VioLENCE IN SCHOOLS

gang membership

 

Prepared by Linda Fracentese

Harry S Truman High School

A WebQuest designed for a

Computer Applications Class

 

 

INTRODUCTION

M

embership in antisocial youth gangs has grown rapidly in the United States, with current estimates suggesting that more than 650,000 youths are members of gangs.  These numbers are important because membership in youth gangs represents a significant public problem in the United States.   Gang-related activities are now happening in our school, victimizing students and causing problems by disrupting our education.  You have been asked to develop school policies that will help prevent students from joining a gang. What can you do to stop gang membership that has increased the violent activity at Truman H.S.?

 

TASK

Your assignment will be to research the topic of gang membership using the Internet. You will find causes and effects, discuss and evaluate the current policies in our school, and suggest at least three solutions to decrease gang activity.  In this way you can effectively influence school policy at Truman High.   You will be exploring the Internet to retrieve information that will make your report accurate and reliable and your solutions viable.

 

PROCESS

Your report must be three to five pages written in your own words.  You may not simply download an article and submit as your own.  The report must be in double spacing in correct manuscript format.

 

Your report must contain a cover sheet with the following information.

!      Title of paper

!      Your name

!      Your class code (BNA2-01)

!      Teacher's name

!      The due date (December 19, 2001)

 

Your may be creative with your cover.  You can insert an appropriate graphic or clip art that you downloaded from the Internet. You may also include any picture or graphic that is appropriate for your paper.

 

You must research the topic by using the search engines listed below as well as the specific suggested web sites.

 

From these web pages you are expected to collect facts, figures, and statistics.  All this information must be cited and appear as endnotes.  These citations must be listed on the final page of your report.  All facts must be documented.

 

Once you have thoroughly researched the topic and accumulated all the information you need, you will write your paper.

 

Using the Public Policy Analyst Method, you are to suggest three possible policies that can be implemented at Truman to effectively deal with gang activity.

 

Use the 6-step public policy analysis work sheets before writing your report www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS.html

 

Summary:

1.    Define and describe the problem

2.    Gather evidence for this problem

3. Identify causes for this problem

4. Describe and evaluate the existing policy for this problem.

5. Develop solutions/policies for the problems for this existing policy

6. Select the best policy for this problem

 

 

RESOURCES

Search engines

 

https://www.google.com

http://www.yahoo.com

http://www.altavista.com

http://www.ask.com

 

Specific Web sites

 

http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/tpss99/mywebquest/index.htm

 

http://www.fightcrime.org/press/miJulyRelease.html

 

http://www.waveamerica.com/schools/sdiscussionguide.htm

 

http://www.gangwar.com/textonly/news12.htm

 

http://ncjrs.org/jjgangs.htm

 

http://www.gangwar.com/textonly/news11.htm

 

http://www.nagia.org/Crips_and_Bloods.htm  (This site contains statistics)

 

http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/digests/dig115.html

 

http://www.gate.net/~rwms/UniformRay.html

 

Evaluation

 

65%

70-79%

80-95%

100%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Sites

Research

-too few links relevant to the proposed policy

-enough links but few support the proposed policy

-many links that support the proposed policy

-excellent use of a variety of links in which all support the proposed policy

Written Report

 

-incomplete but follows the 6 step PPA format

-does not use the conventions of standard written         English

-complete with too few analyses of the PPA format for this topic

-exhibits a weak usage of the conventions of standard written English

-complete with sufficient analyses of the PPA format for this topic

-exhibits an acceptable usage of    the conventions of standard written English

-complete with a superior understanding of the PPA format for this topic

-exhibits a strong use of the conventions of standard written English

 

This web quest focuses on the following English Language Arts Performance Standards:

 

E1c: Read and comprehend informational materials.

E2a: Produce a report of information.

E2e: Produce a persuasive essay.

E3a: Participate in one-to-one conference with the teacher.

E3d: Make informed judgments about TV, radio, film.

E4b: Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

 

This web quest focuses on the following New York State Standards:

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

 

Conclusion

By completing this activity, students will learn how to use the Internet to gather information and do research. They will use critical thinking skills to make decisions on what policies would be most effective.