1-Pager
Plan
By Phase By Day Calendar
Launch
Students will launch the community proposal project by examining local Madera issues through identity, privilege, and power, practicing early source analysis, and selecting a community problem they want to investigate. They will build shared vocabulary, test initial ideas with peers, and complete a short milestone that identifies an arguable issue, relevant stakeholders, and a first evidence-based rationale for why the issue matters.
Days 1 - 4
Take a Position
Students will test an early stance on who should have greater influence in addressing a Madera community issue by analyzing identity, privilege, and power, weighing competing perspectives, and writing an initial argument they will revise with later evidence.
Days 5 - 11
Sort Evidence Strength
Students will sort their Madera issue evidence by strength, relevance, and credibility; test their initial claim against competing perspectives; identify the strongest counterevidence; and explain how identity, privilege, and power shape which evidence matters most before moving into formal proposal drafting.
Days 19 - 24
Build Argument Structure
Students will organize their researched evidence into a defensible community proposal argument, draft claims and sub-claims, explain warrants that connect evidence to reasoning, and strengthen their writing through counterargument analysis, peer critique, and revision.
Days 25 - 30
Rehearse Public Defense
Students will strengthen their community proposals for public defense by tightening evidence use, polishing citations, revising from peer critique, and rehearsing how to answer challenges with clear reasoning. Across the phase, they will refine both their written brief and team presentation so they can defend claims about identity, privilege, power, and community need with credible local evidence.
Days 31 - 36
Showcase
Students will present their finalized Madera community proposals to an authentic audience, defend their reasoning with local evidence, respond to questions and critique, and document how feedback and reflection shape their next steps as researchers, writers, and community problem-solvers.
Days 37 - 40
Gather Diverse Evidence
Students will gather and test evidence for a chosen Madera issue by locating data, testimonials, and print or media sources; documenting central ideas, credibility, bias, and limits; comparing confirming and disconfirming evidence; and revising their evidence set through peer and teacher feedback before moving into argument building.
Days 12 - 18