Performance Tasks to Support English Language Arts
Title Surveillance in America: Safety v. PrivacyTask Overview
Students will examine the complex paradox of privacy in a time of constant surveillance. Through discussion, research, and analysis they will produce an argumentative essay showing how much monitoring they feel is necessary to ensure safety.
Essential Question
Where should the line be drawn between security & personal privacy? / Use with:
1984, Brave New World, or as an independent assessment
Entry Event Classroom Activity
Classroom discussion based on two images and one chart / Scorable Products
Argumentative Essay, Research Questions
Student Task: Part 1 Discussion, Research, Note-taking, Analysis of Information / Student Task: Part 2
Composing Final Essay
Teacher Directions
Entry Event Classroom Activity
Surveillance/Privacy Discussion
Part 1
Using visual stimuli (chart and photo), the teacher invites students to share prior knowledge and preexisting opinions on surveillance/privacy. By way of class discussion, and in order to contextualize the examination of stimuli in Part 1, students are asked to examine the benefits and disadvantages of surveillance in America. Those who are familiar with Huxley’s Brave New World and/or Orwell’s 1984 should connect the discussion to the themes and plot events in the novels.
Step-by-Step Directions:
•Present on a projector or provide a handout of the “Big Brother is Watching” image.
•Give the students a moment to examine the image and ask, “What is this image saying?” Allow the discussion to develop organically through student responses.
•Repeat this process with the surveillance camera image. Have students compare their reactions to the two images. Do they feel the same for both? Does one have more of a negative connotation than the other?
•After taking a few responses, show the chart on public opinion of NSA surveillance.
•Invite students to share reactions. Guiding questions can include:
-How are opinions split, according to the chart?
-What does this tell you about American opinions on surveillance?
-What might be people’s justifications for their opinions?
-Where do you stand on the topic right now? Why?
Part 2
Say to the students, “In the performance task that you are going to participate in today, you will learn about surveillance and its place in today’s society. You will examine the slippery slope between surveillance for the purpose of public safety and the right to privacy. By reading articles by various authors of differing opinions, you will have to balance the pros and cons of ‘Big Brother.’ Since you are using information from outside sources, you must use parenthetical documentation and a works cited page in order to avoid plagiarism.”
Student Directions
Part 1
Your Task :
Conduct guided research and compose an argumentative essay based on information gleaned from the notes you collect. Be sure to employ proper grammar and MLA format to cite your sources and avoid plagiarism.
Steps to Follow Students will read/view the contents of each link and may complete the notes sheets provided in order to gain a deeper understanding of the topic. Research questions will be answered to show an understanding of bias and validity of a text. Note sheets can be used to complete the argumentative essay based on the prompt provided. A works cited page and parenthetical documentation must be included.
Research Questions
Performance Tasks\Research questions.pdf
Part 2
Your Assignment
“Congratulations! You are the new director of The Department of Super Secret Stuff. You must protect the priceless cache of information and treasures; the only sure means of keeping thieves at bay is to watch everyone who comes near the Department. In order to work ethically and legally, you need to understand the laws regarding privacy. Read through the articles and documents provided in order to gain insight into surveillance, privacy laws, and public opinion. You are Big Brother now – how far are you willing to go?”
Response Guidelines
Students are expected to have a clear thesis that states how much surveillance they will employ, what type of surveillance, and justify their decisions using evidence from the texts provided.
To Begin Work
View the resources provided and analyze the contents of each with a focus on information/data on surveillance, public opinion on safety and surveillance, and the benefits/detriments of surveillance.
Materials for Teachers
Notes on Materials for Entry Event/Class Discussion
Title / Link / Important to Know
“Big Brother is Watching” / Performance Task Docs.pdf / All pictures are contained in a single document, simply scroll down to see each
MLA Format for documentation of sources / Performance Tasks\MLA Documentation Tip Sheet.pdf / This sheet should be provided for student who may not be completely comfortable with MLA formatting.
Task Specifications
In order to complete the performance task, students:
- Read and analyze information from a series of sources.
- Complete Research questions & analysis of sources.
• a clearly-established claim about the topic
• presentation of relevant supporting evidence, details, and elaboration consistent with the
position, sources, purpose, and audience
• effective organization of ideas
• adherence to conventions and rules of grammar, usage, and mechanics
• controlof language for purpose and audience
4. Cite sources using parenthetical documentation and a works cited page.
Rubrics for Research Questions
Performance Tasks\Scoring Information for Research Questions.pdf
Rubric for Final Product
Performance Tasks\Scoring Information for Argument Product (2).pdf
Notes for Implementation: Scaffolding, Enrichment, Alternative Uses
Scaffolding
- Teacher may review MLA with students who are not fluent in proper employment of parenthetical documentation and works cited.
- The number of sources employed may be reduced for students who may not be able to complete the assessment in the allotted time.
- Two notes sheets are provided for students who need additional guidance while reading: one includes annotations, while the other is a simple note-taking chart.
- Students may use 1984 or Brave New World as additional stimuli to aid in supporting their claims.
- Independent research (one or two additional sources) may be added to the assignment.
- This assessment may be complete over a number of class periods as a research activity to supplement a unit based on 1984 and/or Brave New World.
Materials for Students
Materials for Entry Event/Class Discussion – See teacher Materials
Text Set/Stimuli
Sources
“Confrontation or Collaboration?” from Harvard Kennedy School / usa-patriot-act.pdf / The “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001” also known as the USA-PATRIOT Act, was passed a month after September 11, 2001 in order to give U.S. officials new legal tools to detect and thwart future terrorist attacks.
“At some schools, ‘Big Brother’ is Watching” from CNN / / Just as parents are grappling with how to keep their kids safe on social media, schools are increasingly confronting a controversial question: Should they do more to monitor students' online interactions off-campus to protect them from dangers such as bullying, drug use, violence and suicide?
“More Safety, Without Invading Privacy” from The New York Times Opinion Pages / / Pedestrian fatalities are an avoidable tragedy. As the mother of an active 4-year-old, living in a city, I worry every time we cross the street. This is why I fully support efforts to end pedestrian deaths.
“It Costs the Government Just 6.5 Cents an Hour to Spy on You” from Politico Magazine / / Glenn Greenwald, the journalist and activist at the center of the controversy over the National Security Agency’s spying operations, launched his new website Monday with a reported look at how the NSA uses tracking technology to hunt down terrorists abroad. He’s promising more revelations that will blow the lid off the agency’s activities /
“Obama Needs to Use This U.N. Meeting to Back Privacy as a HumanRight” from Defense One.com / Lin / Since the summer, Americans have learned that the National Security Agency has routinely violated their right to privacy for more than a decade. The world, however, learned they had no such right, whatsoever—at least in so far as the U.S. is concerned—as more and more of the NSA’s worldwide surveillance apparatus was revealed.
“1984 Day celebrated with Restore the Fourth protest” from New York Post / / Restore the Fourth manifested on 1984 Day in Bryant Park where protesters voiced their grievances about the recent controversy involving President Obama and the NSA.
Note-taking Guide
Performance Tasks\Notes Sheet.pdf
Performance Tasks\Annotated Notes Sheet.pdf
Aligned to and