ELA Social Studies | Grades K-12
Waiting on the
World to Change
How can we make change happen in
our community?
Project Summary
Students learn about political activism and actively engage in the political
process in their community. After identifying a problem or an issue of
concern, students write an issue statement about this challenge. They then
design and implement an action plan that raises awareness and/or provides
a solution to the problem.
Learning Goals
Key standards
Common Core State Standards—ELA-Literacy
CCRA.W.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based
on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under
investigation.
CCRA.W.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research,
reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or
two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
C3 Framework for Social Studies
D2.Civ.2 Civic and Political Institutions—Roles of citizens in the political
system
D2. Civ.14 Civic and Political Institutions—Historical and contemporary
means of changing society
(CCSS Anchor Standards and C3 Dimensions are listed here. This project can
be applied in Grades K–12 and should be adjusted to align with grade-specific
standards.)v
Key Vocabulary
This is a suggested list to get you started. Determine the key vocabulary
words and terms you need to teach based on your focus content and the
prior knowledge and needs of your students.
Empathy
Equity
Grassroots
Movement
Prototype
Protest
Resistance
Literacy Skills
Reading informational text
Evaluating validity of sources
Persuasive writing
Supporting arguments with relevant evidence
Using media to present a coherent persuasive argument
Success Skills
Critical thinking
Communication
Major Products
Individual Products
Action plan to a strategic audience describing a concerning issue with
alternative ways the issue could be addressed, an argument for the best
solution, and a discussion of historical precedent for the solution
Team/Whole Class Products
Video or multimedia presentation of action plan to individuals, community
organizations, or governmental groups recommending changes in their
community
Alternative: Presentation of how students implemented their action plan
Making It Public
Public meeting or evening showcase at school where student teams present
ideas to families, individuals, or nongovernmental organizations
Considerations
Consider Your Students
What issues and concerns are relevant to your students’ lives? What are
they passionate about?
Are any of your students already engaged in activism and social
movements? How can you connect to the work they are already doing
and invite them to share and build on their expertise?
Consider the Context
What issues and concerns are present in your community? How might
you invite in stakeholders to help students learn about these issues, as
well as any movements that are organizing on them?
What backlash or resistance might exist in your community on the
issues students are addressing? How will you engage students in
understanding and preparing for these challenges?
Consider the Content & Skills
What models of activism and organizing might you provide to help
students learn about social action? How can you ensure that the
examples students explore reflect a diversity of political perspectives,
demographics, and organizing strategies/tactics?
How will you help students identify, evaluate, and synthesize research
about the issues they are exploring?
What texts and activities will you use to help students understand
theories of democracy and participatory politics?
Project Milestones
Milestone 1: What is a problem our class is both
willing and able to address?
Students inventory their community for issues that concern them.
Estimated Duration
1–2 days
Assessment(s)
Need-to-know questions (whole group)
Class discussion and selection of an issue via consensus mode (team)
Key Student Question
What is a problem our class is both willing and able to address?
Activities
Activity Title
Show a video
to
demonstrate
how students
identified a
problem in
their
community,
thought of a
solution, and
then took
informed
action to
make a
difference.
Review the
project
information
sheet, the
rubric, and
the driving
question.
Description
Introduce this project with the video Dear
Polly Trottenberg (elementary) or Media
Saves the Beach (secondary). As students
view, have them reflect on and discuss
questions such as the following:
What’s the problem?
Who is affected by the problem?
Why does this problem matter?
Can this problem be solved by one
person? A group? Or does a
government agency need to get
involved?
Who might be opposed to solving
this problem? Why?
Discuss the expectations for the final
product.
Capture students’ need-to-know questions
about the topic and the project.
Ask questions such as these to prompt
student thinking about what they know
and need to know:
What problems do you already know
about?
What experience do you have solving
problems?
How might you learn about problems
experienced by others?
Authentic student curiosity should drive
this process, but you may need to provide
prompting and support to help students
arrive at questions such as those listed
here:
How could one person do something
small to help solve a big problem?
What problem should we focus on?
Have student
Facilitate a silent Chalk Talk about this
teams
Resource Link
brainstorm
local,
regional, or
global
problems.
question: what problems do you care
about in our community, region, or world?
Have students record problems, build on
one another’s ideas, and make
connections. Then have students step
back and review the ideas the class has
generated. Facilitate a whole-class
discussion, asking students to share
themes and connections they notice. For
homework, have students ask family
members to share problems they feel
strongly about and wish were addressed.
Invite
officials from Have students prepare some questions
ahead of time to focus the discussion (see
city/county/state
the Preparing for and Conducting
government/agencies,
Interviews strategy guide) and take notes
the school
on guest presentations.
district, or
leaders from
local
nonprofits to
your class to
share
problems
they face.
Choose one
Have students add the problems from
problem to
focus on as a family members and classroom visitors to
their Chalk Talk. Then guide students to
class.
use a multivoting procedure to select a
problem on which the class can study and
take informed action.
Revisit the
list of needto-know
questions.
Have students identify additional
questions, now that they have selected a
focus problem, such as the following:
Who might have an opposing view
and not think that this is a problem?
Why?
Who in the community could help us
solve a problem?
Who needs to hear about this
problem?
Notes
This project is designed to align with the Equity Centered Design Framework
from Stanford d. School. Review the framework and familiarize yourself with
the steps before implementing the project. Explicitly introduce this process
to students and track students’ process visually throughout the course of the
project:
Notice: Milestone 1 and throughout
Empathize: Milestone 2
Define: Milestone 2
Ideate: Milestone 3
Prototype: Milestone 3
Test: Milestone 3
Reflect: Throughout
For additional information about design thinking, see the following resources:
An Introduction to Design Thinking Process Guide
Stanford d. school Design Thinking Process
Here is a short video that explains the process for students.
Slides explaining equity focus
LAUNCH an alternate design thinking protocol
Support student reflection throughout this milestone with prompts such as
the following. For more information about structuring reflection in PBL, see
the Reflection strategy guide:
What problem do you think is most important?
Where on the internet can you find more information about the
problem?
What individuals, governmental agencies, or NGOs can you turn to for
information?
A sample editable project information sheet and rubric have been provided.
Before sharing these documents with students, customize them to align with
the standards/grade levels you teach, the resources you plan to use, and the
pathway you plan to take through the project.
For an alternative approach to generating need-to-know questions, use the
Question Formulation Technique:
Right Question Institute: Resources for Teaching + Learning (scroll
down for resources)
Using the QFT to Drive Inquiry in Project-Based Learning by Drew
Perkins on TeachThought
Consider sharing with students additional examples of challenges or youth
taking action to change the world, such as the following:
March of the Penguins: Kids Take Political Activism to the Virtual World
Banning Sales of Shark Products
Stories of Youth Changing the World
20 Young Activists Who Are Changing the World
How Teenage Sisters Pushed Bali to Say “Bye-Bye” to Plastic Bags
Be mindful of the cultural, socioeconomic, religious, orientation, and political
diversity of your students and their families and the varied experiences and
perspectives they bring to your classroom. Remind students to consider
others’ perspectives and the problems they face and acknowledge the ways
that disproportionate distribution of power and resources informs the impact
of problems on different people and communities.
Remember that inviting students to engage in activism could be a new
experience for students and parents alike. Consider holding a family
orientation meeting to acquaint them with the project and its goals.
Remember to let students choose the problem for inquiry rather than letting
your personal interests or political views drive the project.
If you have reservations about taking on a controversial issue that might be
opposed by parents, administration, or colleagues, reconsider the topic
selected by students. Confer with your administration and take into
consideration any risks that you or your students might face as a result of
addressing the problem.
For older students consider having each group of students choose a different
problem to address rather than having the whole class focus on the same
problem.
Create a project wall to help visually scaffold this project and promote
student self management. Use a word wall section to track key vocabulary
students learn throughout the project. You may also wish to use the project
wall to track the phases of the design thinking process.
Milestone 2: How do others perceive this problem?
Students interview members of the community to understand multiple
perspectives and clearly define the problem.
Estimated Duration
4–5 days
Assessment(s)
List of questions to ask (team)
Written script for phone calls/emails to reach out to stakeholders (team)
Harkness discussion of prompt (team)
Written or spoken summary of the issue, its impact, and stakeholders
(individual)
Key Student Question
How do others perceive this problem?
Activities
Activity Title
Description
Divide
students into Create teams of two to four students. See
the forming teams strategy guide for
teams.
further ideas. Have each group form
working agreements and develop a
shared contract. See the creating and
using team contracts strategy guide for
details about this process.
Introduce
design
thinking and
have
students map
out steps for
their
projects.
Introduce the
role of
citizens as
active
participants
in the
political
system.
Show students the design thinking
process video to help them understand
the steps. Be sure to explain the extra
equity steps of Notice and Reflection that
happen throughout. Have students create
Kanban Boards or draft a Project Team
Work Plan, guided by the design thinking
process and their list of need-to-know
questions. Provide regular opportunities
for students to revisit their project
tracking tool throughout the project.
Have students explore age-appropriate
topics related to democracy, protesting,
rights movements, and progressivism in
the United States and abroad.
As a class define the roles of an
active citizen.
As a class define the structures of
government including the federal,
state, and local levels.
Research examples of protest
throughout history relevant to your
grade-level social studies
standards.
Use biographies, picture books, and
videos to build empathy.
See the following activities and resources
to support student learning on these
topics:
iCivics: State and Local Governments
iCivics: Citizenship and Participation
Resource Link
Facing History and Ourselves: Citizen
Power Makes Democracy Work
Teaching Tolerance: What
Responsibilities Accompany Our
Rights?
Guide students to reflect on their own role
in the lineage of civic resistance and
social movements and consider how the
problem they are addressing fits into the
larger story of historical social
movements.
Guide
students to
consider the
details of the
problem.
Help students determine how big the
problem is and how it’s perceived by
others. Explain that this information will
help them determine how to best act on
and communicate about the problem.
Work with students to research the
following aspects of the problem:
Scope of the problem
Duration of the problem
Intensity of its impact
Who is most affected by the problem
Resources needed to solve
Previous or ongoing attempts to
solve the problem
Obstacles to attempted solutions
Provide students with a graphic organizer
or shared digital document to track their
learning. Steer students away from
identifying their own solutions at this time
and have them focus instead on
understanding the problem in depth.
Have
students
survey and
interview
various
members of
the
community.
Introduce the empathy stage of the design
thinking process. With students,
brainstorm a list of the kinds of people
whom students should interview.
Encourage students to consider as many
different groups and viewpoints as
possible, including those who may oppose
change.
Have students create a form with a
standard set of questions for interviews
and develop scripts for professional phone
calls and emails. (Consult the Preparing
for and Conducting Interviews strategy
guide for more support.)
Assign different interview subjects
(affected individuals, government
organizations, businesses, and community
groups) to each team and have teams
conduct interviews and administer
surveys, recording, documenting, and
sharing information as they go.
Lead a
discussion to
synthesize
learning from
surveys and
interviews.
Have
students
write
individual
issue
statements.
Revisit the
list of needto-know
questions
with
students.
Use a Harkness Discussion protocol to
share and summarize all of the data from
interviews and research. If students have
never done a Harkness Discussion, briefly
practice with a topic such as “my favorite
television show.” Emphasize that the goal
of a Harkness Discussion is equal
participation. Coach students to avoid
solutions at this stage but rather focus on
a deep understanding of the problem.
Have students avoid judging the ideas
that emerge from interviews or previous
solutions; understanding, not judgment, is
the goal of this stage.
Explain that student statements should
include a summary of the issue, its
impact, and the perspectives of key
stakeholders. Consider offering students
options for how they present these
statements (e.g., students might share
their understanding of the issue in videos,
online journal entries, or poster form).
Identify questions that have been
answered, as well as new questions that
have emerged. For more information
about revisiting the need-to-know
questions, see this strategy guide.
Notes
Support student reflection throughout this milestone with prompts such as
the following:
What are at least three different perspectives on the problem?
What have others done to address this problem?
Why has this problem been challenging to solve?
When introducing the concept of citizen to students, note that it is important
to distinguish between two different meanings of the word. Explain to
students that one meaning (not the focus of this project) of the word citizen
is a legal, documented member of a nation-state. Then explain another
meaning (the focus in this project) is a person who contributes in meaningful
ways to society and advocates for the common good.
Know that students will naturally want to jump to brainstorming solutions.
Remember it is vital that you constantly remind students of the design
thinking process and that they need to practice empathy and stay in the
mind-set of deeply understanding and defining the problem. Consider using
the Draw the Problem strategy from Gamestorming or the Peel the Fruit
thinking routine to help students stay in the problem-definition space.
Have students practice making phone calls or conducting interviews with
each other before they contact subjects.
If your district policies permit, have students create a survey of their
interview questions and share it on social media to access a wider range of
responses. Contact local media and ask them to share the survey with the
community.
If time permits,consider using one of the Perspective Taking routines from
the Visible Thinking Project to deepen students’ understanding of the
viewpoints of multiple stakeholders.
If students realize the problem they’ve chosen is relatively new or that there
are few available resources to address it, allow them to focus their activism
on bringing awareness to the issue.
Milestone 3: What should be done about this
problem?
Students brainstorm solutions, create prototypes, and test their ideas.
Estimated Duration
3–4 days
Assessment(s)
Gallery walk of alternative solution ideas (team)
Journal of changes made based on feedback (individual)
Key Student Question
What should be done about this problem?
Activities
Activity Title
Analyze
current and
historical
social
movements
to identify
the
strategies
used.
Description
Investigate different strategies from
various social movements and have
students determine the strategies used to
make change, why these strategies were
used, and the strengths and challenges of
each. Wherever possible, incorporate
examples that are relevant to your
students and community and connect
national movements to events in your city
or state (for example, look at the role of
local resistance and protest within the
national Civil Rights movement). Use
activities such as the following to explore
movement strategy and tactics:
Have students create Venn diagrams
and engage in structured academic
controversy to explore these topics:
Gradual assimilation (George
Washington Carver) versus
rapid resistance (W.E.B. DuBois)
Violent versus nonviolent
resistance
Nonviolent direct action versus
legal channels in courts
Have students create a time line of
the actions involved in a social
movement. (For example, have
students map key events in the Civil
Rights movement, including
integration of the military, schools,
busing, and restaurants; voting
rights; and constitutional
amendments.
Conduct a text-based discussion such
as a Socratic Seminar to explore the
effects of social media on modern
protests.
Positive and Negative Effects of
Social Media on Politics
Impact of Social Media on
Modern Protest Movements
The Problem With Social-Media
Protests
Pew Research on Activism in the
Social Media Age
Have students explore the
Resource Link
connections between social
movements, including the following:
The US abolitionist movement
led to the suffrage movement.
Mandela and MLK learned
philosophies of nonviolent
resistance from Gandhi.
The US Civil Rights movement
led to women’s rights, Vietnam
War protests, and LBGTQ
protests.
The fall of the Berlin Wall led to
the fall of communism
throughout Eastern Europe.
The Arab Spring started in
Tunisia and spread throughout
Northern Africa and the Middle
East.
Use resources such as the following
to deepen students’ understanding of
the history of social movements:
11 Resources for Teaching
Social Movements Past and
Present
10 Questions for Young
Changemakers unit
Avoid focusing on heroes but instead
focus on how grassroots level
organization has repeatedly led to change
throughout history.
Have
students
begin to
ideate
solutions.
Emphasize that, during this phase,
students should generate as many ideas
as possible without judging them. Begin
brainstorming with quiet individual
reflection and recording to give all
students, especially introverts, time to
process and come up with ideas before
moving to group sharing. Look at the
following resources for ideas and
structures for supporting the
brainstorming process:
4 Steps to Better Brainstorming in
PBL
Brainstorming Is Broken. Here’s How
You Can Fix It
Ideation Strategies From High Tech
High
Guide teams
to develop
prototypes.
Have each group choose one idea and
start to develop it. Depending on the type
of idea that students are exploring, have
them do one of the following activities:
Draw a storyboard
Make a poster
Create a three-dimensional
prototype from cheap or recycled
materials
Emphasize that prototypes should be
quick and high-level and do not need to
be perfect or include a lot of detail.
Explain that their purpose is to develop an
idea clearly enough to communicate
about it and test it. Note that teams may
wish to create prototypes of several
possible solutions.
Provide an
opportunity
for peer
critique and
revision.
If
appropriate,
guide
students to
test their
solutions.
Revisit the
list of needto-know
questions
with
students.
Facilitate a gallery walk of prototypes for
feedback or use another critique protocol.
Have students evaluate the feedback they
receive and identify the changes they will
make as a result of this feedback. Provide
time for students to revise their
prototypes or create new prototypes.
Depending on the problem and the type of
solution students have prototyped,
consider guiding students to think through
a quick and simple way to test out their
solution on a small scale. For example, if
students have identified better signage as
a solution to littering in local parks, have
them choose to compare the amount of
litter on a day before they post a single
sign to the amount of litter in the same
area on the next day.
Identify questions that have been
answered, as well as new questions that
have emerged.
Notes
Support student reflection throughout this milestone with prompts such as
the following:
Why are first ideas rarely the best ideas?
How did your group choose which solution to pursue?
How does your idea help to solve the problem?
What did you learn from the gallery walk?
Talk about growth mind-set and failing fast and often while in this stage.
Show this movie clip as a fun reminder that it is okay to fail.
If possible, provide students time to prototype, test, and critique multiple
possible solutions.
If students are new to peer critique processes, have them view and discuss
the video Austin’s Butterfly.
Milestone 4: What actions can we take as
individuals to address the problem?
Students develop action plans and create presentations to convince the
community to take up their solution.
Estimated Duration
4–5 days
Assessment(s)
Written action plan of how best to implement your solution (individual)
Draft script (team) Rehearsal for presentation (team)
Video or multimedia presentation (team)
Key Student Question
What actions can we take as individuals to address the problem?
Activities
Activity Title
Have
students
develop
action plans.
Description
Guide each group to write an action plan
that details their proposed solution to the
problem and advocates for its
implementation. Have students identify
the specific organizations or individuals
that have the power to implement the
solution and address their action plan to
Resource Link
this audience. Remind students that
action plans should define the problem,
address the perspectives of stakeholders,
describe multiple solutions, and argue for
the group’s recommended solution. Have
students also reflect on the movement
strategies they learned about in the
Milestone 3 and make a case (citing
historical precedent) as to why the
strategies identified in their action plan
are appropriate for the identified
challenge.
Scaffold students’ development of these
plans with resources such as the
following:
Persuasive Writing (K–5) or
Developing Persuasive Writing
Strategies (6–12) from Read Write
Think
How to Write an Action Plan
Persuasion Plan
Supports
Invite groups to select a format that is
students as
most appropriate for their message or
they plan
audience, for example:
engaging
presentations
Slides
to pitch their
Video or commercial
solution to
Skit
their
Other multimedia
audience.
Encourage students to incorporate their
prototypes into their presentations to
make their solutions tangible. If
appropriate, have students draft scripts,
assign roles, and rehearse. Ensure that all
team members have a significant role in
shaping and delivering the presentation.
Provide an
opportunity
for student
and
community
feedback.
Have each group practice their
presentation and gather feedback. If
possible, invite stakeholders who were
surveyed/interviewed to provide
feedback. Use a tuning protocol to
structure the feedback process and have
groups ground their critique in the
PBLWorks Presentation rubric or the
project rubric. Have presenters record the
feedback they receive, evaluate the
feedback, and determine next steps.
Provide time for revision and rehearsal as
appropriate.
Revisit the
list of needto-know
questions
with
students.
Identify questions that have been
answered, as well as new questions that
have emerged.
Notes
Support student reflection throughout this milestone with prompts such as
the following:
How will your solution appeal to diverse people in the community?
Who might oppose your solution? How could you convince them to
support it?
How would you respond to others’ comments about your solution?
Consider scaffolding the development of the action plan and the presentation
planning process by providing templates, graphic organizers, and models.
If students have decided to organize a protest as part of their action plan,
have them use the following resources to explore and discuss protests:
Communities in Action
Do Protests Work?
A Harvard Study Identified the Precise Reason Protests Are an Effective
Way to Cause Political Change
What Makes a Protest Effective?
Psychology of Effective Protest
4 Rules for Making a Protest Work
Milestone 5: How can we encourage others to
help with this issue?
Students present their action plan to relevant individuals and organizations
in the community asking for change.
Estimated Duration
1–2 days
Assessment(s)
Presentation and reflections
(individual/team)
Key Student Question
How can we encourage others to help with this issue?
Activities
Activity Title
Description
Have teams
present their Consider the format in which students
action plans. present their plans depending on the
problems they have identified. Involve
students in the process of planning the
event. Consider the following choices:
A community forum/showcase
evening
A meeting with decision-makers such
as a select board, city council, or
mayoral commission
A school board meeting
A video conference with officials,
decision-makers, or funders
If possible, invite local media to cover the
event. As part of their presentations, have
students share reflections on how they
see their own roles in addressing
problems in the world around them and
what lessons they can draw from history.
Facilitate a
whole-class
discussion to
debrief the
event and
the feedback
students
received.
First, give teams the opportunity to
review, reflect on, and discuss the
feedback comments they received from
the audience.
Then, use a whole-class discussion
strategy such as one of the following:
Debrief Circles
Inside/Outside Circles
Wraparound
Engage students in discussing questions
such as these:
What are you most proud of from
your presentation?
How did you feel about the
audience’s response to your action
plan?
Resource Link
How did this experience compare
with your expectations?
Guide a postHave students return to their need-toproject
know questions and identify changes and
reflection
and feedback new understandings.
process.
Closing reflection activities and resources
might include the following:
My Thoughts About the Project
I Used to Think . . . , Now I Think . . .
Use this strategy guide to support the
post-project reflection process. You may
want to have students reflect on what
they did in the project and how well the
project went using the Self-Reflection on
Project Work.
Notes
If possible, consider extending this project and having students implement
their action plans with community partners; then use the presentation
process to share accomplishments rather than asking for support.
Resources
Project Files
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
on
on
on
on
on
on
the
the
the
the
the
the
World
World
World
World
World
World
to
to
to
to
to
to
Change_ Rubric.docx
Change_ Project information Sheet.docx
Change_ Student Rubric.docx
Change: Rubric Google Doc
Change: Project Information Sheet Google Doc
Change: Student Rubric Google Doc
Adapting This Project For At-Home Learning
Launch Project
Introduce the project by having students view one of the entry event videos
and engage in a synchronous or asynchronous discussion. Gather student
need-to-know questions on a shared digital document. Have students
brainstorm problems or issues that they might address while safely social
distancing.
Build Knowledge, Understanding, & Skills
Use a combination of video lessons, online tutorials, and texts to introduce
design thinking and to guide an exploration of the role of citizens in the
political system and the strategies used in current and historical social
movements. Have students interview community members via video chat or
email.
Develop & Critique
Meet with small groups of students to support them as they write their issue
statements, ideate solutions, develop prototypes, exchange feedback,
develop action plans, and create multimedia presentations. Have students
document their ideas in a running digital document and exchange feedback
via written comments or in a video meeting.
Present Products
Host an online forum for students to share their multimedia messages with
members of the broader school or regional community. If appropriate, have
students put their plans into action.
Additional Resources
Design Thinking
An Introduction to Design Thinking Process Guide
A short video that explains the process for students
LAUNCH an alternate design thinking protocol
Examples of Youth Activism
Autumn Peltier
Malala
Greta Thunberg
5 Revolutions Started by Young Activists
40 Kids Who Changed the World
7 Young Indigenous Activists Standing Up for Their Communities
1963 Children’s March
General Resources
dosomething.org
Logical fallacies
Creative Commons BY-SA-NC
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Thank you to Kelly Reseigh for ideation and Mike Kaechele for curriculum
development on this project.