TASK ONE

Name ____________________________

Please circle the appropriate response to the following questions:
1. How much do you know about global warming?

2. How interesting is this topic to you?

3. How much do you know about environmental issues in general?

4. Have you ever had a class that discussed global warming?

5. Have you ever done research or written a paper on global warming?

TASK #1

While you may not know a lot about environmental issues, you have heard about "global warming" and mention it to a friend. Your friend tells you that he has found a web site that claims global warming is a hoax. He says he was convinced by the site's argument and tells you to find the statement by going to www.anxietycenter.com

1. List all the possible things you could do to verify whether global warming is an actual threat or whether it is just a hoax perpetuated by the media and the scientific community.

Pick one of the possible ways listed in #1 and begin your research. Please write down the way you have chosen.

2. What have you found out?

3.A. How will you evaluate the argument that global warming is an environmental and social problem?

3.B. How will you evaluate the argument that global warming is a hoax?

4. Are there things you would do if you had more time?

TASK TWO

Name ____________________________

Please circle the appropriate response to the following questions:

1. How much do you know about islands?

2. How interesting is this topic to you?

3. How much do you know about creating a web site?

4. Have you ever created a web site by yourself?

5. Have you ever contributed to creating a web site?

TASK #2

A young neighbor who is in middle school tells you she is going to create a web site on islands. You ask her what information about islands is going to be on the web site. She's rather vague and says she thinks islands are cool and she'll put everything about islands on the web site. You plan to do some investigation about islands because you suspect "putting everything" may be a problem for her.

1. How will you go about your investigation?

2. What did you find out about the topic of islands?

3. What advice would you give your young neighbor on organizing her web site?

4. Are there other things you would do if given more time?

TASK THREE

Name ____________________________

Please circle the appropriate response to the following questions:

1. How much do you know about farm workers?

2. How much do you know about what pesticides do for crops?

3. How much do you know about the effect of pesticides on children's health?

4. How much do you know about agricultural business?

5. How interesting to you is the topic of agricultural business practices and their effects on farm workers?

TASK #3

Your instructor mentioned in class that child farm workers are routinely exposed to pesticides and suffer many health problems due to the practices of farming corporations. You ask the instructor: Do the businesses realize that using pesticides is a problem? What alternatives do the corporations have while still earning a profit?

Your instructor suggests you investigate and share your findings with the class for extra credit.

1. How can you go about finding out answers to your questions? List as many possibilities as you can think of.

2. Choose one of the possible ways and begin your research. Please say what method you are going to use first.

3. What did you find out to answer the question: "Do the businesses realize that using pesticides is a problem?"

4. What did you find out to answer your question: "What alternatives do the corporations have while still earning a profit?"

5. What would you like to do that you didn't have time for?

TASK FOUR

Name ____________________________

Please circle the appropriate response to the following questions.

1. How much do you know about the visual arts? (Painting, sculpture, photography etc.)

2. How much do you know about the performing arts? (Music, dance, theater etc.)

3. How often would you participate in or attend visual arts events if money was not an issue?

4. How often would you participate in or attend performing arts events if money was not an issue?

5. How often have you made any kind of presentation to groups, either in a class or in other situations?

TASK #4

You are a community representative appointed to a task force by your local School Board. The task force is to advise the district on the course content for a high school multi-disciplinary arts class. A number of topics have been proposed by the teachers but all of them cannot be included. Everyone has different preferences and at the next meeting, each task force member will be presenting arguments for including particular topics in the curriculum.

Choose one of the topics from the following list that you would most like to see taught in the course.

Painting in Fifteenth Century Italy.
Improvisation in Acting.
Dance Forms in India.
Blues music from 1930 to 1990.
The Pottery of Aztec, Maya and Navajo Cultures.

1. Circle your choice
Look for materials that might be helpful to you in creating a presentation that will convince other task force members, including administrators, teachers and community members, to include your topic in the curriculum.

2. What materials have you found?

3. List the materials that seem most promising. For each one, tell why you think they will be helpful in creating a convincing presentation.

4. How will you remember the sources you are going to use?

5. Is there anything you would do if you had more time?