INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT TRADING CARD ASSIGNMENT



EXPECTATION: Students will investigate a Social Sciences issue and produce a report that examines the issue from two opposing perspectives.

RATIONALE: Students will have the opportunity to utilize skills and knowledge developed during the course to investigate a social issue or problem. The investigation will allow students to research two perspectives on a topic of interest and present them in a written submission.

PROCESS:

CRITERIA:

EVALUATION:

Name: Topic: _______________________________

AT-A-GLANCE SUMMARY CRITERIA

Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Undeveloped

5 4 3 2 1 0

1. MESSAGE: Clearly communicates ideas by:

a) identifying 5 -7 legitimate sources

b) providing clear and succinct information about the usefulness of each source in

the annotation

Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Undeveloped

5 4 3 2 1 0

2. FORMAT: Clearly presents ideas with:

a) reader-friendly printing

b) sources listed in APA style

COMMENTS:

Name: Topic: _______________________________

AT-A-GLANCE SUMMARY CRITERIA

Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Undeveloped

5 4 3 2 1 0

1. MESSAGE: Clearly communicates ideas by:

identifying clear arguments for two opposite perspectives on the topic

presenting succinct information that provides clear evidence and explanation to support

the arguments on each side of the issue

Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Undeveloped

5 4 3 2 1 0

2. FORMAT: Clearly presents ideas:

with reader-friendly printing

according to format given in the organizer

COMMENTS:

Name: Topic: __________________________________

Category Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1

| | | | | |

|Topic |clearly and effectively |perspective of the article mostly |perspective of the article focuses|perspective the article is unclear|

|(Knowledge, |demonstrates the perspective of |focuses on a single social science|on more than one social science |or undefined |

|Thinking) |one of an anthropologist, |perspective |perspective | |

| |psychologist or sociologist | | | |

| | | | | |

| |evidence is clearly and | | | |

| |thoughtfully presented using |evidence is clearly presented |evidence seems to focus on summary| |

| |relevant connections/ |using some relevant connections |of research rather than providing |summary of research prevails |

| |examples |and examples |supporting evidence; use of |rather than revealing any |

| | | |examples is weak |supporting evidence |

|Format | | | | |

|(Comm. App.) |entry is word- processed |entry is word-processed; format |entry is not word-processed or |entries are illegible; format is |

| |consistently using a highly |and font choice are suitable |format/font is inconsistent |confusing to follow; font is |

| |effective format, font | | |difficult to read |

| |(style/size) and | | | |

| |spacing | | | |

| | |writing style is good, minor |writing is inadequate, many errors|writing is unclear, no |

| |writing style is succinct, |errors exist, close to page limit |exist, too short or too long |proof-reading is evident, |

| |error-free, within the limit of |(within ½ page) | |excessively short/long |

| |2-3 pages | | | |

| | |complete References list, |complete References list | |

| | |incorporating embedded citations | |References list incomplete; too |

| |complete References list, | | |few sources |

| |incorporating embedded citations | | | |

| |using APA style | | | |

COMMENTS:

TOPICS

1. Prescription medication advertisements: Improving health or creating ailments

2. Beauty pageants: Providing opportunities or objectifying women

3. Human Genome Project: Essential Medical Tool or Cosmetic Genetics

4. Same-Sex Classes: Improved learning or sexual segregation

5. Marriage: Sacred institution or bygone tradition

6. Social Networking: Increased connectivity or social isolation

7. Cell Phones: Essential communication tool or time-consuming distraction

8. Antidepressants: Over-prescribed medication or solution to mental illness

9. Computer Technology and Children: Enhancing or Delaying Cognitive Development

10. Increased Grades Among North American Students: A smarter society or grossly

inflated marks

11. Dissociative Identity Disorder: Legitimate mental illness or a felonious excuse

12. Stay-At-Home-Mothers: Job that should be paid by the government or life choice

13. Technology in the Workplace: Improving work efficiency or decreasing productivity

14. Violent Video Games: Promoting violence or harmless entertainment

15. Having Children: Social pressure or individual willingness

16. Parapsychology (e.g. clairvoyance, telepathy): Fact or fiction

17. Hypnotherapy: Clinical hocus pocus or real science

18. (Drug) addictions: mental illness or life choice

19. Praising Children: Supporting healthy development or causing harm

20. (Violence) in Humans: Naturally occurring (nature) or learned behaviour (nurture)

21. Standardized Testing: Effective gauge of school effectiveness or limiting curriculum

22. Animal Testing: Finding cures to disease or unnecessary cruelty

23. School Uniforms: Making schools safer or creating social isolation

24. Technology in the Classroom: Essential Educational Tool or Unnecessary Distraction

25. Gay Marriage: Undermining the institution of marriage or stronger unions

26. Obesity: Fast food or failure to take responsibility

27. Parental Tough Love: Necessary behaviour modification or poisoning relationships

28. Workaholics: Lifestyle choice or a need for mandatory relaxation time

29. Tests and Exams: Effective measure of learning or administrative exercises

30. Gap Year: Wasting valuable time or period of meaningful reflection

31. Internet and Children: Erosion of critical thinking skills or advancing intelligence

32. Banning Religious Symbols in Public Buildings: Division of society or integration of

communities

34. Year-Round Schooling: Uninterrupted Education or Costly Practice

35. Mandatory Parenting Classes: Having children is a right or eliminating bad

parenting

36. Ban on Smoking: Protecting health of citizens or threat to lifestyle choice

37. Legalization of Polygamy: Economically efficient or creating hierarchies

38. Social Media: Improving Public Dialogue or (Anonymous) Online Aggression

39. Random Drug Testing In Schools: Drug use prevention or violation of personal privacy

40. Your own topic ( subject to teacher approval

-----------------------

[pic]

POINT/COUNTERPOINT: A Social Concern

The Scenario At Large

As with many topics of social concern, the general population may not have a substantial level of understanding. This may lead to inaccurate perceptions of social trends and issues. As an expert in the Social Sciences, you have been chosen by the magazine, Social Sciences Today, to write an informative report that outlines two sides of a current social problem or issue. To do this, you will need to conduct research to find in-depth information on the topic in order to produce an interesting and illuminating account to your readers.

Assuming the role of an author, the student will conduct research on a contemporary topic of interest in the Social Sciences. Using reliable electronic databases from the Earl Haig library, the student will seek out information on his/her topic to produce an informative report for a magazine. The process for writing the report will extend over three phases. Note the following for submission of the phases:

• All phases must be completed in order to receive a mark for the final submission.

• Each phase must be completed and returned to the student before proceeding to

the next stage.

• There will be two Library research periods to help students find and gather academically-suitable information for the report.

PHASE ONE

Annotated References List: Pre-research source list with annotations:

- a list of five to seven reliable/reputable sources using the Earl Haig library databases. The list will include the source citation plus five to six sentences that describe how the source is useful to you in creating your report.

PHASE TWO

Pro/Con Organizer: Gathering and organizing evidence to support arguments:

- an organizer that provides relevant arguments, evidence, and explanations for both sides of the issue. Information will be gathered from the sources identified in Phase One.

[pic]

PHASE THREE

Final Submission: Write the final copy of your report complete with parenthetical

citations and a References list in APA format. Submit a hard copy

to your teacher as well as an electronic copy to .

Please note: The final report will not be evaluated without prior successful

completion of Phases One and Two, and the submission of both

copies (hard copy and electronic) of the report.

Report: The report will examine the topic from two opposing perspectives, providing key information the public should know. The topic needs to be specific. For example:

Physical Punishment of Children: Discipline or Abuse?

Students are expected to use parenthetical citations in the body of their reports as well as provide a complete and accurate References list at the end of the report using APA (American Psychological Association) format.

Format: The word-processed report will be a succinctly-written 2-3 page entry, double-spaced with suitable font choice/size for readability and appropriate margins for teacher response. The report will be submitted in hard copy as well as through .

[pic]

The criteria, as described above, are evaluated by the instructor using the At-A-Glance Evaluation Checklist for both the Annotated References List and the Pro/Con Organizer. The final report will be evaluated using a comprehensive rubric.

[pic]

[pic]

(10)

References List

AT-A-GLANCE CHECKLIST

(10)

Pro/Con Organizer

AT-A-GLANCE CHECKLIST

[pic]

(20)

Overall Level

Report

EVALUATION RUBRIC

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download