Julie Blakely

DeWitt Clinton High School

Environmental Science-11th & 12th Grade

Introduction

After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School, you all worked hard, became very successful, and some of you have just built your dream home in Colorado. It has taken you 15 years to save money and design the house exactly the way you want. Some of your amenities include a built in swimming pool and stereo surround sound in your entire house; and after taking Ms. Blakely’s environmental science class, your home is environmentally friendly J naturally. You have just come home from a long day at work and turned on the news. What’s this? Fire warnings have been issued for your county. You have worked so hard to build your dream home/life. What do you do? Luckily, your other classmates have gone on to become scientists, researchers, and technicians so you can elicit their help with your dilemma. The wildfires out west this past summer have devastated the lives of many people, animals, and plants. The federal government wants to “thin” the remaining unburned forests, which means to remove some of the trees to prevent the quick spread of fire. We have been working so hard to prevent forest fires, (remember the Smokey The Bear ads?) that we have now made them more powerful. The underbrush and forest floor have so much “fuel” that fires burn hotter and longer; thus, causing more damage.

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*http://www.smokeybear.com/

The Orphan Bear: “Smokey”

Did you know the cartoon Smokey Bear is based upon a baby black bear that was found alone and burned after a devastating wildfire burned through New Mexico?

One spring day in 1950 in the Capitan Mountains, an operator in one of the fire towers spotted the fire. A report surfaced of a lonely bear cub wandering near the fire line. The men left him alone because they thought the mother bear might come for him.

The little cub had been caught in the path of the fire and had not fared well. He had taken refuge in a tree that was charred. His climb saved his life but left his paws and hind legs badly burned. The cub was flown in a small plane to Santa Fe where the burns were treated and bandaged.

This little bear was sent to Washington, DC, where he found a home at the National Zoo, becoming the living symbol of Smokey Bear.

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Task

Your task is to develop a proposal using the six-step plan called Public Policy Analyst (PPA). This proposal will assist your

Senators in contributing a sensible plan to manage our nation’s forests. Your committee will develop a proposal and present

it to the Senators and their advisors (me, another teacher, and your classmates) in a 7-10 minute presentation consisting of 10

Power Point slides that will be due on a date given to you. Because technology usually has glitches, you will also hand in your

10 Power Point slides on paper the day you present. On our last day of this WebQuest, you will write an essay comparing the

other proposals presented by your classmates and explain which proposal, or combination of proposals, you would chose. You

will be able to use your notes, so take thorough notes and ask questions if you did not understand something.

Process

Each group will have 1 coordinator (the home owner). Since you have a lot of extra cash lying around, you are going to hire 2 technicians and 2 researchers to represent your views. The technicians will develop the Power Point presentation and the researchers find information on the Internet to support your point of view. If you are not sure what you think about this situation, I have listed organizations below with distinct points of view. You may want to look at their websites to develop your plan. Additionally, you already know a lot of information about fire management. Refer to your notes we have taken about succession and nutrient/energy cycles. You may want to incorporate this information in your proposal.

1. Environmental Protection Agency
2. Sierra Club (liberal, pro-environment organization)
3. Local Colorado logging company
4. USDA Forest Service

Day One – As a group, you will determine who will assume each of the 5 roles. As a group, you need to complete Worksheet 1: Defining the Problem.

Day Two- I have provided several website links below in the “Resources section” that will help you start your project. Each person needs to browse the websites and then you need to complete Worksheet 2: Gathering Evidence of the Problem and Worksheet 3: Identifying the Causes of the Problem as a group.

Day Three- Today will be used to complete individual tasks.

Coordinator – Organize the group (perhaps make a calendar) so your proposal is presentable on the due date.

Technology – Start working on the Power Point presentation. Prepare the template/layouts of each slide.

Researcher – Continue to look up information, both scientific and non-scientific, to support your groups point of view.

Day Four – You need to have a committee meeting as to what each person has completed and what they have left to complete. Also, complete Worksheet 4: Evaluating Existing Public Policies AS A GROUP. This worksheet will help your group brainstorm ideas that can be molded into your final public policy.

Day Five – Complete the following two worksheets. They will help your group focus on the intention of your proposal so your presentation is logical and clear.

Worksheet 5: Developing Public Policy Solutions

Worksheet 6: Selecting the Best Public Policy Solution.

Day Six – Today’s task is to finish your Power Point presentation on the computer. Make sure you refer to the rubric to ensure that you obtain the grade you want J.

Day Seven – Practice the oral component of your Power Point presentation. This will allow you to detect any problems you may be able to change last minute before you start presentations tomorrow.

Day Eight – Groups #1, #2, & #3 present

Day Nine – Groups #4, #5, & #6 present

Day Ten – Discussion of the various proposals (15 min) followed with time (30 min) to write your final essay comparing the presentations.

Resources

Forest Fire Prevention

http://www.smokeybear.com/

News Clips about President Bush’s proposed plan

http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/08/24/bush.radio/index.html

http://www.sltrib.com/08262002/nation_w/765275.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/Bush020822.html

Bush’s Press Release of the Management Plan

http://www.doi.gov/news/020822b.htm

United States Fire Management Plan

http://www.fireplan.gov

http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/fire_new/index.html

Against-Bush’s Plan

http://www.wilderness.org/standbylands/15most/routt.htm

http://www.sierraclub.org/logging/report01/

http://www.taxpayer.net/forest/ (Tax payer’s point of view for subsidizing logging companies)

Colorado State Forest Service Facts on 2002 Fire

http://www.colostate.edu/depts/CSFS/fireinfo.html

General Search Engines

https://www.google.com

http://www.yahoo.com

Evaluation

Power Point Presentation Rubric

	3	2	1	0
Power Point Presentation Content	Each group member presents and there are 2 slides/person	Each group member presents and there are 1.8 slides/person	Each group member presents and there are 1.6 slides/person	All members do not present and/or there are less than 1.4 slides/person
Subject Knowledge	Group demonstrates full knowledge of subject matter and beyond	Group demonstrates knowledge of subject matter	Groups demonstrates a little knowledge of subject matter	Group does not know subject matter
Organization	Presentation is logical and clear	Presentation is logical and somewhat vague	Presentation is a illogical which makes the project vague	Student presentation is illogical and distorted
Professionalism	Wow! I’d hire anyone in your group.	Your group needs a little more experience/practice.	Your group did not take this seriously.	I hope you are not looking for a job anytime soon.
Relevancy	All slides are relevant to the proposal	Most slides are relevant to the proposal	Few slides are relevant to the proposal	What was your presentation about?
Creativity	Presentation fully captivates audience interest.	Presentation somewhat captivates audience interest	Presentation minimally captivates audience	Thank you, I got my nap for the day.
Neatness	A little time and effort goes a long way! Good job!	Font and graphics make presentation a little difficult to understand	Font and graphics distracted from presentation	Presentation was difficult to understan^d due to it’s sloppiness
Grammar	Wonderful! 0 errors	1-2 errors	3-4 errors	Errors more or 7
Spelling	Great Job! 0 errors	1-2 errors	3-4 errors	7 or mor air-roors

Power Point Presentation Grade Scale

27-24 =A

23-22 = B

21-19 = C

18-15 = D

14 and below = F

! Written Essay

A = You paid attention and incorporated many details from various presentations. Your paper is logical and clear and contains 1 or fewer grammar/spelling error.

B = You paid attention but incorporated few details from other presentations. Your paper is a little disorganized and contains 2-4 grammar/spelling errors.

C= Maybe you missed a day? You only used one detail from another group’s presentation. The paper is disorganized and contains 5 grammar/spelling errors.

D= Did you fall asleep? Your paper has no details incorporated from other group’s presentations; the paper is disorganized and contains 6 or more grammar/spelling errors.

F= Either you were late, slept during the presentations, or missed several days of this exercise. The paper does not relate to the presentations and contains no thoughtful organization.

Conclusion

Forest fires can be devastating and have long lasting effects. We have discussed succession and energy cycles in class, which should be incorporated into fire management decisions. Scientists frequently use “prescribed burns” to destroy invasive species and allow succession to replenish the natural species. Our nations forests have been protected from fire for so many years that they have now become a major concern. We have several forest management policies as you have discovered. It is up to you and your fellow citizens to voice your opinion as to what policy the Bush administration should adopt. We live in a democracy and it is your responsibility to participate in your government, because it is a “Government of the people, by the people and for the people.” Abraham Lincoln

Standards

New York State Academy for Teaching and Learning

Mathematics, Science, and Technology

· Standard 2: Information Systems

o Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

· Standard 4: Science

o Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.

· Standard 6: Interconnectedness: Common Themes

o Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.

· Standard 7: Interdisciplinary Problem Solving

o Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.

Social Studies

· Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

o Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding … the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

English

· Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

o Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

· Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

o Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

· Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

• Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

*This WebQuest was prepared in association with the TIPS 2002 program, Bronx, NY.