Discover: Step 3 - Policy and Community Practice Research

Activity - Classroom

Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Civics

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by Earth Force

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What it is

This activity is meant to be an introductory conversation to differentiate between public policies and habits.
This is designed to be Step 3 in a larger community-action and problem-solving process where students will actively research and interview individuals involved with the issue they are exploring.

Teaching tips

Positives

There are multiple resources given on the website for all of the sections of the activity.
This activity encourages collaborative conversation.

Prerequisites

The site contains many resources for helping students understand policies and practices, identify research questions, organize their research and process the information they gather.
To access the tips cards and other resources mentioned in this activity, teachers can visit the Environmental Action Civics Alliance website.

Differentiation & Implementation

Teachers can start by reviewing the goals of the activity.
Help younger students generate research questions and help guide them in the process using the included graphic organizers.
Depending on the additional activities teachers want to add and amount of research students need to do, this activity can vary greatly in the amount of time it will take. Adjust depending on the scope of research you want students to do.
If doing the full process, be sure to have students continue to gather their work in a project portfolio for use in the final reflection in the last step.

From the scientist review

This video presents the need to dig deep, ask burning questions on environmental policies and community practices in their community, research on the problem using appropriate research methods and finding solutions. In reality, Environmental issues are complex. Using the stakeholder web to model and get a variety of responses will help unpack the complexity for students. This should be followed by a critical evaluation of responses, debriefing key findings.

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At a glance

Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Civics
Other types: Worksheets
Format: Google Docs
Language: English
Location: Earth
Provider: Earth Force
Authors: Earth Force
Published: April 27, 2021
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · D1.1.6-8 + 17 more

Core

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D1.1.6-8Explain how a question represents key ideas in the field.
D2.Civ.2.6-8Explain specific roles played by citizens (such as voters, jurors, taxpayers, members of the armed forces, petitioners, protesters, and office-holders).
D2.Civ.13.6-8Analyze the purposes, implementation, and consequences of public policies in multiple settings.
D3.1.6-8Gather relevant information from multiple sources while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.
D4.3.6-8Present adaptations of arguments and explanations on topics of interest to others to reach audiences and venues outside the classroom using print and oral technologies (e.g., posters, essays, letters, debates, speeches, reports, and maps) and digital technologies (e.g., Internet, social media, and digital documentary).
D4.6.6-8Draw on multiple disciplinary lenses to analyze how a specific problem can manifest itself at local, regional, and global levels over time, identifying its characteristics and causes, and the challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address the problem.
D4.8.6-8Apply a range of deliberative and democratic procedures to make decisions and take action in their classrooms and schools, and in out-of-school civic contexts.
D1.4.9-12Explain how supporting questions contribute to an inquiry and how, through engaging source work, new compelling and supporting questions emerge.
D2.Civ.13.9-12Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
D3.1.9-12Gather relevant information from multiple sources representing a wide range of views while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.

Wisconsin Climate Education Hub

English Language Arts

W.6.7Conduct short inquiry projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.
SL.7.1Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing one’s thinking clearly.
W.9-10.3Create writing that utilizes: a) Organization: introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, analysis, information, and claims to make important connections and distinctions. Establish and maintain a structure and conventions consistent with the mode of writing. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the topic, themes, and experiences presented in the text; b) Transitions: use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts; c) Word Choice (including domain-specific): use culturally-sustaining language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic. Use telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of thoughts, ideas, and experiences.

Social Studies

SS.Inq2.b.mDetermine credibility and applicability of a source by considering a variety of factors through the lens of a social studies strand.
SS.Inq3.a.mDevelop a debatable and defensible claim based upon the analysis of sources.
SS.Inq5.a.mExplore opportunities for personal or collaborative civic engagement with community, school, state, tribal, national, and/or global implications.
SS.Inq2.b.hAnalyze and weigh relevance of a source through a disciplinary lens to determine how the author, context, audience, and purpose affect the reliability, limitations, and usefulness of a source.
SS.Inq5.a.hExplore opportunities informed by the knowledge and methods of the social sciences for personal or collaborative civic engagement with community, school, state, tribal, national, and/or global implications.

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