than 3
supporting arguments. |
The final product was persuasive, giving more than 2 supporting
arguments. |
The final product was somewhat persuasive, giving 2 or less
supporting arguments. |
The product was not persuasive at all, giving 1 or no supporting
arguments. |
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POWER
POINT PRESENTATION RUBRICS
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CATEGORY |
4 EXCELLENT |
3 VERY GOOD |
2 SATISFACTORY |
1 UNACCEPTABLE |
Grade |
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Cooperation |
ALL MEMBERS OF THE GROUP TOOK
PART IN CONSTRUCTION OF THE POWER POINT (RESEARCH). |
ALL MEMBERS TOOK PART IN CONSTRUCTION OF THE
POWER POINT BUT NOT EQUALLY. |
FOUR OF THE FIVE MEMBERS TOOK PART IN
CONSTRUCTION OF THE POWER POINT. |
THE POWER POINT HAD LITTLE GROUP
COOPERATION AND WAS CONSTRUCTED BY ONE MEMBER |
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Originality |
Presentation shows considerable
originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in a
unique and interesting way. |
Presentation shows some
originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in an
interesting way. |
Presentation shows an attempt at
originality and inventiveness on 1-2 cards. |
Presentation is a rehash of
other people's ideas and/or graphics and shows very little attempt at
original thought. |
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Text – Font Choice &
Formatting |
Font formats (e.g., color, bold,
italic) have been carefully planned to enhance readability and content. |
Font formats have been carefully
planned to enhance readability. |
Font formatting has been
carefully planned to complement the content. It may be a little hard to read.
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Font formatting makes it very
difficult to read the material. |
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Content - Accuracy |
All content throughout the
presentation is accurate. There are no factual errors. |
Most of the content is accurate
but there is one piece of information that might be inaccurate. |
The content is generally
accurate, but one piece of information is clearly flawed or inaccurate. |
Content is typically confusing
or contains more than one factual error. |
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Spelling and Grammar |
Presentation has no misspellings
or grammatical errors. |
Presentation has 1-2
misspellings, but no grammatical errors. |
Presentation has 1-2 grammatical
errors but no misspellings. |
Presentation has more than 2
grammatical and/or spelling errors. |
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Sequencing of Information |
Information is organized in a
clear, logical way. It is easy to anticipate the type of material that might
be on the next card. |
Most information is organized in
a clear, logical way. One card or item of information seems out of place. |
Some information is logically
sequenced. An occasional card or item of information seems out of place. |
There is no clear plan for the
organization of information. |
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Use of Graphics |
All graphics are attractive
(size and colors) and support the theme/content of the presentation. |
A few graphics are not
attractive but all support the theme/content of the presentation. |
All graphics are attractive but
a few do not seem to support the theme/content of the presentation. |
Several graphics are
unattractive AND detract from the content of the presentation. |
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Assignment delegation |
Group delegates tasks and shares
responsibility effectively all of the time. |
Group delegates tasks and shares
responsibility effectively most of the time. |
Group delegates tasks and shares
responsibility effectively some of the time. |
Group often is not effective in
delegating tasks and/or sharing responsibility. |
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Effectiveness
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Project includes all material
needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the topic. It is a highly
effective study guide. |
Project includes most material
needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the material but is lacking one
or two key elements. It is an adequate study guide. |
Project is missing more than two
key elements. It would make an incomplete study guide. |
Project is lacking several key
elements and has inaccuracies that make it a poor study guide. |
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USE OF PPA |
INCLUDES ALL STEPS OF THE PPA |
INCLUDES MOST STEPS OF THE PPA |
INLCUDES ALL STEPS OF THE PPA
BUT WITH INACCURACIES |
DOES NOT INLCUDE PPA AS A FORMAT
OR HAS MANY INACCURACIES |
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GRADING:
A=14-16 P0INTS
B=11-13 POINTS
C=8-10 POINTS
D=5-7 POINTS
F=0-4 POINTS
When you have completed this
project you should have developed a greater understanding of the problems
involved in the incarceration of people from minority groups. You should have
better understanding of the complex nature of solutions to the problem and the
reasons why this issue continues to concern us over many years.
These projects meet the
following New York State standards
E1c,
E2a, E3b, E3c, E4a, E4b, E6b, E7b
Social Studies
Standard 1: History of the
Students will use a variety of intellectual
skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes,
developments, and turning points in the history of the
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