Activity 1: Can Delaware residents really make changes that benefit the environment?
This activity is comprised of two news items related to a technology center and power plant that was going to be built on the University of Delaware's campus. The objective of this activity is to demonstrate the way argumentation is an important aspect of the civic process. Active citizenry means staying informed on current issues and understanding the evidence for people's stances on issues. I want the students to investigate a real-world example of people taking a stand against carbon dioxide emissions.
Step 1: Identifying Issues and Stances on the Issues- The first activity is centered around a Delaware resident's question raised on National Public Radio's Radio Times. The caller asks about a highly-debated power plant project for Newark, Delaware. When answering the caller's question, Governor Markell changes the conversation and avoids the CO2 emissions problem altogether. Questions for discussion include: What is the issue? What is the caller's stance? What is Governor Markell's stance? The students should recognize that the issue is the building of the data center and power plant on the University of Delaware campus. The caller's stance is against the building of the power plant in the region, as it will diminish the air quality of the region. Governor Markell's stance is not as clear; he implies that he agrees with the building of the data center and power plant on the basis of the potential jobs it will create in the region. 43
Step 2: Conducting Rhetorical Analysis of Nonfiction, Informational Texts-The next item is an article from Newsworks.org, "University of Delaware Terminates Data Center Project". Plans for a fossil fuel based power plant on newly acquired University of Delaware land has been a hot topic in Delaware. Residents and students were concerned about the potential CO2 emissions and expressed the idea that the campus should set an example of energy efficiency. Through town hall meetings and protests, a committee of University of Delaware officials and professors voted down the technology center and power plant. 44
This step requires the students to think deeply about a claim presented in nonfiction text. They must identify the claim and determine what reasons and evidence is used to persuade the reader to agree with the claim. The students should be encouraged to think about and examine the claims for accuracy. First, ask the students to identify the issue posed in the article. Through closely reading the article, the students should determine that the issue is the building of the data center and power plant on University of Delaware's STAR campus. Next, the students should identify the evidence in the article that supports the data center power plant and evidence that is against it. To make it easier, the students could highlight the affirmative evidence in one color and the negative in another. Finally, the students should be asked to determine what the outcome was. They should find that due to the advice of Delaware residents and environmental groups, the data center and power plant was not built.
Step 3: Activity Closure/ Check for Understanding- Based on the NPR clip and statements about the power plant expressed in the article, what do you think is Governor Markell's ultimate goal? Use evidence from the NPR clip and news article to support your answer. The students should understand that Governor Markell's ultimate goal is to create jobs and strengthen Delaware's economy. The students will be assessed using the two-point rubric below.
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