Hey Big guy!
Teenage Obesity:
A TIPS PUBLIC POLICY
Investigation.
A WEBQUEST By
Mr. Heanue
@ Grace Dodge
Career and technical High School
Introduction
"McDonald's made me eat them and get fat."
"She was rendered defenseless by the
onslaught of McDonalds advertising," said one of her lawyers.
More and More Teenagers
are reaching dangerous levels of Obesity.
Doctors speculate that obesity will be
Task
You have been asked by the
Process
We
will be following the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) method of examining a social
problem. You will be working in groups of 4. For each step, you will need to
record notes on your printed versions of the online worksheets (follow the
links below and click on the MS word versions to print out the pages). If you need help understanding one of the
steps, follow the link under “more information” for that step.
1.Define the problem
In
your own words, what is the social problem of overweight teens? For example:
Obesity as a young adult leads to a greater risk of health problems
later in life.
Fill out the worksheet located at: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet1.doc
More Information: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html
2.Gather evidence
Investigate
the causes and effects of your defined social problem. I have provided some
websites below under “Resources,” but your group should also do some internet
investigating on its own. Remember to think critically about the source of your
information and whether it is reliable.
Fill out the worksheet located at http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet2.doc.
More Information: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html
How to conduct a search on the
internet:
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/search.html
3.Identify causes
What
do you think are actual causes of this social problem? Base your ideas on the evidence you have
collected, and remember to consider what actually causes this social problem.
Fill out the worksheet at: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet3.doc
More information: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html
4.Evaluate a policy
What
is NYC doing to remedy the social problem?
Research some of the policies that already exist and then decide on some
good points and bad points of these policies.
Fill out the worksheet at: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet4.doc
More information: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html
5.Develop solutions
As
part of your action plan, your group is responsible for brainstorming different
possible policy solutions for the problem of obesity. Be creative – and try to think what ideas
might be appealing to your fellow teenagers.
Be sure to also think about the effectiveness of your policy (is it an
idea that can really do something about your problem?) as well as the
feasibility of your policy (is this something that can work in the real
world?)
Fill out the worksheet at: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet5.doc
More Information: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html
6.
Select a solution
As a
group, determine what you think would be the best policy solution for your
social problem.
Fill
out the worksheet at http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet6.doc
More
information: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html
RESOURCES
http://www.overweightteen.com/
There is a
tremendous amount of information available on the internet that deals with
actual cases of teenage obesity. Use the
search words “obesity,” “Teenage” and “overweight” to help you get to these
cites.
Rubrics and
Standards
You will use the PPA worksheets to create
your written report. The following rubric will be used to grade that report.
CATEGORY |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
Organization |
Information is very organized with well-constructed
paragraphs and subheadings. |
Information is organized with well-constructed paragraphs.
|
Information is organized, but paragraphs are not
well-constructed. |
The information appears to be disorganized. 8) |
Quality of Information |
Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes
several supporting details and/or examples. |
Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides
1-2 supporting details and/or examples. |
Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details
and/or examples are given. |
Information has little or nothing to do with the main
topic. |
Internet Use |
Successfully uses suggested internet links to find
information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Usually able to use suggested internet links to find
information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Occasionally able to use suggested internet links to find
information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Needs assistance or supervision to use suggested internet
links and/or to navigate within these sites. |
Mechanics |
No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. |
Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors |
A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation
errors. |
Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. |
Grades are given on the following point system:
14 points= A, 12 points= B, 10 points= C,
8 points=D, less than 8 points=F
Standards Used in the Project
English Language Arts
Standard E2a: Student Creates a Written Report
Standard E1c: Student Reads Informational Materials
Standard E3d: Student Makes Informed Decisions about Media Sources
Standard E4a: Student demonstrates an Understanding of the English
Language
Standard E7a: Student Critiques Functional Documents
Social Studies
Standard S.S.4: Students demonstrate their understanding of how
societies develop economic systems
Standard S.S.5: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills
to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing
governments
Conclusion
After researching the problem of overweight adolescents in the
You will see that neglecting one’s fitness is a health hazard. You
will also understand the role of a public policy maker, by taking on that role
in your own community.
It is absolutely vital to be informed in a democratic society. Public policy analyst gives you the
opportunity to make a difference in your own community. You can actually make
real and positive change.