Who Will Win the 2008 Election? A web quest for 8th grade Social Studies.

Introduction

Information occurs quickly in our world today.  Web sites are often the sole source of information for some people.  The problem is that there is no regulation for web sites on the Internet so it is possible that information contained in web pages is  inaccurate or outdated.

You have already received information on the issues and candidates participating in the 2008 Presidential Election.  In this activity you and a partner will study and review the information found on web sites concerning the 2008 election.  You and your partner will determine whether or not the web pages you have studied are a valuable source of information on Election 2008.

Task

You and your partner will be assigned two or three election-related web sites to evaluate and review.  To complete this task you will use:

o   Information you receive on web site evaluation

o   Knowledge you have gained in studying election issues and candidates

o   A graphic organizer to compile your thoughts and research

When your evaluations are complete, you are required to compile your information into a visual format and present your recommendation to the class.

Process

1.     Ms. Joesten will present the web site evaluation format we will be using.  She will show examples using the projector and you need to take notes during the presentation.

2.     During this time the concept of bias will be discussed.  We will explore a definition and show examples from several web sites.

3.     We will go through one web site as a group discussing the issues Ms. Joesten has just covered in the notes.

4.     After the group analysis, you and your partner will be assigned the web pages you are to evaluate.

5.     During this process, one person will be the recorder and one person will be the technician, the partner who manipulates the computer.  You may trade jobs half way through the evaluation.

6.     Record your findings on the evaluation graphic organizer, keeping in mind that you are evaluating the web sites to discover which ones would provide the best background information for understanding the issues and candidates in Election 2008.

Compiling

1.     Once you have finished evaluating your web sites, you and your partner need to discuss whether or not they would be valuable as information on the Election, its issues, and candidates.

2.     Your other final product will be a presentation to the class, using the computer and the LCD projector illustrating the benefits and drawbacks to the web sites you have evaluated.  You will use the evaluation criteria provided at the beginning of this process.

 

WEB SITES for EVALUATION

GENERAL SITES

1.     www.democrats.org

2.     http://www.gop.org

3.     http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cid=N00009638&cycle=2008

4.     www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues

5.     www.votesmart.org/summary.php?can_id=53270

DEMOCRATS/OBAMA & BIDEN

6.               www.barackobama.com/index.php

7.                www.ontheissues.org/Joe_Biden.htm

8. www.ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama.htm

9.     http://no-obama09.com

10.   www.nobama.com

11.                        http://my.barackobama.com

12.                        http://www.againstobama.com

13.                        www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

14.                        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

15.                        www.barackobamaantichrist.blogspot.com

16.                        www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=BS030017

17.                        www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/barack-obama.htm

18.                        http://news.aol.com/elections/barack-obama

19.                        www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2008primaries/candidates/obama.html

20.                        www.cfr.org/bios/11603

21.                        http://theobamafile.com

22.                        www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/personalities/barack-obama

23.                        www.aflcio.org

24.                         www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/18/revealed.obama.profile

25.                        www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400629

 

 

REPUBLICANS/ McCAIN & PALIN

 

26.                        www.johnmccain.com

27.                        www.politico.com/candidates2008/gopcandidates/john_mccain_candidate.html

28.                        http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/personalities/john-mccain

29.                        http://nowaymccain.com

30.                        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_John_McCain

31.                        http://therealmccain.com

32.                         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mccain

33.                        http://votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=53270

34.                        http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/john-mccain

35.                        www.ontheissues.org/john_mccain.htm

36.                        http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecing_johnmccain

37.                        www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/johnmccain

38.                        http://therealmccain.com

39.                        www.realchange.org

40.                        www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com

41.                        www.nndb.com/people/914/000023845

42.                        www.biography.com/featured-biography/john-mccain

43.                        http://pewforum.org/religion08/profile.php?CandidateID=3g/mccain.htm

44.                        www.mahalo.com/John_McCain

45.                        www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/john-mccain

46.                        www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cid=N00006424

47.                        www.aflcio.org/issues/politics/mccain.cfm

 

WHAT IS A MNEMONIC DEVICE?

 

A CLEVER DEVICE TO AID THE MEMORY.

IT IS A FORMULA TO HELP YOUR REMEMBER SOMETHING.  IT MIGHT RHYME.

THE MNEMONIC DEVICE TO REMEMBER HOW TO EVALUATE WEB SITES:

            “All Cabrillo Students Dance”

                        A= accuracy and authority

                        C= currency and completeness

                        S= subject and scope

                        D= design or ease of use

 

WEB SITE EVALUATION FORM

REMEMBER OUR MNEMONIC DEVICE:               ALL                CABRILLO              STUDENTS             DANCE

 

Site Name and URL __________________________________________

Criteria	Things to consider	Evidence
Authority/Accuracy Who wrote it? Who published it? If you see geocities, angelfire, or a tripod web site you need to remember that anyone can create a web page!	Who is the author, group, or   organization that is   responsible?         Look for “about us”. Extension Responsible party experts   on subject? Biographical information? Way to contact author or    group? Bias? Objective? Publisher? Selling anything?
Currency/Completeness How old is it?	Date? Update? Copyright date?  Current links that work? Site completely covers   topic?
Scope/Subject matter What is it about?	Subject Purpose Intended audience or age   level Thorough and useful   information? Unique information or   easily found in other   sources? Well edited information?
Design	Easy to use? How is it organized? Logically presented? Colors Background Pictures/clipart

 

 

RUBRIC FOR ORAL PRESENTATION

 

	BEGINNING 1	DEVELOPING 2	ACCOMPLISHED 3	EXEMPLARY 4	SCORE TOTAL= /100
ORAL PRESENTATION	No voice projection     No eye contact     Slouchy or back to audience	Some voice projection   May make eye contact   Some body language	Projects voice     Mostly consistent eye contact   Maintains positive body language	Expressive voice     Makes consistent eye contact   Maintains positive body language and uses gestures	/30
WEB SITE EVALUATION	Selected web sites but did not apply criteria for evaluation.   No analysis	Chose web sites and filled out forms       Incomplete or weak analysis with few judgements based on criteria	Chose web sites and filled out forms       Studied web sites and made some judgments using criteria.  Analysis missing some points.	Chose web sites and filled out form in detail.     Used precise language and criteria when evaluating the sites.  Complete analysis evident	/30
CONTENT   __ACCURACY   __AUTHORITY   __CURRENCY   __COMPLETE   __SUBJECT   __SCOPE   __DESIGN	Content not organized	Content somewhat organized	Content organized	Content exemplary	/30
COLLABORATION	No collaboration resulting in incomplete assignment.	Some collaboration Project result affected	Collaboration evident	Collaboration obvious. Evident partners practiced	/10