MRS. LINDA POLACK

JOHN F. KENNEDY H.S.

INTRODUCTION:

You are employed by the Department of Health serving the entire New York City. The media has been reporting that two Asians residing in Bayside, Queens have contracted the West Nile Virus. Both of these individuals have recently been treated for food poisoning caused by eating raw and contaminated sushi. During their medical treatment, their physicians discovered that they are also carrying the West Nile Virus. Based on this case, the news media has spread the false impression that consumption of raw fish might increase your chances of contracting the West Nile Virus. The Department of Health wants to avoid a possible panic situation in New York City, and so you have been assigned to investigate the problem. Your job is to educate the public on the West Nile Virus. You will address questions such as (1) How is it contracted? (2) How were previous cases infected (3) What would be the most likely cause of infection in the ‘Bayside, Queens’ case? (4) What are the suggested methods of prevention? (5) How long is the incubation period?

TASK:

Working in groups of three, you will design a website on a large poster board and present your findings to the class in a 3-5-minute oral presentation. Your written and oral presentation will address the problems of the West Nile Virus. Using the six-step Public Policy Analyst Approach, you will create a typed, double spaced, and a 200- 400 worded report which will go on the website.

PROCESS:

I. You will use the steps of the PPA outlined below:

1) Define the problem – Worksheet #1: Which communities are affected? What are the undesirable social conditions that result from this problem?

2) Gather the evidence : Worksheet #2: Select one site to show that the problem does exist.

3) Identifying the causes: Worksheet #3: Support the factors that contribute to the problem that you have identified.

4) Analyzing existing public policy solutions: Worksheet #4 : What are the advantages and disadvantages of the existing policies?

5) Proposing an original public policy solution : Worksheet #5: Propose a new public policy alternative.

(Suggestion: You might include a notice to the public informing them that all new cases will be posted on the website, identifying the date, severity, and cause of infection.)

6) Selecting the best public policy solution : Worksheet #6: Can your policy be easily enacted by the government agency? Will your policy produce results that will lessen the social problem?

RESOURCES:

General Search Engines:

https://www.google.com/

http://www.yahoo.com/

http://www.askjeeves.com/

http://www.altavista.com/

Specific Web Sites:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/wnv/wnvhome.html -

Worksheet#1,#2,#3,#4

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/q&a.htm

Worksheet#1,#2,#3

http://www.nsc.org/ehc/ew/disaster/westnile.htm

Worksheet#4

http://www.nationalatlas.gov/virusmap.html

Excellent for displays and illustrations

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/citizens/mosquitocontrolhtm

Worksheet#3

EVALUATION:

Criteria

Points

	UNSATISFACTORY Less than 65	MINIMAL SATISFACTORY 65-79	SATISFACTORY 80-90	EXCELLENT 90-100
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---->	____

STANDARDS:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS:

E1C Read and comprehend informational materials.

E2C: Read and comprehend informational materials.

E3B: Participate in group meetings.

HEALTH PERFORMANCE:

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

S5: Scientific thinking

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

S6d: Acquires information from multiple sources.

CONCLUSION:

From this webquest, you should have learnt many issues concerning the West Nile Virus. You will be able to analyze news articles and judge their accuracy. You will also know how to explore topics using the internet as your main source of information. In addition, you might create new policies that contribute to the health and well being of the general public.