A WebQuest by: Mr. J. Edwards Herbert H. Lehman H.S.

Since the 1970's there has been a precipitous increase in the number of Americans entering the criminal justice system.  As the nearby chart shows, it took over two hundred years for America to hold one million prisoners all at once. And yet we have managed to incarcerate the second million in only the last ten years. Today, the prison debate has become even more important as problems with overcrowding, abuse, and safety have produced a population of people more dangerous than when they entered the system. As a public policy analyst your charge is to research and develop other possible ways of addressing or problems with our current prison system.  The solutions that you develop will then be related to our local congressional leader.

Task:

Divided into groups of no more than four, you will use the provided links to sites for collecting information - and/or use sites of your own - to complete the worksheets listed below and develop feasible solutions to the prison problem. Solutions should be two pages typed completely outlining the steps taken to lead to your solution. Format should be at least 2 complete pages, 1.5" (One and one half inch) margins, double spaced, 'Times New Roman' font; no pictures in the body of text.

Process:

Working in groups of four, you will:

A. Complete PPA worksheets 1-6 to summarize your research.	B. Use the following Internet sites to collect information:
1. Define the problem	1. Still We Rise
Worksheet 1	2. Change comes to Louisiana - drugpolicy.org
2.  Gather Evidence	3. Human Rights Watch
Worksheet 2	4. The Cato Institute
3.  Identify Causes	5. Questia
Worksheet 3	6. Prison Activist
4. Evaluate policies	7. 'Prison Industrial Complex' by Angela Davis
Worksheet 4	8. Tompkins County Felony Drug Treatment Court
5.  Develop Solutions	9. Rockefeller Drug Laws - drugpolicy.org
Worksheet 5	10. Yahoo
6.  Select best Solution	11. Google
Worksheet 6

C. Using the research and solutions you have developed, each member of the group will write a 2 page paper, using the format outlined in the task, outlining your original solution and the steps and thought taken to lead you to your solution. Paper should follow the format described below.

Evaluation:

	25-20	19-14	13-8	7-0	Max Score	Your Score
Work Sheets	All questions were answered completely and rationales for the answers were clearly stated. No grammatical errors/ well polish/ cover page was used *Problem well identified and thoroughly researched *All six steps of the PPA  are thoroughly addressed and all worksheets correctly completed.	All questions were answered completely, but rationales for the all the answers were not clearly stated. Some grammatical errors, but didn’t disrupt the meaning of the Problem identified and reasonably well researched *All six steps of the PPA are addressed, most worksheets correctly completed	Not all questions were answered completely, or greater than 2 rationales for the all answers were not clearly stated. Problem identified with limited research. *All steps of the PPA are addressed, but worksheets could be improved on	All questions were not answered completely. Problem identified but research is lacking *Incomplete worksheets	25
Task	All areas of the task were addressed and handled with a high degree of sophistication. The plan followed by the team demonstrated a great deal of thought. Well organized, demonstrates logical sequencing and sentence structure	At least one area of the task was not addressed. The plan followed by the team demonstrated a great deal of thought. Well organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing or sentence structure.	At least two areas of the task were not addressed. The plan followed by the team demonstrated a moderate level of thought. Well organized, but illogical sequencing and sentence structure.	The task is incomplete and/or it is apparent that little effort went into the development of the task. *Weakly organized	25
Public Policy/ Solution Originality	The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate a high degree of originality.	The ideas expressed by the body of work are mostly original. The group may have improved upon a previous idea.	The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate a low degree of originality	There were no original ideas expressed in this project.	25
Grammar, Format , and Spelling	The final body of work was free of grammar, spelling, and formatting errors.	The final body of work had 1 error related to either grammar, spelling, and formatting errors.	The final body of work had 3-5 grammar, spelling, and formatting errors.	The final body of work had major grammar, spelling, and formatting errors.	25

Standards:

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

Key Ideas

Key Idea 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, and governance, and law. (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994).

Key Idea 1 - Alternate

Students will study government, civic life and values and citizenship.

Key Idea 2

The state and federal governments established by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of New York embody basic civic 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 and establish a system of shared and limited government. (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994).

Key Idea 3

Central to civics and citizenship is an understanding of the roles of the citizen within the American constitutional democracy, and the scope and limitations of a citizen's rights and responsibilities.

Key Idea 4

The study of civics and citizenship requires the ability to probe ideas and assumptions, ask and answer analytical questions, take a skeptical attitude toward questionable arguments, evaluate evidence, formulate rational conclusions, and develop and refine participatory skills.

Conclusion:

Congratulations, you should have completed the webquest. As this is the case you should come away from this with a much stronger understanding of the criminal justice system as a whole, and those that have an influence on it. Perhaps you have found that the current system is working well as it stands, or you have developed some interesting alternatives. Most importantly you are now armed with an opinion that is based on factual evidence.