Fix It, Town Council

Students in grades 5 to 8 spend ten class periods choosing one small, real problem in their school or neighborhood, such as a faded crosswalk, a broken bench, or a slow lunch line. They find out who has the power to fix it, write fair survey questions, survey at least 20 people, graph the results with the mean and median, and price a fix from a town price sheet on a $5,000 budget. Each team writes a one-page proposal letter and gives a three-minute public comment to guests who play the town council.

Driving question: How can we convince the people who decide to fix a real problem in our community?

What's in the PDF (25 pages)

• A teacher guide with the unit overview, the materials list, and 6 teacher tips
• 10 standards with what students do for each one, and a pacing table for all 10 days
• 10 lesson plans with minutes for each part, teacher notes, and an exit ticket
• 10 student handouts: Problem picker, Who decides?, Council minutes: Harlow Creek, Survey question lab, Survey plan and tally, Graphs and the middle, Price sheet and budget, Proposal letter planner, Public comment planner, Council agenda and taking it further
• A rubric with 4 rows and four score levels, and a student reflection page
• Support and extension ideas, and a plan for the final showcase

What students make

• A survey of at least 20 people, with a dot plot, a bar graph, the mean, and the median
• A budget of $5,000 or less from the Harlow Creek price sheet
• A one-page proposal letter with evidence and a budget
• A three-minute public comment to a mock town council

Day by day

Day 1, What needs fixing?: Students walk the school grounds with an adult, list small problems they notice, and choose one as a team using five checks.

Day 2, Who decides?: Teams sort eight problems by who can fix them, from the school to the state, and find out who decides about their own problem.

Day 3, A council meeting: Pairs read the minutes of a fictional town council meeting, work out how much money is left in the fund, and map who else cares about their problem.

Day 4, Fair questions: Students rewrite four unfair survey questions and write four fair questions of their own.

Day 5, Who we ask: Teams plan a fair sample of at least 20 people and start surveying another class.

Day 6, Graph it: Teams make a dot plot and a bar graph of their survey results and find the mean, median, and range.

Day 7, What it costs: Teams price their fix from the town price sheet, add 10% for unexpected costs, and trim the plan to $5,000 or less.

Day 8, The proposal letter: Teams plan and draft a one-page proposal letter with two numbers from their survey and the total cost.

Day 9, Practice the comment: Teams plan a three-minute public comment, practice it with a timer, and give each other feedback.

Day 10, Council meeting: Each team speaks to a mock town council of guests, the council votes, and students reflect on how to take it further.

Standards

• C3 D2.Civ.1.3-5 / D2.Civ.4.6-8: Students sort who can fix each problem: school, town, county, or state.
• C3 D2.Civ.10.6-8: Teams map who cares about the problem and answer a different view.
• C3 D4.7.6-8: Teams weigh who can fix the problem and choose a plan that can really happen.
• C3 D4.8.6-8: The class runs a mock council meeting with an agenda, public comment, and a vote.
• CCSS 6.SP.A.1: Students write survey questions that expect a range of answers.
• CCSS 6.SP.B.4: Teams make a dot plot of the answers to their number question.
• The other 4 standards are listed in the packet.

Printing

Print the teacher pages once for yourself, and print the handouts for each student or each team. The pacing table lists the handouts you need each day. Every page is Letter size, and the handouts print clearly in black and white.

License

This file is for one household, one classroom, or one homeschool group. You may copy it for your own students. An extra license is required before you share it beyond your group.

How you get your files
After checkout, the download link is on the order page and in your confirmation email. Open the PDF and print what you need.

Questions? support@trailposteducation.com