WEBQUEST: Harvest of Tears: Life as an immigrant farmworker.

Walton High School - Fall 2003

Ada Ortiz-Manzano: Ada_Millions@hotmail.com

Introduction:

Immigrants are experiencing many hardships in the United States. The people coming from Mexico cross the Rio Grande (or “Rio Bravo” to Mexicans) at great risk; many die on the way. For those lucky enough to reach their destinations, they encounter even further difficulties, including low-paying jobs, lack of health benefits, poor education, and discrimination by Americans.

You are an investigative reporter (like Geraldo Rivera) working for a Spanish-language newspaper in the southwest. Many Mexican immigrants live in your town, and more are coming there by the day. Your boss has given you an assignment that you, a Mexican-American, are very interested in: you will investigate the problems facing these immigrant farmers. You will find out what public policies are in place or proposed to deal with this issue, and you will propose an original solution to the problem.

Task: You will report your findings from the viewpoint of a Public Policy Analyst [PPA].

Six PPA worksheets will help you.

I. Working in-groups of two to four students you will each produce a newspaper article in Spanish and English that investigates one aspect of the challenges faced by these people:

· On their journey to the United States

· The problems encountered in the workplace

· Access to health care and benefits

· Access to education

· Discrimination

II. You will also do an oral component, where as a T.V. reporter you interview the

various parties involved: [This is a role playing format]

a. Government figure, ex. Governor, Senator, President Bush, President Fox {Mexican

President}

b. Mexican–American, or any other American that has an opinion on the subject

[employer, teacher, public health provider, public employee]

c. Interview with an immigrant.

Process:

Here you will use the websites listed below to help you answer the questions on the Public Policy worksheets.

1. Define the problem:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html

2. Gather evidence:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html

3. Identify causes:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html

4. Evaluate a policy:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html

5. Develop solution:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html

6. Select best solution:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html

General Search Engines:

https://www.google.com/

http://www.yahoo.com/

http://www.altavista.com/

http://www.lycos.com/

http://www.askjeeves.com/

Resources:

http://educate.si.edu/resources/lessons/siyc/borders/resources.html

http://www.univision.com/content/channel.jhtml?chid=3&schid=278&secid=0

http://www.univision.com/content/channel

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa237es.html

http://www.abc news.com

http://www.projectusa.org/Ezine/03-01-03-06.html

http://www.PBS.org {global human Trafficking}

Trafficking Victims Protection Act- Year 2000

Players: Example

United States Border Patrol employee: Reynaldo Hernández

…Says he was raised on a horse. Reynaldo's early experience on the ranches of South Texas help him in his current job as a member of the United States Border Patrol, in Nogales, Texas.

…Dice que se crió a caballo. Su experiencia de joven en los ranchos del sur de Texas le ha sido provechosa en su trabajo actual con la Patrulla Fronteriza estadounidense en Nogales, Arizona.

Evaluation:

Your project will be evaluated and based on the following:

· Your Public Policy Analyst Perspective {PPA}-Worksheets

· Newspaper article; In Spanish and in English

· Oral Interview {Role playing format}

Components of PPA Project:	55 Points 75 Points		100 Points
Worksheets	Incomplete	Answers some questions and analyze data	Complete with an excellent understanding of PPA
Newspaper article: Spanish /English	Incomplete	Not enough detail	Clear and complete in detail
Oral Presentation: Oral Interview	Team effort was not visible	Team effort was visible. Knowledge of roles was apparent.	Clear demonstration of team effort. Well-organized presentation.

Rubric for Assessment

Ï	Needs Improvement Excellent
Research & Analysis: Do your responses to the research questions reflect thorough, careful research?	1 2 3 4 5
Analysis Process: Do your 6-Point Public Policy Analysis worksheets reflect a well thought out analysis of the social issue and development of the policy?	1 2 3 4 5
Public Policy: Have you formulated effective feasible public policy in response to the problem?	1 2 3 4 5
Group Work & Class Presentation: Have you conducted yourselves professionally during class time while doing your research and while presenting your findings to the class?	1 2 3 4 5

New York State Standards

Languages Other Than English

Standard 1: Communication Skills

Students will be able to use a language other than English for communication.

Standard 2: Cultural Understanding

Students will develop cross-cultural skills and understandings.

This web quest focuses on the following New York State Standards:

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

Standards:

This web quest also focuses on the following English Language Arts Standards:

E1c Reads and comprehends information materials.

E3a Participate in one-to-one conference with the teacher.

E3b Participate in-group meetings.

E4b Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

Conclusion:

As a result of this webquest, you should be able to: have developed a thorough understanding of the Public Policies that may and do influence and shape the lives of a significant immigrant population that share their lives with the citizenry of the United States, {within our borders;} …and how this affects not only their lives but ours.