WEBQUEST:

ANOREXIA

Sheila Brady

John F. Kennedy High School

INTRODUCTION:

Eating disorders affect many young people. Anorexia and other eating disorders are all symptomatic of deeper unresolved issues. This eating disorder has become more common in the last twenty years. Anorexia can affect anyone at any age; however, this disorder is most prevalent in young teenage girls. Television and the media imply that to be happy and successful one has to be thin and beautiful. This message is communicated to teenagers,

who are influenced by the media. The onset of most eating disorders is before the age of twenty one. If left untreated anorexia can be life-threatening.

TASK:

As the newest idol of American teenagers on T.V., you will to promote a better body image by presenting successful models, television and screen stars that do not conform to the Hollywood standards of beauty. Your task is to produce public service campaign in the form of one speech and one poster board advertisement to get this important message out to the teens of America. The speech will be one page in length, and the poster board advertisement will contain a visual and a slogan for your campaign.

PROCESS:

1. Summarize your research using the TIPS six-step Public Policy Analyst worksheets hyperlinked below:

Worksheet 1: Define the Problem of anorexia

Worksheet 2: Gather evidence that anorexia exists, and how large a problem it really is in the United States

Worksheet 3: Determine the causes of anorexia

Worksheet 4: Evaluate the policies or programs that exist to deal with anorexia

Worksheet 5: Develop your own original policy or program

Worksheet 6: Choose the best policy or program

Use the worksheets in the links above to complete your tasks. Use the Internet resources below to complete

the worksheets.

2. From the research you have gathered, write a one-page speech as part of your public service campaign to help American teenagers deal with anorexia.

3. Create a poster board that contains a slogan as well as a colorful and captivating visual to help sell your public service campaign.

RESOURCES:

Use the following websites to help you in your research:

http://familydoctor.org/063.xml

http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=7409

http://www.4woman.gov/faq/easyread/anorexia-etr.htm

http://www.priory-hospital.co.uk/htm/anorex.htm

EVALUATION:

Your work will be evaluated using the following rubric:

	55 Points	75 Points	100 Points
Worksheets	Incomplete	Not thorough, could be clearer	Thorough, clear
Speech	Minimum amount of data, poor grammar	Supports proposed policy	Creative and interesting presentation, supports policy
Poster Board	No slogan or visual	Unexciting visual, weak slogan, not colorful	Exciting, captivating, visual and slogan

A=250-300 POINTS B=200-249 C=150-199 F=BELOW 150

Standards

This Web Quest meets the following NY State English and Science Standards:

English

E1c: Read and comprehend informational materials.

E2a: Produce a report of information.

Science

S8a: Demonstrates scientific competence by completing secondary research.

S7b: Argues from evidence.

S7e: Communications in a form suited to the purpose and the audience.

S5c: Uses evidence from reliable sources to develop descriptions, explanations,

and models; and makes appropriate adjustments and improvements.

S5f: Works individually and in teams to collect and share information and ideas.

CONCLUSION:

Having completed this Web Quest, you are now an expert on the problem of anorexia in American society. You have an intimate knowledge of how this disorder affects American teenagers, and you have developed a public policy campaign to help combat it. You have helped American teens understand the health problems caused by this disorder and have given them resources and ideas on how to treat this life-threatening problem. Thanks for your participation. You have helped many young women.