Students, please view the “Submit a Clickable Rubric Assignment” in the Student Center. 

Instructors, training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center. 

Assignment 3: Obesity in America

Due Week 9 and worth 65 points 

Obesity in America is considered an epidemic. There are many contributing factors to obesity (both childhood and adult), such as biological, environmental, social, or economic factors. Review the information on obesity on pages 383 to 385 in the textbook. You may also use the Internet or Strayer Library to research obesity and its causes. 

Suggested Reading:

• “What Are the Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity?” located at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/obe/risks.html 

Write a one to two page (1-2) page essay in which you:

1. Describe the effect that obesity (childhood and / or adult) has had on you personally or your community.
2. Select one (1) contributing factor to childhood or adult obesity. Recommend two (2) preventative measures related to the selected factor that people can take in order to reduce their chance of becoming obese.
3. Discuss one (1) sociological theory that relates to the selected contributing factor to obesity. 

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• To keep this essay short and manageable, your only sources for the essay should be the article from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the sections noted in your text. For this reason, APA citations or references are not required for this assignment.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required assignment page length. 

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Define the basic concepts used in the discipline of sociology.
• Explain the major theoretical paradigms of sociology.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in sociology.
• Write clearly and concisely about sociology using proper writing mechanics. 

Click here to view the grading rubric for this assignment.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

Two replies or critical comments to other students’ postings(Response below). These replies should have a minimum of 150 words each. Read each student posting and provide a critical comment for each one. No apa required, No reference, all in your own words.

Student 1

After watching the movie ” Me voy pal Norte” I learned that Puerto Ricans were the first group who immigrate to new York city on nineteen  century as fact of the relocation of the factories in the  North of US.  Puerto Rican community historically represented a high rate of unemployment and poverty across the country.   One of the factors that influenced in the the lower socio-economic status of this community has being the  poor educational attainment skills and language disparities. However, New York has been the gateway city in the United States for the  Puerto Rican  migration as well as the locus for significant proportion of the Puerto Ricans working Class population that it is being able to settle down here regardless of the obstacles and economy struggles.

  Also, I think that the article “Puerto Rican presence wanes in New York city” by Mireya Navarro is very meaningful in terms of remarking the tight attachment beyond New York city and Puerto Ricans roots.  Navarro highlights the Puerto Rican community’s  effort to preserve their culture and traditions in certain places in the city that are known as Spanish neighborhood such as “El barrio”.  The author express themes like the pride of Puerto Ricans for being here for so many years and still embracing their Hispanic heritage, maintaining their gastronomy, music and language.  The article support the idea that Puerto Rican people represents Hispanic identity in NYC at some point.  However, that was mostly between 19 and 20st century because immigrants population is  expanding across the country and the concentration of immigrant population in New York city now is divided towards Mexican,Dominicans and Puerto Ricans.

  The article also refers to Puerto Ricans struggle to a fair achievement gap which it’s not an exclusive problem of Puerto Rican People if not a problem of the whole Latinos community who are victims of the same patterns of exclusion,  discrimination and lock of opportunities.

The reason why Puerto Ricans are moving to state like la Florida is simple,  and those are economy reasons ,Puerto Ricans are looking to move into states that pays no states  tax like is the case of the state of La Florida;  therefore,  looking  for  a places  easier to find jobs.

  NYC community is  changing as a result of many demographic changes turning NYC city as very unique state that is a symbol diversity and tolerance.  Also severals  organization that represent the different immigrants groups that  continues to grow are getting together to promote laws that generate socio-economic changes to benefit minorities.

Student 2

Latinos are a dominant force in the United States society. Millions of Latinos reside in America. Many come for better opportunities not only for themselves but their families. Promises of better jobs, wages, schools, and living conditions have attracted not only Latino immigrants to come to the United States but almost all immigrants. Puerto Ricans are said to be the first Latino group to arrive in New York in the early-mid 1900s. Puerto Ricans began to arrive in the Northeast and north central region of the United States in hopes of working in the United States. They arrived in hopes of working manufacturing jobs. Unfortunately, their timing was not impeccable. The manufacturing industry began a steady decline in the 1950s in the Northeast. Most manufacturing in the Northeast and north central region of the United States decreased and factories began to move to the south and places where labor was cheaper. This created major poverty for the Puerto Ricans who came to the United States in hopes of better wages and jobs in general. A lot of the Puerto Ricans who arrived had little to any education, which would present an issue in finding other jobs.

Studies have shown many Puerto Rican in the United States have faced poverty. In the late 1900s Puerto Ricans had a high unemployment rate in the United States. Studies suggest that because Puerto Ricans arrived as American citizens they were given benefits that were not granted to other immigrants such as welfare. Many relate the idea of Puerto Ricans receiving welfare with the high level of poverty within the Puerto Rican community because many became comfortable with being on government assistance rather than working a low paying job. Sociologists believe this attributed to the cycle of poverty within the Puerto Rican community in the United States.

Many Puerto Ricans in the United States have left from New York for other parts of the Northeast and to other states like Florida, and New Jersey. Many have questioned why this has occurred. The theories that have been created to justify this occurence are the ideas of better jobs in other places, better school, education, and family ties. Many also move to Puerto Rico. There are more jobs in Puerto Rico now than there was in the 1900s. Many also go to retire in their homeland.

Because there are less Puerto Rican in New York than there was a decade ago, or even two decades ago, New York has gained a more diverse Latino community. New York has begun to see higher numbers of Dominican, South and Central Americans, and Mexicans. The decrease of Puerto Ricans have created what is essentially more room for other Latinos to come in and has reshaped the Latino community in NYC.

Scenario for Assignments 1-3
Assume that you are the curriculum designer for a school district. The school board has requested that several teams develop proposals for new curricula to meet newly established state standards. You and your team must develop the first proposal to provide as a pilot or model for the other teams. You have to first identify a specific curriculum area not currently used in the school district that would greatly benefit the students in the district. Use the Internet or the Strayer Library as well as your textbook to develop a pilot curriculum for a specific discipline area (reading, math, science, etc.) or grade level (K-12) at a local school district.

Assignment 2: Curriculum Foundations 
Due Week 6 and worth 300 points

Refer to the Scenario for Assignments 1-3. Build on the same pilot curriculum you identified in Assignment 1 for this assignment.

Write a six to seven (6-7) page paper in which you:

1. Summarize the following aspects of Assignment 1:
   1. Describe the specific curriculum area and grade level(s) for the pilot curriculum
   2. Provide four (4) core instructional goals for the curriculum.
2. Describe the approach to curriculum development (i.e., behavior, systems, humanistic) you will use to shape curriculum design, providing a rationale for your selected approach that is consistent with the core instructional goals of the planned curriculum.
3. Describe the philosophical / theoretical approach to curriculum development (idealism, realism, etc.) you will use to shape the curriculum design, providing a rationale for your selected philosophy that is consistent with the core instructional goals of the planned curriculum.
4. Describe the psychological motivational approach to curriculum development you will use to shape the curriculum design, providing a rationale for your selected approach that is consistent with the core instructional goals of the planned curriculum.
5. Discuss one (1) cultural influence that has the greatest impact on the school district and provide a rationale for the impact it has on the district. 
6. Recommend at least one (1) effective way to integrate the cultural influence into the planned curriculum that is consistent with the core instructional goals of the planned curriculum.
7. Develop a strategy for incorporating critical thinking skills (appropriate to grade level) into the planned curriculum using Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives.
8. Provide a rationale for your strategy that is consistent with the core instructional goals of the planned curriculum. (Note: A brief description of Bloom’s Taxonomy may be found at Center for Teaching and Learning located at http://teaching.uncc.edu/articles-books/best-practice-articles/goals-objectives/blooms-taxonomy-educational-objectives.)
9. Use at least six (6) relevant, scholarly references published in the last seven (7) years (three [3] new in addition to the three [3] identified in Assignment 1). (Note: Wikipedia and other non-government Websites do not qualify as scholarly resources. Review the supplementary readings list on the first page of the course guide for possible references.)

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Identify the key elements of curriculum design and development.
• Compare the philosophical foundations of curriculum.
• Consider how psychological foundations play a role in the development of curriculum.
• Analyze the relationship of social foundations to K-12 curriculum.
• Develop the strategies and techniques to support curriculum planning.
• Design curriculum plan for a current or future school setting.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in curriculum planning.
• Write clearly and concisely about curriculum design and development using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

First, please read the news story linked at the bottom of this page, titled  “Rudeness is a Neurotoxin.”  

Instructor question: This is a multiple question, longer-answer discussion post than most discussions in the past. Please be sure to answer all of the questions.

Based upon the information in the news story, discuss your opinion about the effects of reality-based television shows onsociety. Why are they so popular? Are they “bad” for our society when they show cruel or rude behavior and showcase “domestic and social interactions driven by narcissism, factionalism, competition, and selfishness” as described in the article? Or are they just good, fun entertainment for viewers in a TV world with 300 channels and numerous content choices to choose from? Also, what does the popularity of reality-based programs communicate about our society? Is the information presented in the news article accurate? Explain by citing relevant content from the article.

Finally, predict the future: What is the next TV program trend that is likely to develop? (Think…and give us one, please.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-douglas-fields/rudeness-is-a-neurotoxin_b_765908.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=010511&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BlogEntry&utm_term=Daily+Brief