Students investigate how 10th-grade ELA students can work with city partners to design solutions for community issues they care about. After a kickoff panel and roundtables with city service directors, students collaborate to research a focused question, synthesize sources, and develop a feasible solution prototype and public-facing proposal. Ongoing reflection and a mid-project critique with peers, teachers, and city partners guide revisions to an infographic, opinion commentary, video, or live presentation. Students present their proposals to City Council and at a Neighborhood Impact Expo, supported by partner review and a final reflection describing how their thinking changed.

Students will investigate a self-generated community question, evaluate and synthesize credible sources, and use evidence to design a feasible solution with city service partners. They will collaborate through roundtables, shared decision-making, and a mid-project critique with peers, teachers, and city partners, then revise their work using targeted feedback. Students will communicate persuasively through a public-facing proposal, solution prototype, and a choice of infographic, opinion commentary, video, or live presentation for City Council and the Neighborhood Impact Expo. Before, during, and after the project, students will reflect on their contributions, learning progress, and how their thinking about improving the community changed.

Students will create a focused inquiry question, research notes that synthesize multiple credible sources, and an evidence-based description of a community issue. Teams will co-design a solution prototype and draft a public-facing proposal, choosing an infographic, opinion commentary, video, or live presentation. Peers, teachers, and city partners will provide targeted feedback during a mid-project critique, and students will revise their products for presentation to City Council and an interactive station at the Neighborhood Impact Expo. Each student will also complete brief reflections before, during, and after the project describing feedback received, contributions to the team, and how their thinking changed.

Open with a city partner kickoff panel where the mayor and city service directors reveal several authentic community challenges supported by local data, images, and resident perspectives. Students rotate through roundtable conversations with representatives from Parks and Recreation and other city departments, asking questions and recording needs, constraints, and opportunities. In small groups, students identify a challenge they care about, share initial solution ideas, and consider: “How will we design solutions for our community?” and “How can we work with our city to improve a community issue we care about?” Students close with a brief reflection on their current thinking, questions, and next research steps.

Host a Neighborhood Impact Expo where students present interactive stations featuring their public-facing proposals, solution prototypes, and choice of infographic, opinion commentary, or video. Classmates, teachers, city staff, City Council members, and invited guests provide feedback on each solution’s feasibility and potential community impact. Selected teams then present to City Council, and all students share a short reflection explaining how research, collaboration, and partner feedback changed their thinking.