The students will write in response to the following prompt: 

Identify a few civic problems that affect your community/society and choose one to write an essay about.

Completing this quick write exercise will help the students choose a topic for an upcoming essay. Be sure to check in with each student individually to make sure that everyone has chosen an appropriate topic. 

The students will write an essay based on the following prompts:

• Briefly explain your chosen civic problem and how it affects your community/society. 

• To what extent should different levels of government (local, state, and federal) be held responsible for solving this civic problem? Explain your reasoning.

• Which civic action(s) do you think would work best for addressing this civic problem, and why? Be sure to reference the civic action guide we created as a class.

Remind the students that they should reference sources and materials from the lesson in their essays. In addition, they may need to do some additional research to find information that properly supports their arguments. Be sure to touch base with them about their research and writing skills. 

For more information about assigning and grading essays, see this guide.