World Issues Handbook

World Issues Handbook

2016-2017

10th Grade Benchmark:

This project is designed to give students the opportunity to research, critically think, and act to promote change in the world. Do not lose this packet – you will need to refer to it throughout the benchmark project. This packet is available online should you lose yours. There will be NO replacement packets offered if you lose yours. Filling in your name and teachers’ names will help return this packet to you if it is lost.

This packet belongs to: ______

World History Teacher and Room #: ______

English Teacher and Room #: ______

Table of Contents

Assignments and Due Dates…………………………………………………………..pg.3

Overview of World Issues Project…………………………………………………..pg.3-5

Global Issue Descriptions…………………………………………………………….…pg.5-6

Infographic…………………………………………………………………………………….pg.7-10

Source Checks……………………………………………………………………………….pg.11-15

Global Issue Outline and Paper……………………………………………………..pg.16-19

Socratic Seminar…………………………………………………………………………..pg.20-21

Policy Outline and Paper………………………………………………………………pg.22-26

Comparative Periodical………………………………………………………………..pg.27-30

Binder Check………………………………………………………………………………..pg.31

Global Issue Debate…………………………………………………………………….pg.32-33

2016-2017 World Issues Project

Semester 1 / Department / Due Date
Kick Off / History / Sept. 30
Country Infographic 30pts / History / Oct. 14
Source Check #1 20pts / English / Oct. 21
Source Check #220pts / History / Nov. 4
Global Issue Outline 30pts / English / Nov. 18
Global Issues Paper 50pts / English / Dec. 9
Socratic Seminar 50pts / History / Jan. 11-12
Semester 2
Source Check #3 20pts / History / Feb. 3
Source Check #4 20pts / English / Feb. 10
Policy Paper Outline 30pts / History / Feb. 24
Policy Paper50pts / History / March 24
Comparative Periodical 30pts / English / April 7
Binder Check5pts / English / May 19
Debate50pts / History/English / May 31 & June 1

What is the purpose of the benchmark project?

The purpose of this benchmark project is to make sure that every student in the 10th grade has attained a minimum level of skills in the social science and English disciplines, as well as the ability to meet Irvington’s School Wide Outcomes. A student that cannot meet the minimum requirements will not move to the next grade level.

What is expected of me?

At the end of the 10th grade, Irvington High expects all students to demonstrate a basic understanding of the following skills:

• Modern Language Association (MLA) standards for research and writing
• Correct spelling and grammar
• Library research and correct citation of sources
• Technology Use: Word Processing, Power Point
• Expository Essay Format
• Persuasive Essay Format
• Oral presentation skills
• Service Learning

About the World Issues Project

• The World Issues Project benchmark is a shared English and Social Science curriculum designed to refine the research and writing skills students learned during the Change Project, while simultaneously introducing them to several significant problems which are facing our global community today.

• Over the course of this project, students will be randomly assigned a world issue. Each student will then become an expert on that assigned global issue, as well as the impact of that issue on the global community.

• Students will begin the process by creating an infographic that displays key facts about their assigned issue, including who is affected, and where the issue is most prevalent, as well as why the issue is a factor in global affairs.

• Throughout semester one, students will develop their initial research with additional sources, including foreign news outlets, culminating in a research paper which will prepare them for the Socratic seminar. The Socratic seminar is an opportunity for students to discuss their findings so far with others who have been assigned the same issue, and gain insight from others' research.

• Armed with this knowledge, in semester two students will move to the final phase of the project, where they will create a policy paper, backed by their research, in which they propose a solution to their assigned global issue. The project concludes with a meeting of students covering the same issue, where students will share their proposals and debate the pros and cons of each. Students will then vote on which proposed policy they feel would best help begin the process of resolving their assigned issue.

Grading:

The World Issues Benchmark is worth a different proportion of your grade depending on the class and semester in question:

World HistoryEnglish

1st Semester: 20%1st Semester: 20%

2nd Semester: 30%2nd Semester: 20%

What if my work is late or incomplete?

WIP due dates are firm. Any assignment submitted after its due date for any reason will receive no more 70%. Assignments not completed correctly will be returned as redos and subjected to a 10% point deduction for each resubmission. In order to pass the World Issues Benchmark Project, students must achieve a “C” or better on each assignment. Failure to do so will result in an “I” grade in both English and World History until the completion of the project, regardless of other work completed in the class.

Contracts:

If for some legitimate and verifiable reason you do not pass you World Issues Project, you may be given a contract to complete the project during Contract Summer School. Contracts are not guaranteed and are given at your teacher’s discretion in accordance with their individual classroom policies.

Global Issue Descriptions

Access to Clean Water

According to the United Nations Population Division, access to clean water is the availability of an adequate amount of water for drinking, bathing, cooking, etc. within a reasonable distance from people’s homes. It is measured by the proportion of people with access to water sources which are not contaminated. Consider factors that prevent access to clean water, as well as the consequences resulting from not having clean water.

Child Labor:

The International Labour Organization defines child labor as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development” (“What is Child Labor”). Research should include consideration of work that is hazardous, deprives children of educational opportunity, and/or involves the forcible removal of a child from the family.

Climate Change:

According to NASA,“‘Global warming’ refers to the long-term increase in Earth’s average temperature. ‘Climate change’ refers to any long-term change in Earth’s climate, or in the climate of a region or city. This includes warming, cooling, and changes besides temperature” (“What Are Climate and Climate Change?”). Research should include the impact of various kinds of human activity (industry, agriculture, transportation, etc.) on global warming trends, and the financial, environmental, health, and social costs of these impacts.

Ethnic/Racial Discrimination:

Most nations have multiple racial and ethnic groups represented in their population. According to the United Nations Statistics Division, a person’s ethnicity is determined by their cultural practices or beliefs, whereas their race is determined by their perceived physical traits (“Ethnocultural Characteristics”). The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains: "Race discrimination involves treating someone ... unfavorably because he/she is of a certain race or because of personal characteristics associated with race (such as hair texture, skin color, or certain facial features)” (“Types of Discrimination”). Research should address the causes of racial and ethnic discrimination as well as the specific ways it is acted upon.

Human Trafficking:

According to the Department of Homeland Security, "Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act” (“Human Trafficking”). Victims of human trafficking may also be transported from their country of origin (often a developing country) to a destination country (often a developed country); however, this does not always occur. Consider the toll that human trafficking takes on the victim, the circumstances that allow human trafficking to occur, and the organized crime that develops around it.

Inequality for Women:

The United Nations defines gender equality as the “equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of women and men and girls and boys” (“Concepts and Definitions”). Inequality occurs when one or more of these elements are denied. When conducting research, consider examples of inequality for women such as lack of career and educational opportunities, wage disparities, political underrepresentation, and gender based violence.

Refugee Crisis:

According to the World Health Organization, “A refugee is someone who fears being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. A refugee is outside the country of his or her nationality, and is unable to, or unwilling to be protected by that country” (“Health Topics – Refugees”). The Syrian Refugee Crisis demonstrates many of the problems with this issue, such as the financial and social burden of nations who accept refugees, the hardships faced by refugees themselves, as well as security concerns. However, research for this issue must be global and not singularly focused on Syria.

Terrorism:

Terrorism is “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government,[and/or] the civilian population… in furtherance of political or social objectives” (U.S. Code of Federal Regulations). When conducting research, it is important to distinguish acts of terrorism from acts of war. For instance 9/11 was an act of terrorism because it was an attack on civilians that was not sanctioned by any one government. The WWII attack on Pearl Harbor is considered an act of war because it was backed by the Japanese government.

Global Issue Infographic

An infographic is a visual representation of data, often using a combination of images, graphs, and clever designs to explain an idea. Infographics can be a helpful way to communicate a lot of information quickly and is interesting for the audience to read. In addition to teaching you how to create visualizations of information, this assignment will also familiarize you with your assigned issue.

Infographic Content

Every Infographic is required to cover the following topics:

1. Issue Definition
2. People Affected
3. Where Is the Issue Most Prevalent?
4. Top Contributors to the Problem
5. Associated Costs

Each section has unique requirements for information and imagery:

I. Issue Definition

1. Find 3 reliable definitions of your issue, write a 1-2 sentence definition (maximum) of your own in your own words, based on the definitions you found. You must cite your definition sources.
2. Definition must be labeled “Definition” and be in a semi-transparent box
3. List a minimum of 3 specific examples of this issue in the world today
4. Each example must be labeled along with a corresponding image
5. All examples must be labeled under the heading “Examples”

II. People Affected

1. Label approximately the number of people directly and severely affected by your assigned issue each year. (Ask your teacher how to find a number for your specific issue.)
2. Display the number in a large, bold font, and combine the number with an image.

III. Where Is the Issue Most Prevalent?

1. Under the heading “Where Is the Issue Most Prevalent?” create a world map, and then find, label, and color in the nations most affected by your issue in the following regions:
2. North America
3. Central/South America
4. East Asia
5. South Asia
6. Middle East
7. Africa
8. Europe
9. Pacific Islands
   

IV. Top Contributors to the Problem

1. A minimum of three causes that lead to your issue being a global problem
2. For each cause, provide one specific statistic
3. For each cause, include a corresponding image that directly relates to the cause
4. All causes must be grouped under a header titled “Top Contributors to the Problem”

V. Associated Costs

1. What are the associated costs of your issue? Consider the following:
2. Financial
3. Environmental
4. Human
5. Any other costs that you can identify
6. Choose 2-3 from the above and provide a statistic and a visual to accompany your examples

Infographic Medium

The WIP Global Issue Infographic may be created in either a digital image or physical format. Whether students are permitted to use both or only one of the formats is at the discretion of their World History teacher.

• Physical posters - minimum dimensions of 33 inches x 24 inches
• Digital Poster - 16:9 aspect ratio, high resolution

Infographic General Requirements

• No images may be used more than once. For example, in the sample Infographic, the image of a clock is only used a single time.
• No style of chart (Pie, Bar, Line Graph, etc.) may be used more than once. For example, if you have already used a pie chart in one of your sections, you may not use another.
• All information must have parenthetic citations and a Works Cited page.
• Depending on the medium of the Infographic, the Works Cited will be either on the last slide of a digital presentation or attached to the back of a physical presentation.
• Parenthetical citations and the Works Cited page must follow all MLA rules.
• Images do not require citations.

Global Issue Infographic Rubric

A / B / C / Inc/Redo
Content
60% / Infographic fully addresses all required information from the 5 topics:
__Definition
__People Affected __Prevalence
__Top Contributors
__Associated costs
18 pts. / Infographic adequately addresses all required information from the 5 topics:
__Definition
__People Affected __Prevalence
__Top Contributors
__Associated costs
15 pts. / Infographic addresses all required information from the 5 topics:
__Definition
__People Affected __Prevalence
__Top Contributors
__Associated costs
13 pts. / Infographic fails to address all required information from the 5 topics.
0 pts.
Visual Representation
20% / A wide variety of images and charts/graphs are used to increase the clarity of the information.
6 pts. / A variety of images and charts/graphs are used to convey the information.
5 pts. / Images and charts/graphs are used to convey the information.
4.5 pts. / Images and charts are missing, repeated, or do not convey the information.
0 pts.
Organization
10% / Information and images are arranged in a way that is easy to follow and artfully presented.
3 pts. / Information and images are logically and cleanly arranged.
2.5 pts. / Information and images are present.
2 pts. / Information and images lack any meaningful organization.
0 pts.
Works Cited
10% / All citations and parenthetical notations are present and properly MLA formatted.
3 pts. / No more than 2 MLA errors are present, and all citations and parenthetical notations are present.
2.5 pts. / No more than 3 MLA errors are present, and all citations and parenthetical notations are present.
2 pts. / 4 or more MLA formatting errors are present, or citations are missing.
0 pts.

Total Points_____/30

WIP Running Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a works cited page that includes summary and analysis of each cited source. In WIP we will be breaking down the process of learning how to write an annotated bibliographyby doing periodic source checks of two sources each. Each of these source checks will have its own specific requirements and due date. The goal is for you to engage in continual research, and to become familiar with different types of sources.

For WIP you will be required to use four specific source types, and by the end of this project, every student will have eight annotated sources on their bibliography. You are encouraged to go beyond these requirements and do any further research you wish, however, all of your sources must pertain to the issue you are assigned. All assignments must be typed, done in MLA format, and submitted to turnitin.com. Sources must be printed out, attached to your source check assignment, and marked up with notes, highlighting, etc.

SEMESTER 1

Source Check #1 Due Oct. 21--English

This first assignment will kick start your annotated bibliography, using two sources from a reliable, academic website (no Wikipedia, ehow, ask.com, about.com, answers.com, etc.)

Source Check #2 Due Nov. 4--History

Add two sources from a database

SEMESTER 2

Source Check #3 Due Feb. 3--History

Add two sources from any of the approved WIP source types (website, database, book,

periodical or video)

Source Check #4 Due Feb. 10—English

Add two sources from a book or video (electronic books are acceptable)

Common Core Standards Addressed in this assignment:Reading InformationalTextStandards 1 (Cite textual evidence to support analysis),2,3, and 5 (determine central idea of a text,traceand evaluatehow author develops it),8 (evaluate claims, reasoning, and evidence used in a text), 10 (read 10th grade level texts proficiently)

How do I create a Source Check?

STEP 1: You will need to research. You will be assigned the type of source (s) for each due date, so you must follow those requirements.

STEP 2: Create an MLA citation for your source(s). Great resources to help you are:

Purdue Owl (This is a GREAT resource on how to create annotations!)

Irvington.org/mla

STEP 3: Underneath your citation, type a paragraph (the source description, or “annotation”) that

1. SUMMARIZES the source
2. Paraphrases the author’s ideas, using citation
3. Includes a direct, cited quotation

2. ANALYZES the validity of the source (what makes this source believable/reliable?)

3. REFLECTS upon the source’s use/value to the world issue being researched.

STEP 4: Check your MLA format:

• Times New Roman, 12 point Font, 1 inch margins
• HEADING
• Name, Teacher Name, Class & Period, Date (Day Mon. Year) in top LEFT corner of page 1
• Your last name and page number in top RIGHT corner of all pages after page 1
• All sources must be in ALPHABETICAL order, and all citations must follow the MLA Eighth Edition table below
• SPACING
• Citation has a hanging indent (the only line that remains all the way to the left is the first line of your citation)
• Source descriptions are left justified
• Citations are double spaced, source descriptions are single spaced
• No extra space should be added between sources

MLA Citation Table

Author . / Carlson, Anne-Marie.
Title of Source. / “Is It Still Necessary to Teach About the United Nations?”
Container 1
Title of Container, / UN Chronicle,
Other Contributors ,
Version,
Number, / vol. 4,
Publisher ,
Publication date, / 2013,
Location. / pp. 69-88.
Container 2
Title of Container, / SIRS Issues Researcher,
Other contributors ,
Version ,
Number,
Publisher ,
Publication date,
Location . / includefullURL...

Finished entry: