PBL+-+HS+Intro

Problem based lessons are designed to give students a chance to work on real and relevant problems or issues that they may face in everyday life. Providing students with ownership of their learning, choices about their topics, and choices about programs or procedures as they attempt to solve the problems increases rigor and engagement! – Tracey Hoover


 * Title:** Is Hard Work Enough? - Modern Application of Upton’s Sinclair’s The Jungle

• Should there be a minimum cost of living for all full-time (40 hours per week) jobs, regardless of difficulty level or education, that would allow people to meet their basic needs? Currently, it is extremely difficult to raise a family on minimum wage, especially if only 1 person is employed. • What obligations does a community have to help a struggling member, if any? • How do we know that the food and medicine we ingest are handled properly at all times and are uncontaminated? Is there any way to make sure that there is?
 * Essential Questions**

In US History, juniors have just read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair while studying turn of the century America. The reading was reinforced cross-curricularly in the English class. The juniors are in a variety of math classes including Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II. Students will be given time to complete the assignments below in both English and history classes and will receive credit in both classes. Several math teachers have agreed to help with the, although the students will only be given limited time to work with their math teachers on this project as they will still have to complete their math work that period.
 * Context**


 * Assignment**

Click here for steps and resources.
 * Part 1 - Must Complete:** Write a paper in MLA format of no less than 5 pages that both compares and contrasts Sinclair’s America with modern parallels.

2a: Research current problems in either the food or drug industries in this country and write a proposal on how to remedy the problem. Create a narrated presentation of 5-10 minutes suitable to be shown to an audience (such as a state assembly.) Voicethread and narrated PowerPoints are both good options. Click here for steps and resources.
 * Part 2 – Choose one of the following:**

2b: Homelessness and poverty are a problem in Clarksville as it was in The Jungle. Devise a plan to mobilize community resources to help people meet their basic needs when they work full-time but cannot afford to live and type up the plan in a word processing program, such as Open Office or Microsoft Word. Then, create and distribute an advertisement to get people involved. Your advertisement can take the form of a brochure or a video commercial. You can use Scribus or Microsoft Word on a Mac and Microsoft Publisher on a PC. Click here for steps and resources.