Limited Access to Education; in Asia and the Pacific
A WebQuest for 6th Grade (ELA)
Ms. Guilamo
Introduction
How do you get to school? A yellow bus, walking a couple blocks, taxi, or a ride with your parents? What about by horse or boat? Access to education is a big challenge in Asia and the Pacific. In some villages schools are far away and difficult to reach. The distance for those students from home to school is one reason that 26.3 million children are out of school in Asia and the Pacific. The United Nations has asked you to research this problem, identifying current public policies that relate to the issue and make policy recommendations to improve children’s access to schools. To accomplish this, you are to follow the Public Policy Analysis steps to support your findings and recommendations.
Task
Letter to the Mayors: You are going to work with a partner to write a letter to the Mayors of Asia and the Pacific. In this letter you are going to present solutions as to how their countries/villages should prepare themselves to allow primary students to get to school in a safe and reasonable manner.
Process
To accomplish the task, you will use the 6 step PPA process to draft your letter with your partner.
1. First you’ll be assigned to a partner in the classroom
2. Then together, you will browse through the resources listed below to deepen your understanding of the content
a. If you come across a different article, please be sure to save the link of the website
3. Once you have identified the problem with access to education within the country, you will begin drafting your letter (format help provided - click here)
4. Begin typing your letter to the Mayors of your selected country or village
5. Revise your letter (adhere to the rubric during your editing)
6. Print out your letter, your partner and yourself should sign it IN BLACK INK PEN
Step 1: Define the Problem Read through these 12 journeys to school found on this website with your partner and choose ONE student’s journey that interests you the most.
(What country or village will we choose?)
a. Worksheet (use this worksheet to guide your research)
Step 2: Gather the Evidence Look for the problems that arise for these children on their way to school by visiting the following links found below. (Present evidence that the problem exists)
a. Worksheet (this worksheet will keep you focused)
b. Click on the links below to gather more information:
Step 3: Identify the Causes You can find the causes through the links listed above but please feel free to go beyond these sites listed, make sure you save the URL of the pages you visit and get data from. Explore the causes behind these students’ limited access to education in your country/village. (List some factors that contribute to the problem)
a. Worksheet
b. These links below will get you started on finding the cause of the issue:
Education Issues in Asia and the Pacific
Education: Every child has the right to go to school and learn
Basic education and gender equality: Schools for Asia to improve education for millions
Step 4: Evaluate an Existing Policy Focusing solely on your selected country/village, find an existing policy on the limited access to education for students. What are they doing as a country/village to help these children? (Advantages, Disadvantages)
a. Worksheet
Step 5: Develop Solutions How can we become activists to support students in your selected country/village? (What can you do to help? Who has the power to help?)
a. Worksheet
Step 6: Select the Best Solution Based on the research you did with your partner and the information you evaluated, you will have enough to draft your letter to the mayors of these countries/villages. (Make sure to choose the best solution based on Effectiveness and Feasibility)
a. Worksheet
Evaluation
Conclusion
You have all become activists for change. Having access to education is a right for EVERY child worldwide. If you continue this fight, soon millions of children will be able to get to school
Standards
-Literacy 6-12 Anchor Standards for Reading
Key Ideas and Details; Standard 1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas; Standard 7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including across multiple texts.
-Literacy 6-12 Anchor Standards for Writing
Research to Build and Present Knowledge; Standard 5: Conduct short as well as more sustained research based on focused questions to demonstrate understanding of the subject under investigation.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge; Standard 6: Gather relevant information from multiple sources and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
-Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6-8
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas; Standard RH7: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.