SAVING
AUDREA D. COSME
BIONICA@NETZERO.NET
INTRODUCTION:
You are a sixth grade student and
you just spent a grueling day at school. Your thoroughly neurotic English
teacher gave you a ten page research paper on William Shakespeare; his life,
his loves, his legacy. (She really loves this stuff)! You’re thinking that
you’ll spend your entire life in the library across the street from school. So,
you leave school, cross the street, step up to the front doors of the library
and try to open it. It’s locked. You check your watch because you frequent the
library all the time and you know the library stays open until
This is an extreme situation, but it is now a reality.
Already, because of major budget cuts in
TASK:
You will write a persuasive essay telling our mayor the reasons why closing our public libraries will be a terrible mistake. To be able to do that you will use the six-step public policy approach:
1. Define and describe the problems of
closing public libraries in
2. Gather evidence for the problem (statistics, case studies, surveys or articles by experts)
3. Identify the causes for the problem.
4. Describe
and evaluate the existing policy in
5. Develop solutions/policies for the existing policies on the closings of NYC public libraries.
6. Select the best policy
PROCESS:
The class will be divided into six groups.
Group1:
Investigates the
existence of a policy to close NYC public libraries.
Using the website at: www.brooklyn-usa.org/OnlyinBrklyn/onlyinbrklyn311.htm
Group2:
Defines and describes the problem
of public library closings in
situations, educational issues, and political aspects.
Using website: www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html and www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html and complete Worksheet1
Using website: www.secure12.cfxhosting.com/citylimitsorg/content/ articles
Group3:
Gathers evidence of the problem. This will include statistical data, case studies and articles from experts.
Using website: www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html and http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html
and complete worksheet2.
Using website: www.secure12.cfxhosting.com/citylimitsorg/content/articles
Using website: www.cincypost.com/2002/jul/23/ohlibrary072302.html
Using website: www.belleville.com/mld/newsdemocrat/4841291.htm
Using website: www.nycenet.edu/students/default.asp
Using website: www.wsws.org/articles/2002/apr2002/nyc-a29.shtml
Using website: www.wsws.org/articles/2002/feb2002/nyc-f27.shtml
Using website: www.gothamgazette.com/commentary/118.pasanen.shtml
Group4:
Identifies the
causes and existing policies for closing public libraries in
Using website: www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html and www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html and complete worksheet3
Using website: www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html and www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html and complete worksheet4.
Using website: www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ ny-bc-ny--nycbudget-cultura0515
Using website: www.wsws.org/articles/2002/apr2002/nyc-a29.shtml
All Groups:
Develops
solutions and the best policies to combat the closing NYC public libraries.
Using website: www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html and www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html
and complete worksheet5.
Using website: www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html and www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html
and complete worksheet6.
Using website: www.eskimo.com/~jessamyn/librarian
Using website: www.uft.org
Using website: www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/07/20/
Using website: www.ala.org/news
www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/editorials/newsday40902.pdf
Fighting mad New Yorkers work to stop ‘doomsday’ budget
www.indybay.org/news/2003/04/1603582.php
Looking For Help In All The Wrong Places: NYC's Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2004
www.cityproject.org/publications/
reports/LookingHelp.html
EVALUATION:
You will be judged according to the following rubric.
Presentation
Rubric- evaluating student presentation
Excellent |
Satisfactory |
Minimal Satisfactory |
Unsatisfactory |
Organization Student
presentation is logical, clear and fully captivates audience interest. |
Organization Student
presentation is logical, clear and somehow captivates audience interest |
Organization Student
presentation is logical and somehow clear but not captivating. |
Organization
Student presentation is illogical and distorted. |
Subject
Knowledge Student
demonstrates full knowledge of subject matter and beyond |
Subject
Knowledge Student demonstrates knowledge of subject
matter |
Subject
Knowledge Student
demonstrates a little
knowledge of subject matter subject matter |
Subject
Knowledge Student
does not know subject matter |
Accuracy No
grammatical errors |
Accuracy Very
few grammatical errors |
Accuracy Some
grammatical errors |
Accuracy Too
many grammatical errors that distorts meaning of words |
This web quest focuses on the following Performance Standards:
English Language Arts
Performance Standards
E1c: Read and comprehend informational materials.
E2a: Produce a report of information.
E3b: Participate in-group meetings.
E3c: Prepare and deliver an individual presentation
Social Studies Performance
Standards
Standard 2
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the in world history from a variety of perspectives.
Standard 3
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live - local, national, and global - including the distribution of people and places.
Due to the research on