Week 16: Research and Plan Your Proposal
Building the Foundation for Your Case
You've identified a problem. You know who's affected and who's responsible.
Now comes the hard part: research. Before you can propose a solution, you need to understand the problem deeply — the facts, the causes, what's already been tried, and what other communities have done.
This week, you'll gather evidence, study possible solutions, and begin drafting your proposal.
The big idea:
The best proposals are built on facts, not just feelings. Research is how you turn "I don't like this" into "Here's what's wrong and here's how to fix it."
- You do not need to teach every bullet on the page. Use the learning goal and one or two activities for the session you are teaching today.
- If time is short, teach one guided session well and leave the rest for later. The lessons are designed to stretch across the week.
- The independent session works best after the learner has already explored the main idea with you once.
Teacher Preparation
- Review the student's Community Problem Statement from Week 15.
- Help identify 2-3 places the student could look for information (local news, city website, interviews).
- Think about who the student might be able to interview or talk to.
- Prepare a research organizer (see templates below).
- Prepare a visual timer for sessions.
Research is a skill, not a natural talent. Guide the process — show the student where to look, how to evaluate sources, and how to organize what they find. If they hit a dead end, help them brainstorm another angle rather than just giving them the answer.
Guided Session 1
Researching the Facts
Learning Goal
By the end of this session, the student can:
- gather relevant information about their community problem from multiple sources
- evaluate whether information is reliable and useful
- organize research findings into a clear structure
Activities
1. The Research Plan (5 minutes)
Before diving in, plan where to look:
| Source Type | Example | Good For |
|---|---|---|
| City/school website | Meeting minutes, budgets, agendas | Official decisions and plans |
| Local news | Newspaper articles, TV news websites | Background and community perspective |
| Interviews | Parents, neighbors, teachers, officials | Firsthand experience and expertise |
| Other communities | What has a nearby city done about this issue? | Model solutions |
| Data | Census data, budget numbers, traffic counts | Hard evidence |
For the student's specific problem, identify which sources are most likely to be useful. Start with 2-3 sources.
2. The Research Organizer (15 minutes)
As the student researches, fill in this organizer:
My Problem: ________________________
| Question | What I Found | Source |
|---|---|---|
| How long has this problem existed? | ||
| How many people are affected? | ||
| Has anyone tried to fix it before? | ||
| What worked? What didn't? | ||
| What do other communities do about this? | ||
| How much would a solution cost (roughly)? | ||
| What do affected people say about it? |
Not every question will have an answer yet — that's okay. The point is to know what you know and what you still need to find out.
3. Evaluating Sources (8 minutes)
Teach the student to ask three questions about any source:
- Who said this? (Is it an official source? A news organization? Someone's opinion?)
- How recent is it? (Is the information current?)
- Can I verify it? (Can I find the same information from a second source?)
"Good research isn't about finding one perfect source. It's about gathering information from several places and checking whether they agree."
Practice: Take one piece of information from their research and try to verify it with a second source.
Reflection Questions
- "What was the most important thing you learned from your research?"
- "Was there anything that surprised you or changed how you think about the problem?"
- "What information are you still missing?"
Guided Session 2
Planning the Solution
Learning Goal
By the end of this session, the student can:
- propose a realistic solution to their community problem
- anticipate objections or obstacles to their proposal
- outline the key sections of their final proposal
Activities
1. Brainstorm Solutions (10 minutes)
Now that the student understands the problem, brainstorm possible solutions:
"Based on your research, what are three different ways this problem could be fixed?"
| Solution | Pros | Cons | Estimated Cost/Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solution A | |||
| Solution B | |||
| Solution C |
Rate each one. The best solution is usually:
- Realistic — it can actually be done
- Affordable — it fits within what's reasonable
- Effective — it actually solves the problem (not just part of it)
- Supported — people would be willing to help
Pick the best one. If two are close, the student can combine elements of both.
2. The Devil's Advocate (8 minutes)
Play devil's advocate — raise objections:
Remember the Budget Game from Week 10? One of the most common objections to any proposal is "it costs too much." Your student already knows from that exercise that every community has limited funds and has to make trade-offs.
Common objections to any proposal:
"It costs too much." "It won't work." "It's not a priority." "Someone already tried that." "It only helps some people."
For each objection, help the student prepare a response:
| Objection | Response |
|---|---|
| "It costs too much." | "Based on my research, the estimated cost is [X]. Here's how it could be funded..." |
| "It's not a priority." | "[Number] people are affected, and here's the evidence..." |
| "It won't work." | "A similar approach worked in [other community]. Here's what they did..." |
"The best proposals anticipate objections and address them. This shows you've thought carefully."
3. Outline the Proposal (10 minutes)
Draft the structure of the final proposal (you'll write the full version next week):
- Title — A clear, descriptive title
- The Problem — What's wrong, who's affected, and why it matters
- The Evidence — Facts, data, and quotes from your research
- The Proposed Solution — What you're asking for, specifically
- The Benefits — What will improve if this is done
- The Cost / Resources Needed — What it would take to implement
- Addressing Concerns — Responses to likely objections
- Call to Action — What you're asking the decision-maker to do
Write one sentence for each section — a preview of what will go in the final document.
Reflection Questions
- "Why is it important to think about objections before presenting your proposal?"
- "How did your solution change as you did more research?"
- "Who do you think should hear this proposal?"
Independent Session
Research Deep Dive
Instruction
Spend this session filling gaps in your research.
Review your Research Organizer from Session 1. For any empty boxes:
- Identify what's missing — What questions still don't have answers?
- Find the information — Try a different source: a different website, a person you could ask, or a search with different keywords.
- Update your organizer — Add what you found and note the source.
Then, for your proposed solution:
-
Find one example of another community that solved a similar problem. Write 3-4 sentences about what they did and how it worked.
-
Draft your "evidence paragraph" — Write a short paragraph (4-6 sentences) that presents the most important facts about your problem. This will be part of your final proposal.
Remember: you're not writing the full proposal yet — that's next week. This session is about making sure you have enough evidence to write a strong one.
Skills Reinforced
- researching a real community issue using multiple sources
- evaluating source reliability
- analyzing possible solutions using a structured framework
- preparing evidence-based arguments
Setup
- computer or tablet with internet access
- Research Organizer from Session 1
- Community Problem Statement from Week 15
- notebook for additional notes
- visual timer
- Research: The process of finding facts and information about a topic so you can understand it deeply before making a decision or proposal.
- Evidence: Facts, numbers, quotes, or examples that support what you're saying. Evidence turns opinions into arguments.
- Proposal: A written plan that describes a problem and suggests a specific solution. It's like saying, "Here's what's wrong and here's how I think we should fix it."
- Plan: A step-by-step outline of what you want to do, how you'll do it, and what you'll need.
- Source: Where your information comes from — a newspaper article, a website, a person you interviewed, or official data.
- Data: Numbers, measurements, or facts that give you a clear picture of a problem. For example, "12 out of 20 students said the playground is unsafe" is data.
This week, you dig into your community problem like a real researcher! You find facts, talk to people, and look at what other communities have done. Then you start planning a solution — thinking about what would actually work, what it might cost, and what someone might say against it.
Check for Understanding
- Why is it important to use facts and evidence in a proposal instead of just saying how you feel about a problem?
- What makes a source reliable? How can you tell if information is trustworthy?
- What is one objection someone might raise to your proposal, and how would you respond?
- How did your understanding of the problem change after doing research?
Core vs. Stretch
Core:
- Complete the Research Organizer with at least 4 answered questions
- Identify 2-3 sources of information about your problem
- Brainstorm at least 2 possible solutions and pick the strongest one
Stretch:
- Find an example of another community that solved a similar problem and summarize what they did
- Interview someone who is affected by the problem or who works in a related area
- Draft a rough cost estimate for your proposed solution
Adapting for Different Ages
- Do the research together — sit with them and model how to search, scan results, and pick useful information.
- Simplify the Research Organizer to 3–4 questions instead of 7.
- For the "Devil's Advocate" activity, raise just one objection and help them practice responding.
- The proposal outline can be shorter: Title, Problem, Solution, and one piece of evidence is enough at this age.
- Expect more independent research — point them toward sources but let them navigate.
- Use the full Research Organizer and push for at least one source beyond a simple web search (an interview, a meeting agenda, a news article).
- For the "Devil's Advocate" activity, raise 3 objections and challenge them to respond with evidence, not just feelings.
- The proposal outline should include all 8 sections, even if they're just one sentence each at this stage.
🔍 Civic Inquiry Spotlight: Evaluating Your Sources
Now that you're doing real research for your proposal, the source-checking skills from earlier weeks become essential:
| Question | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Who published this? | A city .gov website is more reliable for budget data than a random blog. |
| When was it published? | A 2018 article about your town's budget may be outdated. |
| Does another source confirm it? | If only one source says it, dig deeper before using it as evidence. |
| Is this a fact or an opinion? | "The playground is 15 years old" is a fact. "The playground is a disgrace" is an opinion. Both might be useful, but label them correctly. |
This week's skill: For every piece of evidence in your proposal, ask: "Could I defend this fact to a skeptical audience? Where did I get it, and is it reliable?"
Offline Option
If you don't have internet access, you can still do great research! Visit your local library and ask a librarian for help finding information about your topic. Use phone calls to contact your city or town hall and ask questions about your issue. Look for printed materials like community newsletters, local newspaper archives, or flyers from town meetings. You can also interview people in person — neighbors, teachers, or local business owners often know a lot about community issues.
Local Adaptation Note
Research your specific local government structure to find who handles your chosen issue.
- Research skills vary widely at this age. Some kids will jump right in; others will stare at a search bar and not know where to start. Model the process — show them how to type a search query, how to scan results, and how to pick a useful source.
- Help them evaluate sources by asking simple questions: "Who wrote this? When? Does another source say the same thing?"
- If a student can't find much information, help them brainstorm different search terms or suggest a different angle (for example, searching for the type of problem instead of the specific location).
- Keep the energy up — research can feel tedious at this age. Celebrate each new fact they find and remind them that every piece of evidence makes their proposal stronger.