Teacher's Resource Page
Created by Michael Gutierrez
May 20, 2003
Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Resources | Student's Page
The purpose of this WebQuest is to introduce students to the workings of American Government. Students enrolled in this course will use this WebQuest to examine the U.S. Constitution and look at examples of the government fulfilling its constitutional duties.
In addition,
this WebQuest will give to discover an interesting "real life" issue that
they can identify with. . Students will conduct research on
their issue as well as research on the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore,
they will also learn how to summarize the political concepts that are the
framework of today's government. In the end, it is believed that
students will come away with an understanding of American government and
will be motivated to become involved in political activism.
It is time for you to get involved in your government. This task is intended for incoming freshman or students taking an introductory course to American government. It is intended for political science students who have some knowledge of comparative political systems. Students should also have knowledge and skills of how to conduct research, possess solid writing skills, and be able to produce a quality research project.
In addition, to successfully complete this WebQuest, students will need to have access to a computer and have basic web searching skills. Knowledge of Web page construction or PowerPoint will be useful. Moreover, students should have information literacy skills and should be able to adequately evaluate web resources.
Upon the successful
completion of the WebQuest and this course, the student should have a solid
understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the three branches of government.
However, the students should also learn how to work together in groups
and choosing a specific issue to advocate and research. In addition,
students will also use public speaking skill to present their specific
issue to the class.
Course: Introduction
to American Government
WebQuest length: Approximately
three weeks to complete. Only one class session will be set aside
for the beginning of this assignment. Most of the assignment will
be conducted in groups out of the classroom.
Presentation length:
Approximately 15 minutes per group plus 10 minutes given to poll the class
and record the results.
This section will take you through all the steps you need to perform to successfully complete this WebQuest. It is important that you follow each step so that you can be a well informed participant in your government. Organize yourself into groups of four or five before you begin.
Present the WebQuest to the course and give a brief overview of the their assigned task. Make sure that the students have organized themselves into groups of four or five. Allow the students to use the rest of the class to identify their issue or work out group logistics.
What is the Constitution?
1. Read the U.S. Constitution
so that you have an understand of the principles behind the Founding Fathers'
view of representative
government.
2. Identify the Articles that deal specifically with
the three branches of government and summarize these obligations and duties
of
each branch.
Make sure that the students have found the web site and have read the
Constitution. Review the summaries they have submitted and provide
feed back to the students and groups.
What is your issue?
1. Read an online newspaper or magazine to identify several
issues that you feel need to be address by the U.S. government.
You may also choose to do research on the Web to identify the major issue
of the day.
2. Carefully select one issue that you feel strongly
about and are willing to advocate. Be sure you are willing to commit
the time
and effort to research this issue.
3. Use the resources provide to research your topic.
You may also use any other online sources to gather information or data
regarding your issue. Remember to evaluate your sources carefully.
Prepare an research paper about your issue.
4. Summarize your issue in order to present you concerns to your elected representatives, government agency, or advocacy group.
Make sure that the group has identified an issue and guide them, if necessary, to ensure that the issue they identify can be one that they can properly research and advocate. Be careful not to let your own biases interfere with your judgment. Review the resources that the group is using and make suggestions if necessary. Review the summary before they proceed to the next step.
Who will address your issue?
1. Identify your elected representatives and obtain their email addresses.
2. Identify the government agency most affected by your
issue and determine who heads this agency. Obtain their email address
and determine if this person is part of the President's Cabinet or serves
under a member of the Cabinet or does this person report
directly to the President.
3. Identify a group that advocates your issue and obtain an email address or a Web presence.
4. Send an email stating your summarized concerns to
the individual, government agency or group that you fell will be an advocate
for your issue and will affect change within the government.
5. Report to the class if you have received a response and, if so, continue the dialogue.
Carefully review the elected representatives or advocacy group they have identifed before they send an email presenting their issue. Review their identification of government agency to ensure the group has the correctly identified the hierachy of the executive branch.
What do your peers think?
1. Present your research finding in either a Web or PowerPoint
presentation to the your classmates advocating your position on
your issue.
2. Facilitate a classroom discussion.
3. Poll your classmates to determine if they agree with your position and record it.
Provide the students with technical assistance if they had having difficulty creating a Web or PowerPoint presentation. Assist the students if they need help facilitating a group discussion pertaining to their issue. Assist in the recording of the poll results.
Set aside the next class to discuss the WebQuest with the entire class to get feedback and share insight about the American government, advocacy, political participation, etc.
This rubric will be used to evalutate the groups as they progress through this WebQuest. It will provide guidance in grading the groups and providing feedback. The scale ranges from Fair to Excellent, and their group work will determine the score they are assigned.
The groups'
ability to persuade their fellow classmates and faciliate a discussion
will be graded as class participation and had not been included in the
rubric. (Class participation for the entire course is worth 5% of
the total course grade.)
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1) Poor understanding of the U.S.
Constitution 2) Poor summary of the Articles of the Constitution 3) Ability to identify the branches of' government |
1) Understanding of the U.S. Constitution
2) Ability to summarize the Articles of the Constitution 3) Ability to distinguish the branches of government |
1) Clear comprehension of the U.S.
Constitution and representative government 2) Well organized summary of the Articles of the Constitution 3) Clear understanding of the separation of powers |
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1) Unable to clearly distinguish the branches
of government and describe their duties 2) Unable to determine two elected representatives or one executive agency 3) Unable to identify an advocacy group 4) Unable to locate email addresses |
1) Ability to distinguish the branches of
government and describe their separate duties 2) Ability to identify two or more elected representatives or several government agency 3) Ability to identify one or more advocacy group 4) Ability to locate email addresses |
1) Clear understanding of the branches of
government as well as their separate duties and obligations 2) Ability to identify two or more elected representatives from your state or several government agencies 3) Ability to identify more than two advocacy groups 4) Ability to obtain email addresses |
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1) Poor use of resources provided
2) Poor summation of selected issue to advocate |
1) Adequate use of resources provide
2) Adequate summation of selected issue to advocate |
1) Effective use of resources provided as well
as other online resources 2) Thoughtful summation of selected issue to advocate |
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1) Important or relevant information is not
presented 2) Information presented is not clear or misleading 3) No clear argument made for political action 4) Grammatical and spelling errors |
1) Important information presented clearly
2) Argument for advocacy adequately presented 3) No grammatical or spelling errors |
1) Excellent presentation of information
2) Argument for advocacy well organized and presented logically 3) No grammatical or spelling errors |
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1) Insufficient research conducted to
support argument 2) Information gathered does not support advocacy issue 3) No sources attributed |
1) Sufficient research conducted to support
main arguments 2) Research supports main points 3) All sources attributed |
1) Thorough research conducted providing
strong evidence to support main poiints 2) Sources properly cited and organized 3) Reputable sources used |
Congratulations!! The completion of this WebQuest will be an important step to creating active citizen who participate in their government. It should relate to the students that they have an affect on "real life" issues by becoming citizen advocates. They will also leave with a better understanding of the U.S Constitution, the function of the American government and the importance of a representative goverment. Finally, it should underscore how important citizen participation is to the proper fuction of government.
Examine these resources before the WebQuest begins to answer any question
the students might have. Among the search engine to recommend would
be Google or Yahoo.