Barbara L. Feldman

Walton HS

Fall 2002

Blf914@optonline.net

 

 

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR CHILDREN ARE??

 

 

                           

 

www.childcareaware.org/images/accreditation/family.jpg            hometown.aol.com/airbossgwendy/images/myrymer.gif

 

 

Introduction:

 

A child is playing in the park.  A stranger approaches the child and asks, “Have you seen my puppy?”  The stranger has a picture of the puppy in one hand and an empty leash in the other.  The child responds “no” but then moments later the child is seen walking towards the bushes calling for the puppy with the stranger.

It is that easy for a child to become of victim of a child sex offender. 

A problem facing people living in the Bronx today is that members of a community are unaware when a convicted sex offender is living right next door or down the block from them.

 

 

Task:

 

Your task is to act as public advocate gathering data to keep your community informed of this problem. You will be writing a letter to the local police department and community representatives asking them to help keep your neighborhood safe.

 

 

Process:

 

You will be working in groups of three or four students. Everyone will have a specific part including identifying information.  You will be using the 6 step public policy analysis worksheets to assist you in your task.

 

1.       Define and describe the problem within your community.

2.       Gather evidence related to this problem.

3.       Identify the causes.

4.       Describe and evaluate current policies for this problem.

5.       Develop you own solutions/policies for this problem.

6.   Select the best policy for this problem.

 

You and your group will begin writing a first draft that will be corrected, reviewed, and returned to you.  Your group will continue to work on your letter by meeting together, meeting with the teacher, using the Internet sites given to you as well as others you might find and using the library for research as needed.

Everyone in the group should be prepared to participate in presenting an oral report to the class on your findings.

 

 

Resources:

 

Define the problem:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html

 

Gather evidence:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html

 

Identify causes:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html

 

Evaluate a policy:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html

 

Develop solution:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html

 

Select best solution:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html

 

 

General Search Engines:

 

https://www.google.com/

 

http://www.yahoo.com/

 

http://www.altavista.com/

 

http://www.lycos.com/

 

http://www.askjeeves.com/

 

 

Specific Web Sites:

 

http://parole.state.ny.us/specialoperations.html

 

http://www.focusas.com/NewYork.html

 

http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/nsor/index.htm

 

http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/crimnet/data.htm

 

http://www.klaaskids.org/st-nyork.htm

 

 

Evaluation:

 

Your evaluation will be based on three separate parts, the worksheets, the letter, and your oral presentation.  Your grades will be based on the rubric that follows.

 

 

 

55 Points

75 Points

100 Points

Worksheets

Incomplete

Answer all questions and analyze data

Complete with an excellent understanding of PPA

Letter

Incomplete

Not enough detail

Clear and complete in detail

Oral Presentation

Team effort was not visible

Team effort was visible.  Knowledge of roles was apparent.

Clear demonstration of team effort.

Well organized presentation.

 

 

Standards:

 

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

 

E1c    Reads and comprehends information materials.

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

E3b    Participate in group meetings.

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

 

New York State PERFORMANCE STANDARDS SCIENCE

 

S6d   Acquires information from multiple sources.

S6e   Recognizes and limits sources of bias in data

S7e   Communicates in a form suited to the purpose and the audience

 

 

Conclusion:

 

By completing this activity, students will learn how to use the Internet to do research and gather information. They will be able to use critical thinking skills in order to make informed decisions on which policies could be effective.