MS. LOGAN

MONROE ACADEMY FOR BUSINESS AND LAW

INTRODUCTION

Life in a large, overcrowded city like New York can be challenging. The ability to keep the environment as clean as possible has been difficult. Unfortunately when people do not work together in society to take care of the environment, it can lead to poor sanitary conditions and an increased incidence of disease. For many years, people have complained and protested about the horrible living conditions in crowded larger cities such as New York. The infestation of rats and other rodents have made living conditions in New York City unacceptable. Recently Mayor Bloomberg has declared war on rats in order to alleviate the problem. He has called on your team, the Counsel for the Eradication of Pests in New York City, to come up with a solution that will safely eradicate the rats in New York City.

You will complete the following tasks:

Ø Complete the six required PPA worksheets in the process section of this webquest. Use the websites provided in the resources section of this webquest. This will help you in completing the worksheets.

Ø You will write a two-paged type written report in which you will describe and evaluate the problem of poor sanitation and propose solutions.

Ø Create a poster or a comic strip which communicates to the community the seriousness of the problem and or ways to combat the problem with the community involvement.

PROCESS:

Each person on your committee must:

1. Use the websites provided in the resource section below to help you complete the six worksheets-one worksheet for each of the six steps. These follow this process:

a) Define the Problem

b) Gather Evidence of the nature of the problem

c) Identify the Causes of the problem

d) Evaluate the Policies that currently exist

e) Develop a solution to the problem

f) Select the best solution(s)

2. Use the information from the completed PPA worksheets to assist you in completing your two-paged report.

3. Create your poster or comic strip which communicates to the community the seriousness of the problem and or ways to combat the problem with the community involvement. The poster should be on 11 ½” X 14” paper (or larger), and both the poster and comic strip should be colorful and clear.

EVALUATION:

You will be graded according to the following rubric.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
PPA Worksheets	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting a beginning level of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting development and movement toward mastery of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting mastery of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting the highest level of performance.
Report	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting a beginning level of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting development and movement toward mastery of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting mastery of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting the highest level of performance.
Poster or Comic Strip	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting a beginning level of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting development and movement toward mastery of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting mastery of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting the highest level of performance.

---

This WebQuest addresses the following NYS Standards:

English Language Arts

Standard 1 - Language for Information and Understanding

Students will read, write, listen, and speak 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 to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 4 - Science

Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in Science.

Standard 6 - Interconnectedness: Common Themes

Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.

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.

RESOURCES

Use the following websites to help you in your research:

http://ella.austin.cc.tx.us/microbio/2993c/rat.html

http://www.ent.orst.edu/burgettm/ent300/lecture12.htm

http://www.haciendapub.com/faria4.html

http://www.ksu.edu/research/comply/iacuc/occhs/fact10.html

http://www.newyork.bbb.org/library/publications/subrep230.html

CONCLUSION

You have researched the problem of poor sanitation and the incidence of disease and are now an expert. You are now aware of what the city can do to minimize the problems associated with poor sanitation conditions. You have developed your own original public policy solutions to this problem, and you have chosen the best solution. You are ready to assist Mayor Bloomberg in combating the city’s sanitation woes.