“The Color of Water”

 

A WEB QUEST DEALING WITH MAJOR SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN

 NEW YORK –POVERTY and RACISM

 

Presented by:  Mitchell Klein

 

Evander Childs High School in conjunction with the Department of English


THIS IS THE RED HOOK SECTION OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, WHERE JAMES MCBRIDE SPENT HIS CHILDHOOD, AND RUTH MCBRIDE AND HER HUSBAND FORMED THEIR CHURCH.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

In “The Color of Water”, James McBride describes the many difficulties and triumphs of his mother Ruth. The book is set against the backgrounds of Virginia, New York City, Wilmington, and Philadelphia from the 1920’s to the 1990’s.  Poverty is a condition present throughout the story but Ruth (the heroine) was able to guide her children through school and on to higher education. Poverty has been a serious problem in New York City for generations as immigrants crowded into the city of hopes and dreams. This literary work that you will study transforms the conditions of New York onto a struggling family through much of the twentieth century. Poverty causes struggling, hunger, crime and death. Can one overcome these formidable obstacles is the question that James McBride addresses in the “Color of Water”.

 

Now that you have read this incisive work, you can identify and evaluate the social problem of poverty as the author portrays it. Your evaluations, using the PPA, may be used to alleviate some of the problems of poverty in the future. You will be assigned to make a report to the MAYOR’S COMMISSION ON POVERTY.  This will be your assignment. In this web quest you have an opportunity to discover the causes for major social problems and evaluate the public policies that have been enacted to address them.

 

You will be asked as a public policy analyst, to create new and innovative policies that can improve the existing conditions in New York City and better the lives of millions. This is a daunting task. Don’t take it lightly. The life you save may be your own.

 

 

 

 

TASK   

 

     Your class will be broken up into groups of four students each.   Each group will present an oral report of five minutes.  For visuals, we would like to see web pages from the Internet.  You will also present your report in a short Power Point presentation of a minimum of 6 slides.  This report will be used by the Mayor’s commission to solve future problems of bigotry and racism. For your report and power point you will use the TIPS PPA and follow the methodology www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips.html

Your power point and presentation should then be put into essay form following the TIPS methodology. Your essay should be a minimum of 3 type-written pages. Please study the RUBRICS for the oral and written reports so you can get a good idea of what is expected

  

   James McBride described many examples of anti-Black and anti-Jewish bigotry in his book.  You should include highlights regarding the wonderful contributions made by African-Americans and Jews America’s cultural melting pot.  The guidelines for this project are the same as above. You should include dance, drama, and poetry readings in your presentation. You all must include recommendations to the Mayor’s Committee on Racism and Bigotry in your task.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROCESS

 

You will make use of the PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST at the TIPS website. Go to http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips.html  and complete the Public Policy worksheets on the sites hyperlinked below.  The worksheets will guide you through the following steps: You will use the information on the worksheets in the power point presentation and in your essay.

 

1.    Defining the Problem

2.    Gathering Evidence

3.    Identifying the Causes

4.    Evaluating Existing Public Policies

5.    Developing Public Policy Solutions

 

 

 

 These steps will help you clarify your thoughts as you think about solutions to the problems of poverty and bigotry. Use the PPA worksheets to construct your report, oral presentation and power point.  You will clearly define the social problem in the book, gather evidence for the problem as the author sees it, identify the causes for the problem (this can be done by using previous knowledge of the era and use of history texts and the resources hyperlinked below}, evaluate the public policy as you find it in the book and develop some solutions that the author of the “Color of Water” would accept.  You will also be asked to make recommendations to the Mayor’s committee for solving the problem. You can add suggestions made in the task. This is step # 5 in the PPA format.

 

As a conclusion for your presentation and essay, you should compare your life with the McBride family?

 

 

HERE ARE OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR COMPLETING YOUR TASK AND MAKING YOUR POWER POINT INTERESTING:

1.      Demonstrate positive elements of ethnicity and culture.

2.      Trace the path of an immigrant group.

3.      Draw your family tree.

 

 

 

RESOURCES

 

You will use any websites and print materials, as long as you are able to document and credit your sources.  You are welcome to use the following websites, but are not restricted to them:

 

Suggested Websites

 

Here are some websites which may give you some information:

1.     http://www.dot.state.ny.us/reg/r11gowanus/projectarea.html

2.     http://www.nyu.edu/classes/crisis/red_hook.html

3.     http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/nycha/html/factsheet.html

4.     http://www.kfny.org

5.     http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/nycha/home.html

 

GENERAL SEARCH ENGINES THAT CAN BE USED

 

1: WWW.GOOGLE.COM

2: WWW.ALTAVISTA.COM

3: WWW.ASKJEEVES.COM

 

 

 

EVALUATION:              

 

 

 Your written work will be graded in the following manner:

Grade

65%-69%

70%-79%

80-95%

100%

 

                            

Too few links related to the  proposed policy

Adequate links but few are supporting the proposed policy

Many links that supported the proposed policy

Excellent use links which supported the proposed policy

 

 

 

 

Presentation Rubric – Evaluating Student Presentations

 

 

1

2

3

4

Total

 

Organization

 

Audience cannot understand presentation because there is no sequence of information.

 

Audience has difficulty following presentation because student jumps around..

 

 

Student presents information in logical sequence which audience can follow.

 

Student presents information in logical, interesting sequence which audience can follow.

 

 

 

Subject Knowledge

 

Student does not have grasp of information; student cannot answer questions about subject.

 

Student is uncomfortable with information and is able to answer only rudimentary questions.

 

Student is at ease, with expected answers to all questions, but fails to elaborate.

 

Student demonstrates full knowledge (more than required) by answering all questions with explanations and elaboration.

 

 

 

Graphics

 

Student uses superfluous graphics or no graphics.

 

Student occasionally uses graphics that rarely support text and presentation.

 

 

Student’s graphics relate to text and presentation.

 

Student’s graphics explain and reinforce screen text and presentation.

 

 

Mechanics

 

Students presentation has four or more spelling errors and/or grammatical errors.

 

 

Presentation has three misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

 

Presentation has no more than two misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

 

Presentation has no misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

 

 

Eye Contact

 

Student reads all of report with no eye contact.

 

Student occasionally uses eye contact, but still reads most of report.

 

 

Student maintains eye contact most of the time but frequently returns to notes.

 

Student maintains eye contact with audience, seldom returning to notes.

 

 

Elocution

 

Student mumbles, incorrectly pronounces terms, and speaks too quietly for student in the back of class to hear.

 

 

Students voice is low. Student incorrectly pronounces terms. Audience members have difficulty hearing presentation.

 

Student’s voice is clear. Student pronounces most words correctly. Most audience members can hear presentation.

 

Student uses a clear voice and correct precise pronunciation of terms so that all audience can hear presentation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Points

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

   The McBride family provided an inspiring example of success despite the poverty and bigotry, which surrounded them.  But we still need the power of our laws and public policies to lessen and even end these problems. Just as much, we need the power of our own hearts and minds to end them.  You should now understand the author’s views on the social problems that existed in the 20th century. You should further understand their causes and possible solutions as racism adversely affects every citizen of the planet. As a public policy analyst and critical thinker, you have the power to change. Keep that in mind as you advance through society. We hope that your web quest has demonstrated some of that power.

 

STANDARDS :  This webquest incorporated the following New York State standards:

 

NEW YORK STATE LEARNING STANDARDS

 

 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

 

1: Standard # 3—Language for critical analysis and evaluation

 

2: Standard # 4—Language for social interaction

 

SOCIAL STUDIES

 

1: Standard # 1--History of the United States and New York

 

2: Standard # 5—Civics, Citizenship and Government

 

THE ARTS

 

1: Standard # 4—Understanding the cultural contribution of the arts