Social Issues and Research
Introduction | The Task | Resources | The Process | Learning Advice | Conclusion
Introduction
There are
many controversial social issues facing teens in today’s society. Making a
decision about a position on these issues requires a lot of information and
thought. Researching these topics will enable students to make more informed
decisions.
Students will
work in groups of three to research a topic of interest to that group. An
appropriate list of topics will be provided by the teacher. Each group will
create the required written and oral projects that are explained in "The
Process."
Resources
The following
list of suggested web sites will help students get started on researching their
topics. Links from these sites may also be used.
- American
Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
- Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
- Federal
Statistics
- Health finder
- Justice
Information Center
- Policy.com:
The Policy News and Information Service
- Students' Rights, American
Civil Liberties Union
- National
Coalition Against Censorship
- Schoolwork.org
- National
Abortion Rights Action League
The
Process
Each group will pick a topic from the list provided by the teacher. 'Topics for Debate'
1. Students will conduct
an in depth Internet search on their topic and will make 25 note cards from
their sources along with the appropriate source cards. (Use MLA format.) This
information will be shared among the members of the group.
2. The members of the group
will decide upon the roles for each member. One person will make an oral
presentation to the class. Another member will create a visual for the class.
(video, pro-quest presentation, poster, tri-fold) The third person is
responsible for producing some type of summary handout for the class. (The
teacher will run off student copies.)
Learning Advice
Before the
groups begin their research, they should limit their topics to a certain number
of questions or aspects they plan to cover. Too broad a topic will result in
products that lack focus.
Conclusion
By the end of
the presentations of the projects, students should have a great deal of
information to help them make informed decisions about current social issues
facing teens today. They should also have increases their knowledge about doing
research on the Internet.
This page
written by Iris Cole
Last updated date. 11/29/00
This page was adapted from Bernie Dodge 's WebQuest_Template1.html by Tom March