A WebQuest
USSC: Steirer v. Bethlehem
Mr. Mann
for Business and Law
I. INTRODUCTION:
You are a student
at
As part of your
class participation grade, you have been required to participate in some form
of community service, which you don’t think is fair. In addition, you don’t like participating,
since you think your English skills are poor and you feel shy about speaking in
public. Therefore, you object to this
requirement as a violation of your rights under the 1st and 13th
Amendments. Your teacher tells you that
failure to participate will result in a “0” for class participation and that it
is therefore likely that you will fail the course. A friend tells you that a U.S. Supreme Court
Case, Steirer v. Bethlehem, deals with issues similar
to those you are facing. What will you
do next?
II. TASK:
Using Compulegal, you will research the case of Steirer v. Bethlehem. You will write a report comparing the
imaginary scenario above with the real situation of based on Steirer v. Bethlehem. You will also make an oral presentation to
the class.
II. PROCESS:
1.
In Compulegal, you will now research the case of Steirer v.
a.
Review
the facts
of the case. List them on a sheet of
paper.
b.
Examine
the visual
associated with the case. Answer:
How did the U.S. Court of Appeals rule?
Why was the U.S Supreme Court brought into this case by Steirer?
c.
Now go
to the reasoning
page.
i.
Review
the precedents and explain why each case cited is a precedent.
ii.
On a
separate sheet of paper, answer the questions posed above each box on this
page.
d.
Next,
you will investigate the actual decision
made by the U.S. Supreme Court.
i.
What
was the Court’s decision?
ii.
Do you
agree or disagree with the Court’s decision?
Explain your answer.
2.
Now
you will write your paper (2-5 pages in length). In your paper you will:
a.
Summarize
the facts, arguments and decision in the case of Steirer v.
b.
Discuss
the similarities of Steirer v. Bethlehem to your case
c.
Discuss
the differences of Steirer v. Bethlehem to your case
d.
Discuss
if you think the teacher is justified in failing you for the course. Explain your answer.
3.
In
your oral presentation you will answer the question posed in 2.d. You will have 2-minutes for your
presentation, in addition to a 1-minute period of questioning from member of
the class.
III. RESOURCES:
You will use CompuLegal (as hyperlinked above) as the basis of your
research.
IV. EVALUATION:
Your teacher and a
randomly-selected member of the class will now assign a grade to your report
and assignment. Your final Webquest grade will be the average of these two grades. You will be graded according to the
following:
Earned
a Grade of 4
q Shows thorough understanding of the topic
q Addresses all aspects of the task
q Shows ability to analyze, evaluate, compare and contrast
issues
q Richly supports topic with relevant facts, examples, and
details
q Shows ability to analyze, evaluate, compare and contrast
issues
q Richly supports topic with relevant facts, examples, and
details
q Presents a strong and well organized “ case”
Earned
a Grade of 3
q Shows a good understanding of the topic
q Addresses all aspects of the task
q Shows ability to analyze, evaluate issues
q
Includes relevant facts, examples, and
details, but not support all aspects of the “case”
q Presents an organized “case”
Earned
a Grade of 2
q Presents satisfactory understanding of the topic
q Addresses most aspects of the task
q Able to analyze issues and events, but not in depth
q Uses some relevant facts, examples, and details
q Presents “case”, but not very organized
Earned
a Grade of 1
¨
Shows
little understanding of topic
¨
Attempts
to address topic, but uses vague information
¨
Uses
little facts, examples, or details
¨
Cannot
present an acceptable “case”
Standards
English
Language Arts Standards
E1C – Read and comprehend informational materials
E2A – Produce a report of information
Social Studies Standards
SS5 – Civics, Citizenship, and Government –
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their
understanding of the necessity for establishing governments, the governmental
system of the United States 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.
V. CONCLUSION:
You have now
completed your Webquest. You are now an expert on the case of Steirer v. Bethlehem and the issue of students’
rights. You have extracted the legal
principles in Steirer
and applied them to a real-world situation.
You are now also aware of the ways in which lawyers can use precedents
to defend their clients.