WEBQUEST
EQUALITY FOR ALL?
INTRODUCTION:
Charlie and Joshua met in high school and fell in
love immediately. They went to the same
college. Charlie studied architecture
and Joshua became a medical student.
They were very active in their community on issues such as safety,
cleaner parks for children, and equal rights and privileges for new
immigrants. After college they moved in
together and soon decided they wanted to get married. However, because they were gay, no church
would marry them even though they both were practicing Catholics. This made them even more dedicated to the
idea that they, as well as gay and lesbians in general, should be allowed to
marry and given the same rights and privileges other Americans enjoy.
Charlie is your brother. You are an attorney and you want to make a
name for yourself in your new law firm.
You decide to make Charlie and Joshua’s quest to get married your
personal mission. You will look at the
arguments on both sides as well as previous cases (precedents) that deal with
equal rights for American citizens. You
will present your arguments to a panel of experts (your classmates) to convince
them either that gay marriage should become a reality in 21st-century
TASK:
You will use CompuLegal
to help you in your research, and after you conclude your research, you will
produce a 3-5-slide PowerPoint presentation and a 3-5-minute oral presentation
on your findings.
PROCESS:
1. Visit
the following websites to help you learn about both sides of the same sex
marriage issue. Summarize each side of
the issue in as much detail as possible.
www.religioustolerance.org/homm_marr.htm
www.cnn.com/2003/law/11/18/siamese
www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-f018.html
2.
Use CompuLegal to
find previous cases (precedents) that deal with equal rights and protection of
American citizens.
a. First,
study United States v. Virginia as a possible precedent for Charlie and
Joshua’s case.
i.
Read the facts of the
case
ii. Look
at a visual of
the case
iii. Read
a summary of
arguments for and arguments against
iv. Summarize
both sides of the case on the Reasoning Page
(use http://www.hrcr.org/safrica/equality/US_Virginia.htm
if you need more information on the case)
v. Finally,
read the Supreme
Court’s decision in the case
b. Next,
choose two additional cases from the following list to strengthen your argument
with precedents.
Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health of Massachusetts
Johnson v.
Santa Clara Transportation Agency
EVALUATION:
Your PowerPoint presentation and your oral
presentation will be graded accorded to the following chart:
RUBRIC |
BELOW STANDARDS |
MEETS STANDARDS |
EXCEEDS STANDARDS |
|
Oral Presentation |
Information not relevant to lesson |
Information relevant to lesson |
Information relevant to lesson with knowledge of
precendents |
|
PowerPoint Presentation |
Incoherent Not Organized Less than 3 slides |
Some understanding of information Organized At least 3 slides |
Insightful Very Organized At least 5 slides |
Standards:
5.1: The study of civics, citizenship, and government involves learning about political systems; the purposes of government and civic life; and the differing assumptions held by people across time and place regarding power, authority, governance, and law.
The state and federal governments established by the Constitution of the United States embody basic civil values (such as justice, honesty, self-discipline, due process, EQUALITY, MAJORITY RULE WITH RESPECT FOR MINORITY RIGHTS, and respect for self, others, and property), principles, and practices.
E1.c:
Read and comprehend informational materials.
E2.a:
Produce a report of information speaking, listening, and viewing.
CONCLUSION:
You have now studied the issue of same sex
marriages and have chosen cases that may be regarded as precedents. You have examined arguments both for and
against the federal government and the state governments recognizing same sex
marriages. You have argued the case for
or against these governments affording the same protection, rights, and
privileges to gays and lesbians that they do to heterosexual married
couples. And in doing
so you have thought critically about one of the most controversial issues of
our time.