Who_Should_Drive

Who Should Drive?

A WebQuest for Writing Workshop

Designed by

Mrs. Cobbett acobbett@d94.org



Introduction | Task | Process | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page

Introduction
State Representative Lil Ysset plans to propose a significant change in the way young people obtain driver's licenses in Illinois. Here are the highlights of the plan:


 * Drivers must be at least 18 years old to begin the process of obtaining a license.
 * The prospective driver under the age of 21 must first attend a comprehensive Safety Education and Simulation Training class in order to qualify for a learner's permit.
 * Before testing for a driver's license, the prospective driver under age 21, with a learner's, must drive under the supervision of a licensed driver aged 21 or older for at least one year.

Representative Ysset claims that her plan will significantly decrease all of the following: the number of accidents in Illinois, the number of traffic fatalities in Illinois, the amount of property damage in Illinois, and auto insurance premiums for Illinois drivers.

Representative Ysset bases her projections on the attached data. To what extent is her rationale grounded in the facts? Would you support her proposal, or some variation of her proposal?

The Task
Provide the representative with your recommendation on the situation. Remember that you can agree completely or disagree completely. You can agree or even disagree in part as well with the Representative.

Provide reasons for your recommendation and support these reasons by using the data from your research during your webquest. You should provide the Representative with your own driving experiences as a teenager. You should also use support from the interviews you conducted.

Address the opposing views in the situation. These opposing views may be the Representative herself, fellow classmates, adults, or various websites. Describe the opposition's opinion and explain why these opinions are not as valid as your own.

The Process
Join a partner to examine the data from the link below in order to do the following: (1) Explain how Representative Ysset has arrived at her conclusions. (2) Note whether or not the data support Representative Ysset's projections. (3) If you would alter her plan in some way, what change would you make?
 * //STAGE 1//**-PARTNER DISCUSSION

Be prepared for a class discussion on your findings and opinions

Insurance Information Institute ([])

On your own, continue to research data from the Insurance Information Institute as well as the links I have provided below. Remember that you will eventually write a recommendation to the representative as well as offer opposing viewpoints to your own. [|www.cyberdriveillinois.com/] [|www.drivingmba.com/teenstats.html] [|www.roadsafety.com/statslinks.php] [|www.nhtsa.dot.gov/]
 * //STAGE 2//**-INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH

Now that you have thoroughly researched teen driving statistics, organize your argument
 * //STAGE 3//**-ARGUMENT ORGANIZER

Your recommendation will be presented in the form of a short video that we will each create & present in class
 * //STAGE 4//**-YOUR RECOMMENDATION

Now that we have researched and debated Ms. Ysset’s proposal to change the teen driving laws, you will be working in partners to create your recommendation:

State Representative Lil Ysset plans to propose a significant change in the way young people obtain driver's licenses in Illinois. Here are the highlights of the plan:


 * Drivers must be at least 18 years old to begin the process of obtaining a license.
 * The prospective driver under the age of 21 must first attend a comprehensive Safety Education and Simulation Training class in order to qualify for a learner's permit.
 * Before testing for a driver's license, the prospective driver under age 21, with a learner's, must drive under the supervision of a licensed driver aged 21 or older for at least one year.

Instead of writing a typical school paper about our opinions, you will be working with at least one other class member, no more than two class members though, to create a “political ad” highlighting your opinion of Ysset’s proposal.

For your “political ad”, you will be required to create a video to persuade your classmates to agree with your opinion. A political ad, just like any commercial, is shown on t.v. or other media about a particular issue. For the purposes of this assignment, we will limit the viewing audience of our commercial to just our class. Imagine that you are a director charged with making a commercial about your argument. You will obviously not be producing a full length film but a mini-version to “sell” your opinion to our class. Here are the requirements for your book trailer:


 * 1) You must use a computer program like Windows Movie Maker which is capable of uploading onto computers to show to the class. (We will learn how to use this program together.)
 * 2) Your argument commercial needs to be at least 2 minutes in length, but no longer than 5 min. in length.
 * 3) You must include images which are related to your argument & school-appropriate.
 * 4) Music, which is school-appropriate, and is related to your argument/pictures in the video.
 * 5) Include text that highlights the background to the “Who Should Drive?” situation in order to give background information to a larger audience (pretend that it will be shown on t.v.), your main claim/argument, your sub-claims, evidence, & your response to the opposition.
 * 6) Include your or another student’s actual voice in at least two places of your commercial either explaining your argument, maybe telling a story of your own experience driving, etc.
 * 7) Complete your argument organizer, individually and storyboard together

A storyboard is literally a series of drawings depicting scenes in a movie or movie trailer. Since we are only completing a commercial, you should sketch out at least 8 scenes/boxes that will appear in your ad. Decide on parts of your argument that you think people would most enjoy seeing or best demonstrates the major claim of your argument. Make sure to include in each box a drawing of what you visualize, any text that will appear or be said, & type of music or exact song we will hear.
 * Storyboard Instructions:**

Conclusion
Prom season is upon us. Be careful driving out there, or better yet take a limo! Click on the link below to see how you can be a part of a safer prom season: [|www.safeteendriving.org/involved/forteens.php]

Credits & References
Images abc.news.com calvinmcp.nomadlife.org

Who Should Drive Argument Created by Tom McCann

Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page