Teachers' Page War on Drugs in America: Marijuana was a webquest designed for 10-12 Grade Contemporary Issues. Students are asked to be able to analyze our society's current issues with the Federal legalization of Marijuana and both the negative and positive impact of the drug on our society. Students are then asked to design a presentation supporting their position by using power-point. After thorough research and debate within their home group students are called upon to create a legislation to present to Congress explaining why Marijuana should be legalized or why it should not be legalized.
Teacher suggestions: Before having students meet in their home group to debate their position you may want to have the students meet in an expert group (a group in which all of the students with the same role meet and discuss their research). This way when the students meet in their home group to debate their position, they will have the best resources and information availble to argue with. This will enable the students to develop their position with credible evidence. The role of the cancer patient may want to be used for students who are low level learners or students who have been introduced late into the project.
To implement this unit you will need: -Microsoft Office: (Word, Excel, Power-Point) -National Geographic's Drugs Inc video: "Marijuana" or alternative content- Below are some other videos pulled from youtube which dispute the legalization of marijuana along with America's war on drugs. Videos on the War on Drugs (Resources): 1. History Channel Marijuana Cannabis: A Chronic History 2. National Geographic Drugs Inc.: "Heroin" 3.National Geographic Drugs Inc.: "Cocaine" 4. National Geographic Drugs Inc.: "Meth" 5.National Geographic Drugs Inc.: "Marijuana" -Computers with internet -Projector -Blog site (Optional) (You can create the blog yourself or have the students create a blog of their own. I created a blog on my website) Students will discuss matters dealing with their project through blogging. You can also address questions which relate to this project for students to discuss via blogging. -Check out the Resource Pagefor other sources that you may want to use to assist you in facilitating this project with your students. -Check out the Credits Pagefor additional resources that were used to create this project. -Click on Evaluation to look at rubrics that you may want to use if you do not want to create your own. -Go to National Geographic Channel Websitefor more information of America's war on drugs -If you ever think about creating a webquest of your own here is a rubric of your own to follow to ensure a successfully built webquest. Click here for a rubric which was created by eMINTS.
Standards Addressed:
CLEs (Course Level Expectations): Information and Communications Technology Literacy Standards:
1. Follow, monitor, and evaluate inquiry process: d. Locate relevant sources and select information appropriate to the problem or question e. Seek feedback from others f. Exchange knowledge and ideas in appropriate formats g. Evaluate the results h. Use critical thinking skills to adapt process, as necessary, to fulfill purpose
2. 1.2, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 2.1, 3.4, 3.5: Contribute to the construction and exchange of ideas through independent, cooperative, and/or collaborative work
3. Identify how intended audience and purpose affect information needed
4. 1.5, 1.6, 2.3, 3.5 a. Evaluate prior knowledge to develop questions and identify key words to focus and guide information seeking b. Evaluate focus questions and/or key words/phrases as information is gathered and revise or clarify as appropriate
5. a. Locate multiple primary and secondary sources of various media using appropriate organizational tools
6. 1.5, 1.7 a. Analyze information to determine relevance in relationship to the topic
7. 1.7, 3.5 a. Analyze the source to determine its credibility b. Evaluate accuracy of information by determining whether it contradicts or verifies other sources c. Evaluate for bias by analyzing viewpoint(s) conveyed in source
8. 1.6, 1.7, 2.3 b. Analyze and evaluate gathered information for gaps and weaknesses
9. Record relevant information using a self-selected note-taking or organizational strategy
10. 1.2, 1.4, 1.8, 2.1 Synthesize information to make meaning (draw conclusions, formulate hypothesis, make inferences, etc.)
11. 1.2, 1.4, 1.7, 1.10, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 b. Organize information in a logical arrangement appropriate to format, audience and purpose
12. 2.7, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.4, 4.7 a. Follow copyright laws, school district policies and other regulations while accessing and using sources, including print and digital b. Practice strategies to avoid plagiarism c. Document each source using appropriate citation format (e.g., author, title, copyright, URL, publisher, and place of publication)
English Language Arts Standards
13. WHST. 11-12.2 Introduce precise, knowledgeable claims(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
14. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the argument presented.
15. WHST. 11-12.4. Produce clear an coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
16. WHST.11-12.8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and over-reliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
17. WHST. 11-12.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.