The Local Government Issues Project is an opportunity for students to research an issue of interest at the local or state level and present their findings in a PowerPoint presentation. To download a complete description of the project and rubric, click here.
For the project, you will work with a partner to research a local issue and create a PowerPoint presentation to explain that issue. (You should choose one or two “backup” issues that you are also interested in working on, in case your first choice doesn’t work out.) You will spend time in class researching your issue and then designing a PowerPoint slideshow presentation on the computer to explain your issue to the class. The PowerPoint slideshows will be presented at a 7th grade assembly.
Choosing a topic:
o The issue you choose must be local, meaning that it affects your neighborhood or city.
o Think about problems or issues in your community. Talk to family members, friends, or neighbors about what issues concern them.
o Check out the local pages of newspapers (see a list below) to see what issues are in the news right now.
o Go to the City Council website or the NY State Assembly or NY State Senate websites (see a list below) to see what bills are being written or voted on.
Researching your topic:
o Read the local newspapers (see a list below) to learn about the background of the issue, debates about the issue, and legislation concerning the issue in New York City and/or New York State.
o Visit the City Council website or the New York State Assembly or New York State Senate websites (see a list below) to follow the progress of legislation on your issue.
Designing your PowerPoint presentation:
o Take an online tutorial of PowerPoint to see how it works: try http://www.actden.com/pp/unit1or http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/ed596/ppoint/pphome.htm.
o Create a rough draft of your PowerPoint presentation on paper. Include the information that will be included on each slide.
o Type your information into PowerPoint. Be sure to save your work often on the computer and once on the flash drive at the end of each class period.
o Be sure to proofread your work!
Your PowerPoint presentation should:
o explain the background and history of the issue clearly and in detail; it explains why you think the issue is important.
o explain what the city or state legislative branch has done or is doing to address the issue. This may include recent laws that have been signed, recent bills that have failed, or bills that are being considered.
o include recommendations about what you think should be done to address the issue; your recommendations may be for legislators, adults, students, etc. Your recommendations should be logical and practical. In other words, people should be able to really do them.
o include a slide at the end of the slideshow for your bibliography. Your bibliography slide should be properly formatted and include all of the websites and print sources that you used for research and design.
o be clear and creative; your design (layout, sound, clip art, etc.) should help to explain your issue and not be distracting to your audience.
o be well organized and the text should reflect correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling
Websites about local and state government:
New York City Government website: http://www.nyc.gov
New York City Council: http://www.nyccouncil.info
New York State Government: http://www.state.ny.us
New York State Assembly: http://assembly.state.ny.us/
New York State Senate: http://www.senate.state.ny.us
National versus State Government: simpler version: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/index.html; more complex version: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/government/index.html
News websites:
Gotham Gazette: for city government: http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/index.php; for state government: http://www.gothamgazette.com/eyeonalbany2006
New York Times, local & state news: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/nyregion/index.html
New York Post, local news: http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/regionalnews.htm
Newsday, local news: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/
AM New York, local & state news: http://www.amny.com/news/politics/
Tips for creating PowerPoint presentations:
Welcome to PowerPoint: http://www.actden.com/pp/unit1; A fun introduction to PowerPoint.
PowerPoint Tutorial: http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/ed596/ppoint/pphome.htm A good step-by-step guide to creating a PowerPoint presentation