WEBQUEST
ALL
YOU NEED IS ART
WHY
THE ARTS SHOULD STAY IN SCHOOL
Pearl
Sitzer
INTRODUCTION
Most
communities across
Recent
scientific research explains that the teenage brain is more complex than
previously thought. Teenagers’ brains
are constantly being pruned; whatever part of the brain that is not used, the
studies tell us, will be permanently lost, just like branches from a tree. If the arts are cut out of students’ school
lives, they may never regain those abilities that instead need to be nourished
during this crucial developmental period.
TASK
It
is your task in this WebQuest to review current research on the teenage brain
in order to develop a scientifically-grounded thesis on why the arts should
remain in the public school curriculum.
You will use your thesis as the basis of a political action plan to
educate politicians, administrators, and community school boards on the
necessity of the arts in school.
PROCESS
1.
You
will work in groups of four to six. Each
group will create a different part of action plan.
a.
Group
1 will develop a one-page petition.
b.
Group
2 will write letters to politicians.
c.
Group
3 will write letters to school administrators.
d.
Group
4 will write letters to community school boards.
e.
Group
5 will create a pamphlet to distribute to the community.
2.
Each
group will use the websites provided in the Resources to research the issue of
eliminating arts education and its effect on the teenage brain. Each group will summarize its research on the
following six-step TIPS PPA worksheets.
Note that the PPA includes an evaluation of an existing public policy
(that of cutting arts education/preserving arts education/reinstating arts
education) as well as development of your own public policy solution.
a.
Worksheet 1:
Defining the Problem
b.
Worksheet 2:
Gathering the Evidence
c.
Worksheet 3:
Identifying Causes
d.
Worksheet 4:
Evaluating Existing Public Policy
e.
Worksheet 5:
Developing Your Own Public Policy Solution
f.
Worksheet 6:
Choosing the Best Public Policy Solution
3.
Each
group will use the research it has gathered, as well as its original ideas, and
create its assigned product.
4.
Each
group will make a ten-minute oral presentation to the class. Each member of the group must contribute at
least one minute to the oral presentation.
RESOURCES
Use
the following websites to help you in your research:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/work/
(scientific research on teenage brain development)
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1590/is_13_60/ai_n6006762
(the teenage brain and the arts)
http://middletowncityschools.org/Parentcorner/hs/Highschoolteenagebrain.htm
(teenage brains need art and activities)
http://www.artsbridgeamerica.com/pages/m_proc4.html
(effects of eliminating arts on the teenage brain)
http://www.nmarts.org/pdf/artsedadvocacy_kit.pdf
(effects of arts/eliminating arts on the teenage brain)
EVALUATION
Your
work will be evaluated according to the following rubric:
|
Product |
Excellent |
Satisfactory |
Unsatisfactory |
|
Petition,
Letters, Pamphlet |
Clearly
supports thesis Well-organized,
powerful argument |
Supports
thesis Presents
and defends a point of view |
Does
not support thesis Argument
is unclear |
|
Oral
Presentation |
Speaks
clearly and audibly Forcefully
presents argument |
Speaks
somewhat clearly and audibly Adequately
presents argument |
Speaks
poorly and/or inaudibly Argument
does not make sense |
The
following standards are addressed by this WebQuest:
English
Language Arts
Standard
1: Language for Information and Understanding
Students
will listen, speak, read, and write 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.
Standard
3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students
will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As
listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information,
and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As
speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the
accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of
perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information
and issues.
Standard
4: Language for Social Interaction
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for
social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows
the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social
communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they
will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of
people and their views.
Mathematics, Science, and
Technology
Standard
1: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design
Students
will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and
develop solutions.
CONCLUSION
Having
completed this WebQuest, you are now an expert on the effects on teenagers of
eliminating the arts from our public schools.
You have studied how the absence of arts education during this crucial
period permanently and adversely affects the teenage brain. You have used your information as the basis
of a political action plan designed to keep the arts in public school. You have worked with a team to develop a multi-pronged
approach to solving a serious problem that society faces.