PUBLIC ISSUES & DISCOURSE

Students & Citizens need to

learn more about these issues!
http://www.middleschooldebate.c
om/topics/topiclists.htm
Parker Elementary

22055 Quinn Rd, Charter

Township of Clinton, MI
48035

Fatemh Reslan

Public Issues and Policy DAY ONE

1. Demographics:
Teacher Name: Fatemh Reslan

Date: December 2nd, 2014

School: Robbie Hall Parker Middle School

Grade: 7th

Setting: Classroom

District: Clintondale Community Schools

2. Objectives/ Outcomes:
Major Objective:
Students will be able to identify a public issue relating to the community or state,
create a question form of the issue, and determine their final stance by reflecting off
classmate opinions and point of views.
Minor Objectives:
Students will be able to give their opinion on several public issues.
Students will be able to create a question form of a public issue.
Students will be able to research public issues.
Outcomes:

Identify public policy issues related to global topics and issues studied.
Clearly state the issue as a question of public policy orally or in written form.
Use inquiry methods to acquire content knowledge and appropriate data
about the issue.
Identify the causes and consequences and analyze the impact, both positive
and negative.
Share and discuss findings of research and issue analysis in group
discussions and debates.
Compose a persuasive essay justifying the position with a reasoned
argument.
Develop an action plan to address or inform others about the issue at the
local to global scales.

Key Concepts: Public Discourse, Decision Making, and Citizen Involvement

Big Ideas:
Issues are things that people disagree about.
Public issues are issues that affect a large group of people such as a school,
community, or a state.
Many times people disagree about how to settle, or resolve, public issues.
One important responsibility of citizens is to learn about public issues.

Fatemh Reslan

3. Content Expectations/ GLCEs:

P3.1 Identifying and Analyzing Issues, Decision Making, Persuasive Communication
About a Public Issue, and Citizen Involvement
7 P3.1.1-

Clearly state an issue as a question or public policy, trace the origins

of an issue, analyze and synthesize various perspectives, and generate
and evaluate alternative resolutions. Deeply examine policy issues ingroup discussions and debates to make reasoned and informed
decisions. Write persuasive/argumentative essays expressing and
justifying decisions on public policy issues. Plan and conduct activities
intended to advance views on matters of public policy, report the
results, and evaluate effectiveness.

4. Teacher Procedure/ Development:

A. Introduction:
To introduce the unit, this lesson will be the opener for the rest of them!
Students will from the start be given an issue to work on in groups. Prior to the
group work, the teacher must set the stage of the information that students are
going to need to retain, and will be assessed on.
Introduction- Read to Self & Discussion: Eleven Minutes
Students will be asked to read silently in their textbooks. (Chapter five) They
have five minutes to do so. (Relatively short chapter, only reading the section
on public issues and citizen responsibility)
When students are done reading the section of the chapter, we will begin a
discussion on the topic.
We will discuss the big ideas of the lesson:
o Issues are things that people disagree about.
o Public issues are issues that affect a large group of people such as a
school, community, or a state.
o Many times people disagree about how to settle, or resolve, public issues.
o One important responsibility of citizens is to learn about public issues.

Will call one students using the number sticks, so all students must be
engaged in the grand discussion.
Ask students to tell the person next to them; elbow buddy what they think is
a public issue, tell the person next to them a public issue they identify in their
community, school, or even their state of Michigan.
Introduction Activity: Eight Minutes
In groups (at their tables) students are going to complete the group activity
that is given to them.
The handout gives students a chance to read about a public issue where as a
group they will need to classify the public issue that the community/town is
facing, understand what the people of the town are doing to resolve the issue,
and reflect on the decisions that the people have come to. This activity

Fatemh Reslan

allows students to reflect and apply what they know about public issues and
resolution in a collaborative atmosphere.
B. Materials /Resources:
Visual Aids for every table/student
Paper
Pencil/writing utensil
Fill-in worksheets
For students to use:
http://www.middleschooldebate.com/topics/topiclists.htm
http://www.eastiron.org/eistaff/uploads/1837/potential_topics.pdf
Text Book: Remy, Richard C., John J. Patrick, David C. Saffell, Gary E. Clayton,
and Dinah Zike. Civics Today: Citizenship, Economics, & You. New York, NY:
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson304b.shtml
C. Methods and Procedures:
Pre-Activity: Eight Minutes
Students will transition into the next activity. They will turn in their group
work and each grab a laptop for the next part of their lesson. I will call
students by numbers to retrieve a laptop. (Numbers one through five, six
through ten, eleven through fifteen.)
When all students have the laptops up and ready, they will have received a
Exploring a Public Issue sheet.
Teacher will model how to fill this in by using the public issue of Wind Mills
in Northern Michigan. Is it something that should be built in the lakes or
something that will affect the community and natural environment?
(Students can use this modeling and example as a reference; will be on the
board)
The sheet asks students to first describe a problem. With that first questions,
students are aware they are searching for school appropriate problems, and
although there are many issues that are out there we are focusing on things
that are school friendly. They use their laptops for research or prior
knowledge of an issue. Next, they are connecting the problem to a public
issue. Lastly, the students will write the public issue as a question. This is
done individually. Students will put thumbs up and laptops closed and away
when they are done.
http://www.middleschooldebate.com/topics/topiclists.htm
http://www.eastiron.org/eistaff/uploads/1837/potential_topics.pdf
Students can use these sites to find topics/issues.
Activity: Twenty-One Minutes
The directions for the main activity will be addressed and students will have
to pay attention closely. The activity is going to a modified version of musical
chairs. The classroom should already be set-up in a giant U shape according
the classroom management plan that is already active.
Students will leave their exploring a public issue sheet on their desks. I will
Fatemh Reslan

hand out a piece of tape for every student to tape it to the desk so that it does
not fly off during the activity. They will also tape the sheet that has their six
viewpoints to their desk. During the activity students will fill out these
viewpoints and every student in the class will have has six classmates
address their issue that they chose during the pre-activity.
Before directions of activity, teacher will go over the correct form when
stating an opinion. (Review; in case they have forgotten)
The directions to this activity are:
o Students will walk around the classroom; against the desks
that are in a U shape. While the music is playing.
o When the music stops they will need to sit at the desk they are
in front of and fill in a box of the viewpoints cards. Each
student will have six opinions from six different classmates at
the end of the activity.
o There will be six rounds of music playing and stopping.
o The music that will be used is I like to move it move it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a91pJDut50E&list=PL59C
33C73B0AEEC79 (Madagascar Movie song)
Students will go back to their seats and look at the anonymous opinions that
they received in regards to their topic.

D. Accommodations/ Adaptations:
Visual learners do best by sitting at the front of the classroom, taking detailed
notes, seeing the teachers body language and facial expressions during
lectures to understand a lesson. They may think in pictures and learn best
from diagrams, illustrated textbooks, videos, handouts, and other visual
displays. To accommodate to these students, I have provided visual aids and
diagrams at each table group so that students can use this as a reference.
For the auditory learners, they learn best through verbal lectures,
discussions, and by reading textbooks aloud. With that being said, I will make
sure to repeat and clearly explain the directions multiple times. Also, to help
instruction and student learning, I will allow students to work in groups so
this way they are speaking and helping one another learn through
collaboration.
For the tactile students, they need to learn through a hands-on approach,
activities, and by actively exploring the physical world that surrounds them.
So I allow these students to move around during group work, always have
them bring things up to me, basically allowing them to move around more to
help their minds going and functioning.
For ELL students, I will have them either draw out their opinion, depending
on their level of writing skills or give them a sentence stem to hold onto
during the activity where it states yes or no because and due to transitions to
use as a reference. There are also multiple visual aids for ELL students to use
during every part of the lesson.

Fatemh Reslan

E. Assessment/ Evaluation:
1. Informal assessment will be observed throughout the lesson and activities.
Students will be graded on their engagement.
2. Students will be assessed on the completion of all the activity sheets and group
work as well.
3. Final assessment will be at the end of the unit but for the lesson students will be
assessed on their pre-writing chart where they will fill in the YES or NO
columns by listing their opinions, their classmates opinions, and their thoughts
on the issue even after the activity.
4. Students will also be assessed on the completion of their reflections in their
social studies journals.
F. Conclusion: Seven Minutes
The lesson will be concluded with a classroom discussion. Reflecting after an
activity/lesson allows students to apply what they learned for their further
knowledge and even for the next lesson. During the lesson, I will ask students to
take out their social studies journals where they will just write in complete
sentences the problem or issue they identified earlier, how it affects them and their
community, and finally writing it in a question form. (At this point students ideas on
the problem might have even changed and if that is the case they can write about
how that happened and why they believe it is not an issue anymore.)
There will be a homework packet set home for students to complete
containing a article that students will read and a survey where students will
state the opinions of others on the issue that they have identified in the
article.
With the packet there will be a newsletter to parents addressing what
students are doing for this weeks social studies unit.
G. Communication with Parents/ Guardians:

Parents and guardians of students will know in advance that this lesson is
taking place according to our classroom blog and the schedule that it
provides to keep everyone on track.
A newsletter will be set home stating that our students are officially acting
citizens of our classroom where they are addressing public issues that they
think should be addressed and going about it in a productive and formal
manner.

Fatemh Reslan

*Visual Aid provided for students at every table and also on the board.

Affect many
people

Public
Issues

People
disagree about
how to solve
them

Citizens need
to learn about
them

Fatemh Reslan

Graphic Organizer
*Visual Aid

Citizens need
to work
together.

Citizens need
to evaluate
alternative
resolutions.

Resolving
Public
Issues

Citizens have
to analyze
information
about a public
issue.

Legislation or
other
government
action might
be needed.

Fatemh Reslan

Visual Aids/Reference for students

CORE DEMOCRATIC VALUES

Freedom

Justice

The Common
Good

Individual
Rights

*
*
*
*

The freedom to make choices

The freedom to believe what you want
The freedom to have your own ideas
The freedom to choose your own friends

* This is the same as fairness

* The idea that all people should be treated fairly
* No person or group should be favored

* The good of the whole community

* People working together for the benefit of all

*Things an individual person is entitled to have or to do

*One right is the right to own property.
*Another right is the right to speak freely

Fatemh Reslan

GROUP ACTIVITY SHEET

Introduction Activity

People in the town of Stockton have been complaining about

neighbors holding too many garage sales. They complain that
traffic is very heavy in their neighborhoods during the garage
sales. People park on their lawns and often leave litter in their
yards. Some people have a garage sale every weekend.
Stockton storeowners are worried that the garage sales are
taking business away from them. Several people recently
attended a town council meeting. They demanded that the
town council do something to solve the problem. The town
council has decided to pass a law that would limit the number
of garage sales for each house to three a year.
Questions:
1. What is the problem in Stockton?

2. How is the town council planning to solve the problem?

3. Do you think some people will disagree with this solution? Why or
why not?

Fatemh Reslan

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EXPLORING A PUBLIC ISSUE

Pre-Activity

Describe the
problem.

Connect the
problem to a public
issue.

Write the public

issue as a question.

Fatemh Reslan

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Viewpoint Cards
Activity

PERSON#1

PERSON #2

PERSON #3

PERSON #4

PERSON #5

PERSON #6

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Public Issue: Should

Assessment

Yes

No

Fatemh Reslan

13

Home Work - Newspaper Article

Time short for about 200 deer in Rochester Hills
Oakland Co. sheriff's sharpshooters are to start culling herd next month
Oakland County Sheriffs Office sharpshooters could kill beginning in January,
up to 200 deer in Rochester Hills, as the city begins reducing its deer population.
With more than 1,000 deer in the city, officials say the cull is necessary to curb
vehicle-deer crashes. In 2007, 219 of those crashes occurred, a total that gave the
city the highest rate of such accidents in the tri-county area.
But city officials won't release the days and locations of the culls. They say that
keeping the information quiet will keep residents safe and prevent opponents from
sabotaging the effort. Those against the cull, though, say that not releasing the times
potentially puts residents in danger.
"We don't want anybody out there when we're doing it," said Lance DeVoe, the city's
naturalist. The only information the city and Sheriff's Office released is that the cull
could happen on a few occasions in January and in February at select sites that are
no less than 50 acres in size. The woods in Bloomer Park and sites off Hamlin and
Avon roads might be selected, DeVoe has said.
He said the sharpshooters will be using suppressors on their rifles to muffle the
sound of the shots and to prevent echoing.
"We think it's very disconcerting that the city doesn't want to tell the residents even
near the sites when it's happening, where it's happening," said Don Hughes, an
Auburn Hills resident who's a member of Residents for Safe Deer Management, a
group that has actively protested the cull.
"We think it's very dangerous to have people out discharging firearms in the city."
Many of the deer-car collisions happen on roads around Oakland University. A large
deer population lives in the wooded areas on campus. Mayor Bryan Barnett said
he's approached university administrators about the deer problem, but he "hadn't
gotten any indications from them that they're going to be on board" with
participating in the cull. Oakland University Police Chief Samuel Lucido said vehicledeer accidents on campus are rare, partly because of the low speed limits.
Monique Balaban, a Rochester Hills resident who opposes the culling, doesn't
believe it will be effective. She proposed to the City Council that, among other things,
the city install deer-deterring reflectors along roads and then postpone the cull for
more than a year to measure the effectiveness of the reflectors.
"This isn't right, what they're doing," Balaban said. "They're not taking care of the
residents' safety."
Source: Detroit Free Press. 5 March 2009
<http://www.freep.com/article/20081231/NEWS03/812310386/1005/NEWS>.

Fatemh Reslan

14

Public Issue Analysis Sample Answers Article

What level of issue?
Students will ask their family members, neighbors, relatives, or anyone they wish
for their opinions on the issue. They will determine the level of the issue as well.
____School

__X__ local community

What is the
Issue?

____state

____region

____nation

Whether or not to kill deer in order to reduce the

deer population

It will help cut down on car-deer crashes.

What are
some
different
points of
view on the
issue?

It could be dangerous for residents

It wont be effective.
There are other things that could be done.

Fatemh Reslan

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