Migrant Workers in america

 

 

 

 

Liam McAndrew

Giantliam80@hotmail.com

Stevenson High School

 

Introduction

            For the past few weeks we have been reading about the migrant lives of Lennie and George in the novel Of Mice and Men. We read about their long workdays and discussed their unjust working conditions and pay. Even though we all agreed that we couldn’t imagine these working conditions happening in modern day America, the truth is that they unfortunately do. 

          Migrant workers have always been a controversial topic in America. Many big corporations rely on migrant workers to do their labor. As a public analyst’s your groups responsibility is to investigate: what migrant workers do in America today, what our government has done to protect the migrant workers, explain why our government has a hard time protecting migrant workers, and come up with your own laws to protect migrant workers in America.

 

 

Task

You will create a news report  consisting of

 

1. A written report that explains the background of the social problem, analysis of current policies and substantiated recommendations for a new public policy

 

2. A poster or photo journal summarizing the social problem

 

 

Process

        In order to complete this web quest you must follow the public policy steps found on the Tips web site. First you will need research the controversial issue of migrant workers in America (please take notes on your research)! Then you will be expected to complete the Public Policy worksheets.

 

Related Websites

 

http://pdhre.org/rights/migrants

 

http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/mice/migartcl.html

 

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tsme.html

 

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actrav/genact/socprot/migrant/

 

PPA WorkSheets

a. Define the Problem   Worksheet 1    http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html

 

b. Gather Evidence      Worksheet 2    http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html

 

  c. Identify Causes        Worksheet 3   http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html

 

  d. Evaluate Policy        Worksheet 4   http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html

 

  e. Develop Solutions     Worksheet 5    http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html

 

f.       Select best Solution   Worksheet 6   http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html

 

Migrant Workers in NYC: PPA Evaluation Rubric

 

 

3

2

1

Content

Writing shows in depth understanding of the social problem

Shows understanding through explicit references to the social problem

Shows understanding through implicit references to the social problem

Organization

Clear, elaborate sentence structure; gives background, analysis, and persuasive evidence for new policy

Writing varies length of sentences; gives some background, analysis, and partly persuades with some evidence

Writing uses basic sentence structure; news story gives little or no background or analysis, and does not support new policy

 

 

 

 

Collaboration

There is strong evidence that all group members participated equally

There is some evidence that all group members participated equally

There is little or no evidence that all group members participated equally

 

 

Conclusion

        Students should have gathered plenty of research on migrant workers in America. Students will also have gathered information on the working conditions, wages, and living conditions of migrant workers in America today. At the end of their research they should be able to propose new laws that will protect migrant workers in America.

 

 

Math, Science, and Technology

Standard 2.         Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

Standard 5.  Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy various needs.

Standard 7.         Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions

 

English Language Arts

Standard 1.  Students will listen, speak, read, & write for information and understanding; they will collect data, facts, & ideas and use electronically produced texts.

Standard 4.  Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction.