 Introduction
Outdoor
Education is cut from the Montgomery County Public School's
budget. Some people are applauding the decision while others
are incensed.
Task
You
are part of a team of sixth graders who are trying to
"rescue" Outdoor Education and get the decision reversed.
Read your
task
description carefully. You want Outdoor Education to be
included in the sixth grade curriculum. You are launching a
letter writing campaign aimed at the important stakeholders
on this issue. As a team member you are required to write
persuasive letters to two different stakeholders and
complete several forms. The team with the most successful
letter writing campaign, the one that gets the Board of
Education to reverse the decision, will receive a special
tribute.
Process
 Step
One~Form
your letter writing teams. Each team will have four members.
Brainstorm a list of reasons why Outdoor Education is an
important event for a sixth grader. Consider cabin living,
meeting new people, classes, and other activities that are
part of the Outdoor Education experience. Collect
information
about outdoor education so that you can write an articulate
and informed letter. Find a description of
the
importance
of
the program. Use information collected in your outdoor
education journal as a resource, too.
Step
Two~Mobilize
your forces! Each team member is assigned his/her two
stakeholders and jigsaws with members on other teams with
the same task. As a group, brainstorm the appropriate
information for the specific letters. Your letter must
address the stakeholders' special interests in a manner that
will convince them that the Outdoor Education experience is
essential. A persuasive letter has already been sent to
Sue
Case, CEO of the Delightful Duffle
Company,
but there are more letters that need to be
written.
Step
Three~Meet
the Stakeholders
Chloe
Z. Horst
She
is a sixth grader very concerned about her
appearance~especially her
clothes.
She is worried that she will have to wear a uniform and
not make her very unique fashion statement at Outdoor
Education. She wants to know more about how much time a
sixth grader has in the morning to get ready and what
kind of clothing she is required to wear.
Belle
Lee
Belle
Lee is food provider for large groups and institutions.
Her company, Belle Lee Full , is among the
county's most successful small female-owned businesses.
She currently has the contract to service the food needs
of all of Montgomery County Public Schools Outdoor
Education sites. This includes the regular three meals
students and staff consume as well as the evening snack.
Her company also provide the food for the animals at the
sites. She needs to be reminded of the number
of students
who
attend Outdoor Education each year and what the
termination of the program would mean to her
business.
Ed
U. Kator
Ed's
an M.C.P.S. teacher who must attend both sessions of
Outdoor Education because there are not enough male
teachers to chaperone the boys' cabins. He feels guilty
spending so much time away from his students; he doesn't
even teach sixth graders. If there are not enough male
teachers to supervise the cabins, the sixth graders
certainly would not be able to attend Outdoor Education.
The Board of Education raised this concern and used it
when it released its decision to cancel Outdoor
Education. It would be really helpful to have
Ed
on your side
in your effort to restore the Outdoor Education
program.
Maya
Boots
Maya
owns a sporting goods store that sells flashlights,
hiking boots, sleeping bags, and other camping
necessities.
Naturally she is interested in reversing this decision,
but she doesn't know how she can help. Suggest some
strategies for Maya.
Izzie
"Prince" Opal
Mr.
Opal is the administrator at your school. He has been
working for the school system and knows many influential
people. He got the nickname "Prince" because they treated
him like royalty at the Board of Education. You need him
to pressure school board members to reverse their
opinion. He needs to be reminded
of the benefits
of
the Outdoor Education program for sixth graders and use
that information in a persuasive appeal for the repeal of
the decision to end Outdoor Education.
Parker
Ranger
Parker has been working at the Summit Lake and Smith
Center sites for 20 years. He has seen many sixth graders
come and go. He has also seen first hand the impact the
Outdoor Education experience makes on these boys and
girls. He hates to write letters but loves to see
people
enjoying nature.
Somehow you must convince Parker to write a letter to the
"Board" about the value of students experiencing an
education outside the school building.
Pam
and Perry Tents
Mr. and Mrs. Tents are typical sixth grade parents. They
are not sure the Outdoor Education experience is
worthwhile. They don't understand why their child has to
go away to have classes. They wonder if it is worth the
charge. They're concerned about adult
supervision
and medical care.
They wonder about the cabin conditions. In fact, they're
kind of relieved that Outdoor Education has been
terminated. You need to convince them that their fears
are unfounded, and that it would be a great loss to their
child and other sixth graders not to have the Outdoor
Education experience.
Minnie
Driver
Yes,
Minnie is a movie star, but when she is not working in
films, she drives the bus to Outdoor Education. She feels
that even the trip to the site is an important experience
for sixth graders. She is going to put that in her letter
to the "Board" along with other convincing
details.
Encourage her to do everything she can to restore the
Outdoor Education program.
Step
Four~Now
you have met the stakeholders. It is time to write each of
them a letter. You and your teammates will decide who writes
the specific letters. Read the task
outline
carefully.
Step
Five~Each
team must submit a set of eight letters to the school board.
There is a deadline. The quality and speed with which you
handle this matter will have an enormous impact on future
sixth graders. Be certain that each letter addresses the
special interests of its recipient. Make specific
recommendations about what should be in the letters and how
important it is for the stakeholder to write the letter.
Thoroughly prepare your letter. Use a Q
& A
model. Use your Outdoor Education journal as resource for
writing as well.
Step
Six~Incorporate
the prewriting materials into the persuasive letter. Use
the
letter
writing template.
Use
your Outdoor Education journal as resource for writing as
well.
Option
#1~How
Passionate Are You?~Demonstrate
how strongly you feel about this issue by creating a "Rescue
Outdoor Ed" or "Save Outdoor Ed" T-shirt. Most demonstrators
committed to their cause wear a shirt that communicates the
desire and PASSION for a change in a policy.
(optional)
Option
#2~What's
it like someplace else?~Examine
Outdoor Education programs at other schools outside of MCPS.
How do they compare? Create a VENN
diagram
to display your findings. (optional)
Location
A
Location
B
Evaluation
The
completed project must include eight letters, a Q & A
for each stakeholder, a reflection sheet for each team
member, and a rubric for each letter.
The letters will be evaluated based on the
PASSIONATE ISSUE rubric.
Remember
you are trying to convince the stakeholder to participate in
your effort to reverse a school board decision. You need to
convince the stakeholder that the decision will impact
him/her as well as the sixth graders. You must inspire
passion about the issue and intense motivation. You have got
to get the stakeholder to write the letter to the school
board.
Reflection
Take a
moment to complete the
survey
sheet.
Consider what you learned about persuasive writing and
passion for a position. How can you use what you have
learned in the future? What have you learned about the
strategies one needs to convince others to sympathize with a
controversial position.
Teacher
Page
Objectives,
strategies, pre-task activities, etc. are included on the
teacher page. Acknowledgment to the Takoma Park web page
that has excellent informational resources on Outdoor
Education as well as the MCPS Outdoor Education site. The
William and Mary persuasion materials created a framework
for this task. Teacher
Page
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SNIPS