Activity
INTRODUCTION- Announce to the students:
The President claims that the country is facing an energy supply crisis and
has established a White House taskforce to formulate a plan. The taskforce
will consist of the following members:
a)
(4) Lobbyists for the coal industry
b) (4) Lobbyists for the nuclear industry
c) (4) Members of the National Resource Defense Council
d) (4) Members of the Environmental Protection Agency
e) (4) Scientist from the National Academy of Sciences
(preferably Physics student)
f) (2) The Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the Department of Energy
g) (2) Members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
h) (2) Members of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources
- Adjust the number of students in each group to match the size of your class
1.
After students have been assigned their roles discuss the following questions:
a)
Which groups are members of the Iron Triangle? Where
do they fit on the Iron Triangle— Interest Groups,
Executive Branch, or Congress?
b) Which group may have the strongest influence on
the adoption of the energy plan? Why?
Hand out the Energy Task Force Introduction to the students.
ENERGY
TASK FORCE INTRODUCTION
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have been appointed to the President’s
energy task force to help him/her develop a new energy
policy for the country. You must consider the following
information when developing your proposal:
a)
In order to gain the support of the Senate, the President
has included members from the Committee
on Environment and Public Works and the Committee
on Energy
and Natural Resources. Students from other groups
may want to lobby the support of the senators from
these
committees to gain more persuasive power.
b) The task force must take into account
findings from the National Academy of Sciences
which
has concluded that human activities are, "causing
surface air temperature and subsurface ocean temperatures
to rise." Members
must also consider the president’s pledge
to reinvigorate the nation’s coal industry.
However, supporters of the nuclear industry
claim nuclear power
is cheaper to produce than electricity from
oil or coal-powered plants.
Your
main objective is to present a proposal to
the President (the teacher) and hopefully
persuade him/her
to adopt your recommendation. |
Part
I-Participant Profile Instructions:
1. Students will research their assigned role and write a
profile that includes:
a)
the mission statement of their organization
b) their point of view regarding energy resources
c) discussion of current issues related to energy and/or
the environment which the organization is currently
dealing with
2.
Students will meet with other members of their group
to compare profiles and revise them if necessary.
Part
2-Project objectives and Action Plan Instructions:
1. Students will write a proposal for the President’s
energy policy that forms their point of view.
2. In order to write a comprehensive proposal
and make a compelling argument to the President
they
must follow the guidelines listed below:
a)
research at least 5 primary sources: journals, books,
etc.
(websites should be evaluated for
credibility using the guidelines provided by
their Language
Arts teacher).
b) Write a 1-2 page proposal that discusses
the energy policy that should be adopted by
the President.
The plan must provide facts and supporting
arguments that substantiate your point of view.
In order
to refute possible objections, the proposal
should also include potential hazards to public
health
and the environment and how these harmful affects
could be dealt with.
c) In preparation for writing your proposal,
complete the attached action plan as you conduct
your research.
d) Students will meet in their assigned groups
to discuss and revise their individual action
plans. Teachers should check over the action
plans before
allowing students to begin their project proposals.
ACTION
PLAN-ENERGY TASK FORCE
1.
What is our current level of energy consumption/demand?
2. How can we best harvest energy?
3. How efficient is your source of energy (consider the amount of usable energy
that can be generated to fuel power plants)?
4. What is the potential negative impact on the environment and public health?
b) Suggest how these negative impacts could be reduced.
5. What are the financial costs for implementing this type of industry?
Suggested site: http://www.mbe.doe.gov/budget/05budget/index.htm
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Part
3- Guidelines for energy proposal and persuasive speeches:
1. Energy proposals must be typed and double-spaced with
10-12 point fonts.
2. Include the information from your action plans.
3. Proposal should clearly answer the question- What energy
policy should the current administration adopt and why?
4. Students may work with other members of their group if
they have similar policies to prepare a persuasive speech
to the President. Speeches must:
a.
Include information from their persuasive research papers
(written for their Language
Arts class).
b. Include an introduction where they introduce themselves
and the group they represent.
c. A description of their energy plan
d. Provide arguments with factual evidence that supports
their plan
e. Refute possible objections to your proposals.
f. Include one visual; transparency, poster, graph, photograph,
film clip, etc.
f. A bibliography must be handed in at the conclusion
of your speech.
Lobbying
Session:
If time allows provide time for students to try and
persuade members of the Senate committees on Environment
and Public Works and Energy and the members of
the Energy Department to support their proposals. Remind
them that it is possible for the President to combine
proposals when he/she develops their energy policy.
They may also want to try and find members from
other
groups who will speak in their favor at the energy
hearing.
Part
4- The Energy Task Force Hearing:
1. The President (teacher) will call the hearing
to order.
2. Members from each group will be called to
the podium to present their proposal and give
their persuasive
speech. (The order of group presentations can
be determined
by random drawing)
3. After each speech the teacher will ask for
discussion and debate from other members of the
task force.
To manage the debate, a suggestion is to allow
each student
to speak only once on each proposal. They may
be allowed to speak a second time after everyone
else
has had
a chance to speak.
4. At the conclusion of the hearing the President
will announce his/her decision after reading
over the energy
proposals. Closure
Class Discussion: Which groups have the greatest impact on policymaking?
What role does each of the following groups have on legislation and
public policy?
a.
legislative branch/congress
b. executive branch
c. interest groups
What
impact (if any) does “Joe
public” have on the policy making
process? Embedded
Assessment
1. Evaluation of student action plans
2. Persuasive speeches will be evaluated on:
a) Content;
clear thesis (policy proposal), supporting evidence, refute
arguments
b) Visual: illustrates and enhances stated arguments
c) Delivery: time (3-5 minutes), eye contact, voice projection, good preparation
d) Bibliography: includes at least 5 approved sources and is in correct MLA
format.
Homework
1. Student
research on energy policy
2. Written proposals and persuasive speeches
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