The Color of Water

By James McBride

 

Rachel Kosberg

11th Grade English

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

Do you think that you should have the right to attend any high school of your choice?

Do you think that you should have the right to go to college even if you can’t afford it?

 

As a class we are in the process of reading James McBride’s touching memoir The Color of Water.  James McBride attended the all white “better” schools in Manhattan, instead of his zone schools in the Red Hook Housing Project of Brooklyn.  I know that your wondering how he pulled that off; well, you are going to get a chance to find out about all kinds of rights that you have that you probably aren’t even aware of! 

 

There are many public policies existing in the ever-looming world of education.  There are policies surrounding public education as well as higher education.  In your cooperative learning groups you will be researching what public policies were in place when James McBride was going to school.  You will also be given the opportunity to discover what public policies are in place right now that may help you get through high school, and perhaps college!

 

TASK:

 

As a cooperative learning group, you will need to develop a PowerPoint Presentation outlining the following steps:

 

 

1.    Define the problem

 

2.    Gather evidence

 

3.    Identify causes                                                                  

 

4.    Evaluate a policy

 

5.    Develop solutions

 

6.    Select the best solution

 

PROCESS:

 

As you separate into your cooperative learning groups I will choose a leader for each group.  It will be up to the assigned leader to define and delegate responsibilities to the other members of the group. 

 

·        You will need to have some organized group discussion to come up with your point of view on educational rights.  What exactly is the problem?

 

·        Next, using The Color of Water as a guide, you must come up with at least five examples of educational inequity in NYC.  Think about the problems that the McBride’s faced in the novel; are their similar problems with students in your school/community?

 

·        Now that you have identified what the specific issues/problems are, you need to identify what the sources of these issues are.  What is at the root of the problem?  How did the issue become exposed in the first place?

-         You may need to refer to your website resource guide.

 

·        At this point you MUST refer to your website resource guide.  You need to research different policies that have been implemented to counteract educational inequity.

 

·        After researching different policies, choose the one that bests supports your main ideas, and evaluate the policy at a critical level.

 

·        Since we have come to the conclusion that educational inequity still exists in our society today, the policy that you are researching is not 100% effective.  It is now time for your cooperative learning group to brainstorm, and come up with at least five solutions to end inequality in education.  These solutions must have the potential to be more effective than the policies that you have found through your research.

 

·        Now, choose the one solution that you feel will be the most successful out of the five.  Why do you feel that this is the best solution?  What do you predict will happen once this solution or policy is applied to the problem?  How will this process of educational equity improve our community and our lives?

 

 After you have completed all of the above steps, it is time for the FUN to begin!  Now you can compile all of the information you have found in a POWERPOINT PRESENTATION!!  If you have questions about the set up of a PowerPoint Presentation see the following web sight: http://www.actden.com/pp/html

 

 

WEB-SITE RESEARCH GUIDE:

 

http://ideas.repec.org/p/fth/euroec/99-14.html

http://www.highereducation.org/

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/40/173.html

http://www.smalltownbrooklyn.com/townhall/resources/resources.html

http://www.nycenet.edu/ocr/text/faith_txt.html

http://www.nyvote.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=2193

http://www.gothamgazette.com/thinktanks/

http://www.edpriorities.org/Contact/contact.html

 

PPA POWER-POINT EVALUATION CHECKLIST:

 

  • Title is clear and informative Yes No

 

  • The background color, text and font are easy to read/look at Yes No

 

  • The topic is related to a Public Policy Analysis Yes No

 

  • There are links to PPA steps Yes No

 

  • The hyperlinks are all relevant, accurate, workable and up to date Yes No

 

  • There was an internal consistency throughout the presentation      Yes No

 

  • Pictures/Graphics/Animation/Sound is appropriate Yes No

 

  • Proper citations and copyright information Yes No

 

  • Content is factually accurate Yes No

 

  • Your presentation consists of a minimum of 7-10 slides Yes No

 

 

After this project is completed you will be graded as a group based on the criteria listed below:

 

 

 

TASK

 

RATING

Research -

Was the research clear, well though out and supported with evidence? 

 

 

 

1             2             3                 4              5

PowerPoint Presentation -

Was the proposal clearly

Outlined, were graphics used to creatively demonstrate the desired outcome?

 

 

 

1             2             3                 4              5

Proposal -

Was your plan stated clearly,

Supported by factual

Information, all sources cited.

 

 

 

 

1             2             3                 4              5

Group Presentation -

Did all group members participate in the presentation?  Was information clear and understandable?  Did students demonstrate clear knowledge of the issue?

 

 

1             2             3                 4              5

 


FINAL GRADE:

 

A       17 - 20 points

 

B       13 -16 points

 

C       9- 12 points

 

D       5 - 8 points

 

F       4 and under

 

 

STANDARDS ADDRESSED IN WEB QUEST:

 

ENGLISH:

 

ES #1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

 

ES # 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.

 

ES # 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

 

ES #4: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

 

SOCIAL STUDIES:

 

SS # 1: History of the United States and New York

 

SS# 3: Geography Understanding

 

SS # 4: Economics

 

SS # 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

 

 

CONCLUSION:

 

Students worked in cooperative learning groups to establish opinion based arguments, research existing policies, and create new policies using their compiled research.  As a result of this project, the students gained a better understanding of the struggles that the McBride family went through to gain a respectable education in the NYC public school system.