Ms. R. Shustrin
Dodge
Vocational High School
Social Problems have plagued the
You now have an opportunity to create change. In this Webquest, you will be given
the chance to help thousands in
yours, and future generations. You will define
and investigate social problems. You will find causes and possible cures for
these issues that have terrorized your friends, neighbors and your own
immediate family.
You will be a Public Policy
Adviser to the Bronx Borough President. It will be your
job to present the Bronx Borough President with help in creating new laws that
will reduce the suffering of thousands.
You will create a persuasive oral PowerPoint presentation
that he can use to create new legislation.
This is a huge
responsibility and a daunting task. The future of
GOOD LUCK!!!!
|
|
|
You will be
working with a partner. You can choose with whom you would
like to work.
In groups of two, you will create a PowerPoint
Presentation of at least ten slides. You will need a title slide, and then a slide
defining the problem. The next slide will show evidence that the social
problem exists in your geographical area.
The next two slides will identify
the causes of the social problem. You will then need one slide to
identify the present public policy, and one slide that
evaluates the current public
policy. You will
then have slides with suggestions for new policies to do away with
the social problem that you are studying.
Then you will have a slide with the best solution. You will then show your PowerPoint slides to
the class in a five-ten minute
presentation. Your
PowerPoint will represent use of the Public Policy Analyst.
IN GROUPS OF
TWO YOU WILL COMPLETE THE TASK
BY FOLLOWING THE STEPS BELOW.
COMPLETE THE WORKSHEET FOR EACH OF THE
FOLLOWING PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST STEPS.
1. DEFINE THE
PROBLEM
a.
You
and your partner might want to look at a list of social problems that exist in
your school and community. This website
will explain the process used in understanding and defining a social
problem.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/sampleprob.html
b.
You
and your partner will discuss the social problems that exist in your
neighborhood. You will decide which problem
you would like to study. You will also
discuss how this problem affects your life, your neighborhood, and the
c.
COMPLETE
WORKSHEET 1.
On this worksheet you will state the nature of your
social problem, the location, and the reasons that this situation creates
social problems where you live.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet1.doc
2.GATHERING
EVIDENCE OF THE PROBLEM
a.
You
and you partner should read the following to review how to gather evidence.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html
b.
The
goal of this activity is to use the Internet to locate evidence to support the
existence of your problem. You will use
any of the following search engines to help you to gather the information that
you need.
c.
COMPLETE
WORKSHEET 2.
On the worksheet you will state the problem in the space
provided. Then you will provide evidence
that you found on the Internet to support your theory that
this social problem exists in your neighborhood.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet2.doc
3.IDENTIFYING
THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM
a.
Read
the following to help you see how to identify the cause of the problem.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html
b.
As
you have read there are numerous causes and contributing factors of social
problems. You need to identify the
causes of the social problem that you are studying. You will use one of the Internet search
engines to find causes of your problem.
c.
COMPLETE WORKSHEET
On the worksheet you will list factors that contribute to
the cause of your problem.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet3.doc
4.EVALUATING
EXISTING PUBLIC POLICIES
a.
Read
the following to help you understand how to evaluate the advantages and
disadvantages of the current public policy.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html
b.
COMPLETE
WORKSHEET
You will first state the social problem that you are
studying. You will then go on the
Internet to find the current public policy for the problem that you are
studying in your locale. You will then
state the public policy that you found and then you will list the advantages
that you see in this policy, and you will state the disadvantages that you see
in this policy. You will then present
your opinion, based on all that you have learned about this topic, whether the
current policy should be replaced, strengthened, or improved. You will then support your statement.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet4.doc
5.DEVELOPING
PUBLIC POLICY SOLUTIONS
a.
Read
the following to review the factors to take into account when developing a
public policy.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html
b.
COMPLETE
WORKSHEET 5.
You will list three new public policies that you
propose as solutions for your social problem.
You will then select the policy that you think is the best.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet5.doc
6.SELECTING THE BEST PUBLIC POLICY SOLUTION
a.
Read the
following to review the criteria to determine the feasibility and
effectiveness of the solutions that you have created.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html
b.
Look at a
sample feasibility and effectiveness matrix.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsolex.html
c.
COMPLETE
WORKSHEET 6.
You will restate your social problem. Then you will concisely state your three
proposed solutions to this social problem.
You will then fill out the feasibility and effectiveness matrix for each
solution that you suggested. You will then come up with the very best
solution, and explain why this is the best.
Each student will be evaluated and graded on the
following criteria.
Note: All of
the percentages (%) add up to 200%, which means that this WEBQUEST will count
as 2 exams!
|
ASSIGNMENTS TO BE JUDGED… |
IN PROGRESS… KEEP WORKING. |
SATISFACTORY |
IDEAL |
POSSIBLE SCORE |
YOUR SCORE |
|
Team Work, Both on the computer and during
presentation |
Worked collectively with your
partner |
Worked collectively with your
partner, showed maturity and courtesy |
Above and beyond satisfactory,
showed leadership qualities |
30% |
|
|
Worksheets #1-6 |
Answered most questions
adequately |
Answered all questions
adequately |
Answered all questions
adequately, showed advanced understanding |
50% |
|
|
10-Slide Power Point Presentation
on your Topic |
Did not address all of the issues
or make a very convincing argument |
Has all of the required issues
in the Presentation, but the PPT is not very convincing |
Shows how each required issue
is relates to your side, and the PPT is clear and convincing |
100% |
|
|
Presented your PPT |
Showed up unprepared and
presented the PPT poorly because of this |
Showed up well prepared and
presented your side clearly and were articulate |
Above and beyond well prepared,
added a lot to the actual Presentation aside from the computer, great presenter |
20% |
|
Completion of the Webquest should provide you with
the following knowledge and skills:
You
should understand the causes of your social problem.
You
should be able to state the existing public policy.
You
should be able to suggest new public policy for your social problem.
You
should be able to make convincing arguments to support your findings.
English Language Arts
Standard
1:Language for Information and Understanding
Students will
listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners
and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships,
concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written,
and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral
and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English
language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.
Standard 3: Language for
Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for
critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze
experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety
of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and
written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language
to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on
experiences, ideas, information and issues.
Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for
social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows
the accepted conventions of the English 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.
Technology
Standard 2: Information Systems
Students will
access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate
technologies.
Standard 5: Technology
Students will apply
technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate
products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.
Standard 7: Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
Students will apply the knowledge and thinking
skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems
and make informed decisions.