A public policy is a plan or course of action made or followed by the government.  These policies usually effect workers and employers, consumers and producers, the elderly and the young, rich people and poor people, land, water, and air.  The policies are usually separated into two groups, social welfare (any program that provides assistance to people) and environmental polices.

The Task lTop|

Select a public policy issue from the list below and write an article to be published in the "Participation in Government Newsletter."  I have grouped this list into five categories - foreign policies, national policies, state policies, local policies, and school policies.  You are not limited to this list.  If you would like to look at another issue please speak to me before you begin your research.
 
 

Foreign Polices Terrorism Famine Acid Rain Arms Race Disarmament Population Control Preservation of Endangered Species Aid to Underdeveloped Countries Global Hot Spots AIDS	National Civil Liberties Import Quotas Budget Deficits Controlling Drug Traficing Medical Costs Military Draft in Peacetime National Defense Spending Immigration Policies AIDS Spending for Social Programs Crime Pollution	State Loss of Jobs Tax Policies Mental Healthcare Care of the Elderly Crowding of Jails Capital Punishment Funding for Abortion Legalization of Marijuana Drinking Age College Aid
Local Crime Rates Homeless Shelters Smoking in Public Places Educational Funding Teen Pregnancy Police Violence	School Censorship Drug Testing of Students Vandalism Cheating Increasing Graduation Requirements Prayer in Public Schools

Resources lTop|
 
 

Search Engines AltaVista DejaNews Excite NetSearch HotBot Infoseek Lycos Magellan MetaCrawler SavvySearch WebCrawler Yahoo GovBot

U.S. Government Homepages   Air Force Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Army Central Intelligence Agency Defense Department Defense Special Weapons Agency Energy Department General Accounting Office Joint Chiefs of Staff  Livermore National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory Navy Strategic Command State Department Sandia National Laboratories THOMAS - Legislative Information White House For more government sites

Newspapers The New York Times -    The user ID and password    are: MHS1999 The Associated Press USA Today

The Process lTop|

1. Teacher will assign students into groups of three or four.
2. Teacher will explain assignment to be completed by groups.
3. Students will be told that in order to complete this project, a paper must be handed in to their science teacher and a debate/presentation will be done in their social studies' class.
4. Students will be given links in order to complete work thoroughly.
5. Each group may use charts, graphs, maps, slides or any other visual aides that may assist in their projects.
6. Students will be given class time to complete some of their work.

Evaluation lTop|

Click here to see attached rubric

Conclusion lTop|

Upon successful completion of this project, students will have gained a better understanding of the importance of Public Policies and see that they too play an active part in the creation of public policies.  The will also have an appreciation of how policy makers analyze and address various issues that are important to their constituents.