TAKING INFORMED ACTION

How will I take action to address a civic problem?

OUTLINE

*For more detailed instructions, see the full lesson plan. 

After creating a first draft of their civic action plan, the students will share their ideas and give each other feedback. Consider completing one of the following activities. 

  1. Have the students create something – like a slideshow presentation, poster, infographic, or short video – that summarizes their civic action plan and its main components. 
  2. Give the students a chance to share their presentations with someone. You could simply have the students give presentations one at a time during class, but you could also organize a classroom gallery walk, or even an after school event for parents to attend.
  1. Have the students create two equal lines with their chairs, facing one another.  
  2. Instruct the students to talk to the classmate across from them about their civic action plan. Each pairing of students should determine whether or not their plans are similar enough for them to potentially form a partnership. If so, they should mark down the name of their potential partner. 
  3. After 3-5 minutes, have the students switch partners (by having the students in one line move one seat to the right). Repeat this process until all of the students have had a chance to quickly conference with each other. 
  4. Have the students form groups based on the classmates they wrote down as potential partners. Give them time to discuss ways that they could combine their projects. 
  5. Have the students submit partnership proposals to you for approval.
  1. Have the students write a short summary of their civic action plan. 
  2. Give the students access to each other’s civic action plan summaries. Have them read the summaries and take notes, in preparation for their debate. They should consider which plans would be the most effective in addressing their chosen problem. 
  3. Have a class debate about which of the proposed civic action plans they think would work best for their civic action plans.
  4. After the debate, have the students vote to decide which civic action plan they would like to move forward with.