Narrative

The project that I am proposing will take place over the course of 10 days, with three

significant deliverables coming out of the Social Studies side of the project. Each of these

deliverables will test different eighth-grade social studies standards, students’ ability to work in

groups, and student understanding of technology.

Technology: This project is dependent on the current technology infrastructure that is set

in place in all classrooms at Rhodes Junior High School. In particular, students will be nearly

entirely dependent on their laptops. To support this extended session of laptop use, students

should be allowed to take their laptop chargers with them between classes. Aside from this one

modification, there will be no changes to the daily use of technology. Laptops will be used for

research and deliverable construction. All instructions will be done over screen casting with

recordings provided to all students so that students always have access to instruction for

homework.

The first primary deliverable will be a presentation, which can either be a hybrid (part

digital, part physical) presentation, or an interactive digital presentation. This will be built up

during the first three days of the project and will answer the first essential question of the project:

“What are the different levels of government in our lives doing to combat climate change?” This

deliverable will access state standard 8.G2.1 and ISTE standards 3 and 7 for students. This first

section focuses on the 21st-century skills of collaboration, research, and communication, with

students having to work in groups to find valuable information worth sharing with the other

groups in their class. Creativity will also be a part of the deliverable, with students being able to

create whatever type of presentation they wish to with the available technology.

The daily breakdown for the first three days goes as follows
 Day 1: Entry Event and climate policy

Day 2: Reliable sources and research.

Day 3: Town Hall presentations about climate policy at different levels of government.

Students will be given a rubric that will be used to grade their presentations. These

presentations are intended to assess where the students currently are in terms of understanding

the issue at hand. The presentations will be made in class on the second day, with students

working in small groups. The groups will be given an equal portion of the class period to present

these deliverables on the third day, with enough time to introduce the second deliverable and

essential question of the project: What can ordinary citizens do change the way the government

handles current issues?

The second deliverable will be an electronic collaboration project, with groups

researching different ways they can influence the government, with each group member writing a

supporting paragraph for why they think their solution is best. Unlike the first section of the

project, this civic engagement portion will focus on different governmental organizations locally.

Each group will then internally vote on which idea they prefer for their vote. This deliverable

will be created on the fourth and fifth days of the project and will follow the state standard

8.C2.1 and ISTE standards 1, 2, and 7. I will provide students with articles explaining ballot

initiatives in the state of Arizona to broaden their understanding of civic engagement.

The daily breakdown for the second deliverable goes as follows:

Day 4: Civic engagement at a local level.

Day 5: Policy brainstorming

This second deliverable will not be graded. Instead, it is being used as a formative

assessment. I will provide students with feedback on their various plans in order for them to
develop their ideas for their final deliverables. Students will need to use technology to ensure

that I can view what they are all writing in real-time, allowing me to assist struggling groups if

required. After returning feedback on this second deliverable, the final and most crucial

deliverable will be introduced, with one last essential question: Are there ways that the school

can affordably reduce its carbon footprint?

Over the final five days of the project, students will create a portfolio with their groups

regarding lowering the school’s impact on the environment. This portfolio will include a policy

proposal of any kind, the cost to run such a policy in the form of a budget, and research paper

written to support this change. On top of that, students must demonstrate an understanding of

why the policies that are in place were implemented. The portfolio will have one specific

limitation, and their budgets are only $200. This will allow students to think creatively while also

tackling different standards. At the state level, this deliverable will meet standards

8.E1.4,.8.E1.5, 8.G3.1, and 8.G4.1. These portfolios will also assess the ISTE standards: 1, 2, 4,

and 6.

The learning goal breakdown for the final week goes as follows:

Day 6: Direct democracy in the State of Arizona.

Day 7: Proposition writing and signature requirements

Day 8: How to build a budget.

Day 9: Policy analysis.

Day 10: Compiling portfolio for proposal.

The portfolio will be the most substantial aspect of the project in regard to grade book

weight. All students will be assessed by their peers to ensure they are active participants in their

groups. This final proposal can take any form that students choose, and the $200 limit will be
implemented to make these proposals acceptable in case the administration decides to

incorporate them. To pursue constant innovation with this project over the years, one final policy

portfolio should be implemented at the school each year. Limiting the proposals to one per year

would allow an increased variety of initiatives to become present over the years at the Rhodes

campus.

Final learning goals: through this project, students will not only learn the value of civic

engagement and activism but how to budget, two essential skills for adulthood. In addition to

this, the fight against climate change will be a real issue that students will face as they age,

making the project more practical and applicable to their daily lives. This project sets the

foundation for responsible citizenship as the students age, and regardless of their final

conclusion, all of their voices will be heard. Allowing students to express their creativity will

lead to new innovative solutions for problems that everyone can help eliminate.

Sustaining the project: This project will need significant funding each year to encourage

students to make a real change in their community. To ensure the project becomes increasingly

innovative, all previous winning project's ideas will be taken out of rotation every year.