TEACHER,

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS HIGH SCHOOL

SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

WATER POLLUTION: WASTE WATER TREATMENT

Recently you, Iam Lessfair and a friend L. Aquacabeza, while browsing through the New York Times, came upon a newspaper article entitled “Vote for Sewage Study Breaks Logjam”. Did logjam mean that logs were jammed? Or, was the article really about a stalemate. No mention was made of a mate being stale. Well, you all thought, enough about definitions. What did the article really say? To your amazement, you learned that

¹“After years of wrangling, county legislators last week broke through the logjam that had blocked efforts to keep untreated human waste out of reservoirs supplying drinking water to nearly one million New York City and Westchester residents. [Italics added]

This was indeed shocking news. Yet there was still more bad news to come. In the same news article, it was mentioned that:

²” Aging wastewater treatment plants and septic fields in Yorktown and New Castle spew nearly two million gallons of treated and sometimes untreated human waste into the watershed daily. Still more dirty water leaches in from compromised septic fields and cesspools in Bedford Hills and Katonah”. [Italics added]

The fact that the drinking water in your area could be contaminated aroused your concern. In fact you had learned in your science class that untreated sewage might contain toxic chemicals and metals as well as disease-causing pathogens (³ “parasites, bacteria, and viruses that cause disease in living things”.) It was then that you realized that you needed to find out more about what was involved in ensuring that the drinking water in the Bronx was safe to drink. You realized that this might be a great project for your classmates to study. Your science teacher agreed. This was how the project to study how drinking water in the Bronx was affected by water pollution and waste water treatment was launched.

As science students, you and your classmates are very much interested in finding out whether there is really a problem with drinking water quality that might have been caused by human activities such as water pollution and waste water treatment. Therefore, utilizing the internet and the world-wide-web, your research should produce a PowerPoint presentation (7 slides minimum), or, a written report (3-5 pages) that uses the TIPS Science Public Policy Analyst steps noted below under Process. Your goal will be to evaluate existing public policies relative to clean water and, upon analysis, suggest new policies to address the problem of providing safe drinking water. A good starting point would be following site:

http://www.nylcv.org/Programs/guides/NYC%20%20Guide.pdf

You (Iam Lessfair, L. Aquacabeza) and the rest of your classmates—individually or in groups—will use the Science PPA steps indicated below to complete your project. You must review and complete the worksheet(s) applicable to each step in the process. This will help you to develop and complete your investigation. The Science PPA steps are as follows:

1. Define the problem.

2. Gather evidence.

3. Identify causes

4. Evaluate a policy

5. Develop a solution

6. Select best solution

The site noted below will assist you to complete your research project

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppae/ppae5a.html

Listed below are website links that will be of assistance to you in completing this project.

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppae/ppae5a.html

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/pathogen.htm

http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/year00/jan10_6_00.htm

http://www.westchestergov.com/health/water%20quality.htm

http://home.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/celebrate.html

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wuww.htm

Your PowerPoint presentation or, written report will be evaluated in accordance with the rubrics below:

Christopher Columbus High School Persuasive writing

Name: ________________________

Teacher: Mr. DeVeaux

Criteria

Pts.

	4	3	2	1
Position Statement	Position is clearly stated and consistently maintained. Clear references to the issue(s) are stated.	Position is clearly stated and consistently maintained. References to the issue(s) at hand are missing.	Position is stated, but is not maintained consistently throughout work.	Statement of position cannot be determined.	____
Supporting Information	Evidence clearly supports the position; evidence is sufficient.	Evidence clearly supports the position; but there is not enough evidence.	Argument is supported by limited evidence.	Evidence is unrelated to argument.	____
Organization	Structure of work is clearly developed.	Structure developed reasonably well, but lacks clarity.	Some attempt to structure the argument has been made, but the structure is poorly developed.	There is a total lack of structure.	____
Tone Of Paper	Tone is consistent and enhances persuasiveness.	Tone enhances persuasiveness, but there are inconsistencies.	Tones does not contribute to persuasiveness.	Tone is inappropriate to purpose.	____
Sentence Structure	Sentence structure is correct.	Sentence structure is generally correct. Some awkward sentences do appear.	Work contains structural weaknesses and grammatical errors.	Work pays little attention to proper sentence structure.
Punctuation & Capitalization	Punctuation and capitalization are correct.	There is one error in punctuation and/or capitalization.	There are two or three errors in punctuation and/or capitalization.	There are four or more errors in punctuation and/or capitalization.
				Total---->	____

Teacher Comments:

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Christopher Columbus High School

PowerPoint Presentation Rubric

Name: ________________________

Teacher: Mr. DeVeaux

Date of Presentation: ____________

Title of Work: ___________________

Criteria

Points

	1	2	3	4
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.	____
Content 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 content, but fails to elaborate.	Student demonstrates full knowledge (more than required)with explanations and elaboration.	____
Visuals	Student used no visuals.	Student occasional used visuals that rarely support text and presentation.	Visuals related to text and presentation.	Student used visuals to reinforce screen text and presentation.	____
Mechanics	Student's presentation had four or more spelling errors and/or grammatical errors.	Presentation had three misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	Presentation has no more than two misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors.	____
Delivery	Student mumbles, incorrectly pronounces terms, and speaks too quietly for students in the back of class to hear.	Student incorrectly pronounces terms. Audience members have difficulty hearing presentation.	Student's voice is clear. Student pronounces most words correctly.	Student used a clear voice and correct, precise pronunciation of terms.	____
				Total---->	____

Teacher Comments:

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The applicable New York State standards are indicated below.

STANDARD 1

Scientific Inquiry

Science	Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.  Key Idea: The central purpose of scientific inquiry is to develop explanations of natural phenomena in a continuing, creative process.

ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT

Performance Indicators--Students:
• learn to ask "why" questions to seek greater understanding concerning objects and events they have observed and heard about

STANDARD 4

go to Reading & Writing

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.	Students will use oral and written language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views. Key Idea: Listening & Speaking Oral communication in formal and informal settings requires the ability to talk with people of different ages, genders, and cultures, to adapt presentations to different audiences, and to reflect on how talk varies in different situations. Performance Indicators--Students:
ELEMENTARY		INTERMEDIATE	COMMENCEMENT
• listen attentively and recognize when it is appropriate for them to speak		• listen attentively to others and build on others’ ideas in conversations with peers and adults	• engage in conversations and discussions on academic, technical, and community subjects, anticipating listeners’ needs and skillfully addressing them
• take turns speaking and respond to others’ ideas in conversations on familiar topics		• express ideas and concerns clearly and respectfully in conversations and group discussions	• express their thoughts and views clearly with attention to the perspectives and voiced concerns of the others in the conversation
• recognize the kind of interaction appropriate for different circumstances, such as story hour, group discussions, and one-on-one conversations		• learn some words and expressions in another language to communicate with a peer or adult who speaks that language	• use appropriately the language conventions for a wide variety of social situations, such as informal conversations, first meetings with peers or adults, and more formal situations such as job interviews or customer service
		• use verbal and nonverbal skills to improve communication with others

You now see that providing clean drinking water is not a simple process. In fact, providing clean water to the residents of major areas is quite a complex undertaking, as it hoped that this research effort revealed. Moreover, doing this kind of research should encourage you to look beyond the surface.

1. Alice Kenny, “Vote for Sewage Study Breaks Logjam,” New York Times, Nov. 16, 2003

2. ibid

3. Dubay, Denis, et al., Environmental Science, Third Edition (New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.,1999,p.341