Lesson 1: Action Planning & Inquiry
Duration of Days: 4
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to synthesize their learning from the semester to identify a specific community-based problem and formulate a compelling inquiry question to guide their service project.
Which of our course topics has the most significant impact on our local community?
How can an individual student's voice create a measurable change in this area?
CT SS Inq 9–12.1: Explain how a compelling question addresses a key issue in the community.
CT SS Civ 9–12.14: Analyze how individuals and groups can effect change.
Day 1: Reflection & Review: Students review their blog posts from the semester and rank topics based on "personal interest" and "community urgency."
Day 2: Needs Assessment: Students conduct a "Community Scavenger Hunt" (digitally or via interviews) to find evidence of how their chosen topic manifests in their town/city.
Day 3: Question Formulation: Using the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), students draft 3–5 potential inquiry questions for their project.
Day 4: The Proposal: Students present a 1-minute "Elevator Pitch" of their project idea to a peer group for feedback.
Purpose: To move from passive news consumption to active civic identification.
DOK Level: 3 (Strategic Thinking).
Provide a "Choice Board" of local organizations to partner with; provide inquiry question stems (e.g., "How does [Topic] affect [Group] in our town?").
A formal Project Proposal that includes a compelling inquiry question and a rationale for why the topic matters locally.