Current Issues in Michigan

Note that many lessons have fostered discussion amongst the teachers who have used them. You can join these discussions, and gain access to many additional features, just by signing up for an ePortfolio!

This lesson is most appropriate for High School classrooms.

Theme: What issues are the people in Michigan concerned about today

MCF Benchmark: Explain why people may agree on democratic values in the abstract but disagree when they are applied to specific situations.

Other benchmarks this lesson targets include: none

Materials needed:

  1. Access to current media via television, radio, newspapers and magazines, and/or the Internet.
  2. Ability to copy supplemental material.
  3. Optional prizes for introductory game

Methodological procedure:

  1. Introduce the concept of "issue" to students by bringing in 3-5 high interest current events and having students guess the issue and underlying core democratic values on HANDOUT #1 WHAT'S MY ISSUE (see supplementary files below). Remind students that an issue is "a matter that is in dispute between two or more parties" or "a vital or unsettled matter." (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. "issue." http//www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary). Be sure to differentiate between an issue such as gun control and an isolated current event such as a bank robbery. Consider compensating correct answers with extra credit points, candy, or some other reward.
  2. Divide students into groups of 2-3 students and assign each group a topic. Topics include local issues, state issues, national issues, international issues, youth issues, older people's issues, women's issues, minority issues, low-income issues, middle-income issues, and high-income issues. Group topics can be used more than once or additional groups can be added to meet the needs of individual communities.
  3. Using HANDOUT #2 HIGHEST WIRE (see supplementary files below), direct each group to search a variety of media and Internet sources in order to determine the issue that people in Michigan are most concerned about within the confines of their topic. There are a number of Internet directories listing media sources (see yahoo link below for an example).
  4. Groups will then prepare a news article on their issue. News articles should include the following information:
    -- A detailed description of the issue including its relevant history and current events related to the issue.
    -- An explanation of the arguments for the different sides and of the core democratic values that are in conflict.
    -- A persuasive rationale for why their group selected this issue as an issue that people in Michigan would be concerned about as opposed to other issues. Rationales should be supported with polls, statistics, and/or expert testimony verifying that this is an issue of concern in Michigan.
  5. As a class, explain to students that they will now take on the role of news journal editors in determining which 3 articles will be placed in a class news journal and submitted for publication in Highest Wire (see Highest Wire link below), a news service published by high school students. (Alternatively, these articles could be placed in a school paper, on-line at a district web site, or displayed prominently in the room.) Have groups present a shortened report of their articles to the class; reports should be approximately 2 minutes in length, with approximately 2 minutes for discussion and debate from the audience. Students will then rank order their top 3 articles using the ballot provided in HANDOUT #3 BALLOT (see supplementary files below). At this time, emphasize to students that they should select articles with issues that they believe are most important to Michigan people. Tally the ballots.
  6. Assemble a class news journal and submit the top 3 articles to Highest Wire (see Highest Wire link below) or the school newspaper, post the articles on-line at a district web site, or create a class news journal or display.
  7. Have the students begin a debriefing discussion from the experience that includes the questions outlined below and in HANDOUT #5 DEBRIEFING QUESTIONS (see supplementary files below). Have them finish the questions as a part of their homework. Please note, if you choose to, you can use the last debriefing question as an extended response question.
  8. Assign HANDOUT #4 FIELD STUDY (see supplementary files below) for homework and direct students to compare their class news journal to other media sources. Students will examine 3 other media sources in order to determine the top issues selected by these sources.
    -- What criteria did you use when selecting the 3 most important issues for your class news journal?
    -- How are your criteria related (if at all) to core democratic values?
    -- How important were your 3 issues to other sources?
    -- What criteria did these other sources use in selecting their most important stories?
    -- Are their criteria consistent with core democratic values?
    -- What other factors might influence the media's selection processes?
    -- How might the media's selection of issues influence the people of Michigan?
    -- What responsibility (if any) does the media have to the public?
    -- What suggestions could you make for improving the media?
    -- Extended Response: What advice would you give to people in Michigan regarding the media? Explain your reasons for giving this advice with detailed examples from the activity.

Author's notes:

The lesson plan can be adopted to meet the needs of a diverse classroom by pre-selecting easier or more difficult media sources to research.

Timetable:

- Steps1- 4 should be completed in the first day. This should take about an hour (giving students about 15 minutes for their searching and at least 20 for writing.). If necessary, the students should finish their articles for homework and begin thinking about step 5.
- Spend the next day on step 5, giving the groups some time at the beginning of class to make final preparations for their presentations. Once the top 3 articles are chosen, you need to determine the most feasible way of making these public in your school. This may be to offer extra- credit to a group of students who wish to put together a newsletter for the class/ school. Students can then begin the debriefing as an in- class discussion. Some of the questions relate to the Field Study homework, but you can have the students hypothesize their findings. You may wish to have the students answer some of the questions more formally for homework or give them time in- class to answer the extended response.

Assessment strategies:

  1. HighestWire Assignment. By creating a class journal and contributing to an existing on-line journal, students demonstrate the ability to select and report on important issues, identify conflicting core democratic values, and defend editorial selections to their peers.
  2. Field Study Assignment. After studying examples of media in the real world, students compare and contrast their findings with the editorial decisions made in their own journal.
  3. Debriefing. Students engage in extended dialogue in order to confront and reach consensus on the role of the media in our society today.

Available downloads:

Suggested web sites:

None