A student learning from home
“I would like to borrow books, but I cannot visit during the collection hours.”
Mission 02 • Grades 4–6
Listen before deciding.
Begin this mission when your Project Coach assigns Week 2. If you are still working on Week 1, return to your Problem Card and its finish checklist.
Project management: 11:45–12:15 • G5 Mondays • G6 Tuesdays • G4 Thursdays.
Your idea matters. So do the experiences of the people it could affect. Meet other VC students, compare perspectives, and choose a problem worth investigating.
Your mission
Bring your Week 1 problem card. If you are joining now, use the Book Access Challenge below to get started.
- Learn: Understand perspectives, needs, and fair paraphrasing.
- Practice: Answer two questions and read the feedback.
- Explore: Examine the four voices in the Book Access scenario.
- Draft: Prepare your own listening and problem-selection sheet.
- Compare and revise: Discuss your draft or use the independent comparison. Improve your own response.
- Finish: Save, follow the posted submission directions, and stop.
Plan for 45–60 minutes across the activity and worksheet. Split this website work into short periods between project-management meetings. Work completed during a meeting counts toward the mission.
Pearson checkpoint: Your listening and problem-selection sheet, including your own contribution. Your teacher will identify the graded subject, due date, and submission directions.
Week 2 • Step 1: Learn the ideas
Listening can change your plan.
A perspective is a way someone sees a situation, shaped by their experience. Two people can describe the same problem differently without either person being dishonest. Their needs, information, or responsibilities may differ.
Need
What someone requires to participate or solve a difficulty. Access to books is a need; a new bookshelf is one possible solution.
Paraphrase
Explain someone’s meaning in your own words without changing it. Check that your explanation is fair.
Inference
An explanation you draw from clues. Say “This suggests…” when the person has not stated it directly.
Listening does not mean agreeing with every proposed solution. It means understanding the need before deciding what action makes sense.
From words to understanding
A family member says, “An extra pickup trip is hard to arrange.”
Fair paraphrase: Extra travel is difficult for this family.
Unsupported claim: This family does not care about books.
Follow-up question: What arrangements would make borrowing easier?
The fair version preserves the meaning. The unsupported version invents a motive.
Week 2 • Step 2: Practice with feedback
Make room for more than one need.
For these practice questions: a student needs access to books, while staff need time to organize books and help students. Both want borrowing to work. Use these details to compare their needs.
Worked comparison and problem choice
Common need: The student and family both need a workable way to access books.
Difference: The student describes opening hours; the family describes extra travel.
What remains unknown: How common either barrier is.
Problem to investigate: Difficulty accessing the school’s book collection.
Why start here: Two perspectives suggest access barriers. We should investigate these before deciding what to buy.
Grade 5 extension: Compare this with difficulty choosing a suitable book; explain which problem you would research first.
Grade 6 extension: Evidence that most students already have easy access could change the priority. A teacher-arranged survey or a supplied source set could help test the assumption.
Week 2 • Step 3: Explore perspectives
One problem. Four perspectives.
This school and these statements are fictional. A school has books available, but some students say borrowing them is difficult. The team’s first idea is: “Let’s buy more books.” Before deciding, listen.
A student choosing a book
“There are lots of books. I do not know which ones match my interests and reading needs.”
A family member
“An extra pickup trip is hard to arrange. Clear information about the choices would help us plan.”
A school staff member
“We want more students to borrow books. Any plan needs time for organizing books and helping students.”
The listening challenge
Which needs might more books address? Which needs might remain? Choose two perspectives and explain their differences. Then ask whose perspective is missing.
Talk together: Each person describes a perspective before the group suggests solutions. Use “I heard that…” and “What I still need to understand is…”
Work at your own pace: Read the same cards and write, draw, or record your responses. Use the worksheet prompts as your guide. You do not need to arrange an interview to finish this mission.
See how to explain a perspective
What the person said: A student cannot visit during collection hours.
What that suggests: Timing may be a barrier.
What it does not prove: That every student has the same difficulty.
A useful question: What ways of accessing books would work for students who cannot visit?
Connection to iCivics: apply the listening-and-planning approach introduced with Neighborhood Good. Replaying the game is not required. This scenario, lesson, examples, and worksheet are original Virtual Campus materials, not an iCivics worksheet. iCivics resource collection.
My listening & problem-selection sheet
Move from practice to your project.
First use the four fictional voices to practice listening. For your sheet, either continue that fictional investigation or return to the problem on your Week 1 card. If you use your own problem, describe perspectives supported by what you actually know; label a possible viewpoint as an assumption and explain how you could check it. Do not invent interviews.
If you change topics, record why. You do not need to complete two sheets.
You may discuss a shared team idea, but complete your own explanation. If your team is not ready, choose a problem independently and ask your teacher to help match ideas.
Week 2 • Step 4: Draft your response
Prepare your first response before discussion.
In Week 2 of your Google notebook, draft the problem, two perspectives, evidence, and a proposed choice first. Record your first thinking in the reflection response box. Complete your final contribution and review the checklist after Step 5.
- Capture: Name the problem. Describe two perspectives and identify the statement or observation supporting each.
- Compare: Explain a shared need, a difference, and one missing voice. Separate scenario facts from assumptions about your own school.
- Choose: Follow your grade’s selection prompt. Give a reason, identify the next information needed, and mark your choice as proposed.
A few clear sentences per prompt are enough. For audio or a labeled visual, follow the prompts in order so your coach can find each part.
Open your notebook here each time
Teacher review draft: This button will open this grade’s assigned Google Classroom resource. The Classroom assignment link has not yet been connected.
Click Open My iCivics Notebook to open the Google Classroom assignment provided by Mr. Fullerton. Open your attached notebook, find Week 2 • Listening & Problem-Selection Sheet, and type in the blue response boxes. Google Docs saves your changes automatically while you are connected. Whenever you return, use this same button to find your notebook.
No searching or new copies: Your notebook is stored online in your ASD Google account. Use this button to return to the existing copy in Classroom; you do not need to find a file on your laptop or make another copy.
Completing work in Google Docs is separate from submitting a Pearson checkpoint. Follow Mr. Fullerton’s posted submission directions.
If you cannot open your notebook
Check that you are signed in to your ASD account and using your assigned copy. Contact Mr. Fullerton if you cannot edit. Keep any work already completed and add it to your notebook once access is restored. Do not start duplicate assignments.
Use only First Name and ASD Student ID# inside your private assigned document. Keep Student IDs out of document titles, team notes, and the website forms.
Check your notebook work
Complete your responses in Week 2 • Listening & Problem-Selection Sheet inside your Google notebook. Use Open My iCivics Notebook above to return to your document.
- I compared ideas and explained what I changed or kept, and why.
- I explained two perspectives fairly.
- I identified evidence or clearly labeled assumptions.
- I chose a problem or shortlist and explained why.
- I included my own contribution and a next question.
Coming in Week 3: Who has the authority to help? We will identify the right decision-maker before committing to a solution.
Week 2 • Step 5: Compare and revise
Your ideas matter. So does listening.
Bring the draft you prepared in Step 4. After comparison, return to your sheet to revise your choice, complete your reflection and contribution, and check your work. Everyone prepares, everyone thinks, and everyone completes their own work. Use this routine with classmates or with the comparison examples below. Keep moving even when a teammate is unavailable.
- Think first. Draft two perspectives and one similarity or difference before choosing a problem. Keep this first thinking in the reflection field on your worksheet.
- Bring something. Bring your draft to project coaching. Show or read your idea so the group has something specific to discuss.
- Compare ideas. Agree on today’s roles. Give each person a turn before anyone speaks twice. Paraphrase each perspective before responding. Ask: Which needs overlap? Which differ? Whose voice is missing? Your Project Coach listens while students lead.
- Improve your work. Revise your own Listening & Problem-Selection Sheet. You may share a topic, but explain your reasoning in your own words. Keeping an idea is fine when you explain why.
- Report back and reflect. The group agrees on a spokesperson for today. When your coach rejoins, share the short summary below. Each student records their contribution and next step.
Confirm or revise your team’s starting choice
Grade 4: choose one school/community problem to investigate. Grades 5–6: record a first-choice problem and, if needed, one alternative. Both remain provisional until the Week 3 decision-maker and federal-suitability check. Keeping a choice today does not mean it is approved for an AC bill.
Where to write: In your assigned ASD Team Discussion Notebook, open “Our Team’s Chosen Problem.” Complete the Week 2 confirm-or-revise entry after comparing perspectives. Keep the Week 1 entry so you can see what changed.
- Compare interest, who is affected, evidence, and what your team can realistically investigate.
- The Connection Maker helps write the group’s choice, reason, unknowns, and date. Everyone checks the wording. Include coach feedback.
- Keep your individual card. In your own notebook, explain the team choice, your reasoning, and your next contribution.
If you cannot agree, record the options and ask your coach for help. Mark the choice “still considering” and continue your individual work. Working independently? Record your own choice and comparison in your individual notebook; no team document is required.
Preview “Our Team’s Chosen Problem” →
The assigned shared-document link is pending. The fillable record is a local draft, not a shared document; it does not update the assigned team notebook.
Choose a role. Rotate next mission.
Discussion Guide
Read the discussion question. Invite every voice. Keep the group focused.
“Let’s hear each idea before deciding.”
Evidence Checker
Ask what supports an idea. Help label observations, fictional examples, and assumptions.
“What makes us think that?”
Connection Maker
Notice agreements and differences. Help the team prepare a fair summary.
“We agree on __, but still wonder __.”
Four people? Add a Process Checker to check the directions, time, and unfinished steps. Two people? Share the Connection Maker job. Working independently? Use the three role questions to review your thinking; no role assignment is needed.
Every role includes reading, thinking, and contributing. The spokesperson reports the group’s thinking, rather than doing everyone’s work. Move to a different role in Week 3; keep a simple role record so everyone gets a turn.
Working independently: your comparison is ready here
Return to the four fictional voices above. Compare these possible priorities:
Idea A: Investigate access because the home learner describes timing and the family describes travel.
Idea B: Investigate book selection because one student does not know which books match their interests.
- Compare both ideas with your initial choice. Describe a shared need and a difference.
- Use the exact scenario details to support your comparison; neither idea proves what all students need.
- Choose what to investigate first and explain why. Identify one missing perspective.
Complete the same worksheet and reflection. In place of a group summary, write or record: “I compared __. I decided __ because __. My next step is __.” No extra assignment or interview is needed.
Use a shared document for group thinking
If your coach provides a class Google Doc, open that assigned document and find your team’s space. Use your first name for discussion labels. Keep Student IDs out of the shared discussion. Paste this organizer if your coach has not already added it:
MISSION 2 • TEAM DISCUSSION
Today’s roles:
Each person’s starting idea and supporting detail:
One agreement:
One difference or question:
What we will investigate next, and why:
Today’s spokesperson:
Next mission’s role rotation:
- Add your own idea before changing the group summary.
- Respond to an idea with a question or supporting detail. Do not replace a classmate’s contribution.
- Agree on a summary that includes unresolved questions.
- Return to your own worksheet to revise and submit your own explanation.
No document link yet, or cannot open it? Use paper or your own worksheet and read your ideas aloud, or use the independent comparison above. This website does not sync drafts between students.
Class document links will be supplied by your coach. No shared Google Doc has been created or connected in this preview.
Your 60-second team report
“We compared __. Our evidence was __. We agreed __, but still wonder __. Our next step is __. We need coaching on __.”
Check that everyone’s idea is represented. Your coach may ask any member to explain their own thinking.
Week 2 • Help whenever you need it
Keep your project moving.
My teammate is unavailable.
Use the shared problem if you have one, or work with the four fictional voices. Complete your own comparison and mark your choice “proposed.” Send the team your reasoning through the class-approved channel. Your coach can help reconcile choices later; you do not need to wait to complete your sheet.
We disagree about which problem to choose.
Compare three questions: Who is affected? What evidence do we have? What can we realistically investigate? Record both choices and your reason for a preference. Ask your coach to help if the group remains stuck.
I have no interviews or real-world evidence.
Use the fictional statements as evidence within the practice scenario. Write “In the scenario…” and identify what would need checking at our school. Do not invent interview answers.
How do I know my answer is strong enough?
A strong response identifies two needs accurately, explains a similarity and a difference, labels uncertainty, and gives a reason for the selected problem. “They want books” needs more detail about the barriers each person described.
Ask your Project Coach a specific question.
Use: “I am comparing ___ and ___. My evidence is ___. I am unsure about ___.” Your coach can advise, give feedback, or tutor a concept from this page.
Week 2 • Step 6: Keep and submit
Your work deserves a final check.
- Review: Use the checklist above. Improve any answer that does not yet meet it.
- Your work stays in your notebook: Google Docs saves your changes automatically while you are connected. Use Open My iCivics Notebook to return to your existing copy through Classroom.
- Submit when the assignment is posted: Open Pearson and locate the assignment identified by your Project Coach. Follow its directions for attaching your file or entering responses. For audio or drawings, answer the same prompts and use the format your coach specifies.
- Confirm: Check Pearson’s submission status. If it does not show that your work was submitted, keep your file and ask your coach for help.
Before student launch: the Pearson subject, exact assignment title, due date, and submission location must be supplied here. Until those details are posted, keep your completed file. This preview cannot submit or grade your work.
Week 2 complete — stop here
Before you finish this week, check that you have:
- Completed your own listening and problem-selection sheet.
- Recorded your comparison with classmates or the supplied examples, your reflection, and your contribution.
- Confirmed or revised your problem choice after considering different perspectives.
- Completed your responses in your assigned iCivics Project Notebook.
- Followed the posted Pearson submission directions. If those details are not yet posted, keep your completed work.
You have reached the end of Week 2’s work. You may review or improve it. Begin Week 3 when your Project Coach assigns it.
Week 3 focuses on who has authority to help. Its lesson is available from your grade home when Mr. Fullerton assigns it.
Teacher guide • Sessions, differentiation, and feedback
Collaboration plan • Teacher review
Starting groups: G4: one team of three. G5: two teams of three. G6: one team of three and one of four. Assign students privately; regroup as needed. For a pair, share the Connection Maker role; a student working alone uses the same comparison and submission goals.
Role rotation: In a trio, move Discussion Guide → Evidence Checker → Connection Maker → Discussion Guide each mission. In a four-person team, include Process Checker in the cycle. Agree on a different spokesperson regularly. Roles support thinking; they do not divide the lesson into work that only one student learns.
30-minute coaching rhythm
- 0–5 minutes: Welcome, check prepared drafts, clarify the question, and confirm roles.
- 5–8: Each student shares a starting contribution.
- 8–20: Students lead comparison and discussion. Coach turns video off and listens, intervening when support is needed. If teams meet separately, explain how to request help and monitor each team; do not assume all rooms can be heard at once.
- 20–25: Coach rejoins visibly. Each team’s agreed spokesperson gives a 60-second summary. Ask other members a brief reasoning question.
- 25–30: Students begin individual revisions, name their next step, and confirm submission directions. Revision can continue afterward.
Confirmed project coaching schedule: 11:45–12:15 — G5 Monday, G6 Tuesday, G4 Thursday.
Individual accountability
Use each student’s worksheet, evidence, reasoning, and reflection as the primary academic evidence. A team summary alone does not demonstrate every student’s learning. Evaluate contributions through work and brief coaching questions, not meeting attendance or a teammate’s performance. Independent comparison meets the same learning goal. Final Pearson criteria and assignment settings remain for teacher confirmation.
Shared-document setup before launch
Create one class-approved document per team or clearly separated team spaces. Limit access to intended students and staff; do not publish student work publicly. Insert the organizer from the mission and provide the assigned link through the class channel. Shared thinking uses first-name labels only. If a private submission needs identification, use exactly “Enter your First Name and ASD Student ID#”; never request a last name. Students enter identifying information only in their assigned private documents.
Open the curriculum source map →
Website learning sequence • Between project meetings
Students read the four perspectives, study the worked example, compare two needs, and begin the worksheet. They can divide the mission into short work periods. No separate 45-minute project Zoom is assumed.
30-minute project management • 11:45–12:15
Grade 5: Mondays • Grade 6: Tuesdays • Grade 4: Thursdays
Use the student-led 30-minute coaching rhythm above: prepared contributions, coach listening during discussion, team reports, and individual revision.
The 1:15–2:00 block, three times weekly, is Seminar Content Instruction for upcoming seminars the following week, not additional project time.
Grade-specific expectations
- Grade 4: Identify two needs using sentence starters, drawings, or audio; select one school/community problem and give a reason. No AC or NC.
- Grade 5: Compare two perspectives, shortlist up to two problems, and explain which to investigate first. Federal suitability is a Week 3 teacher checkpoint.
- Grade 6: Add a missing perspective, test an assumption, and specify evidence that could change the shortlist. Do not assume a national problem automatically requires federal legislation.
Feedback and assessment
Use Ready / Developing / Needs support for four criteria: accurate perspectives; distinction between evidence and assumptions; reasoned problem selection; and individual contribution. A ready response explains two needs without distortion, labels what remains unknown, justifies its selection, and names a useful next step. Provide one specific strength and one next question. Assess the explanation, regardless of written, audio, or visual format.
Suggested Pearson placement for teacher review: social studies for civic perspective-taking; language arts if the assignment is assessed for comparing viewpoints and supporting explanations. No subject placement or gradebook assignment has been created.
Students can use the fictional scenario throughout. Real interviews are an enrichment choice arranged through the teacher; they are not needed for this checkpoint. Review any selected Neighborhood Good Extension Pack materials before adding them to the lesson.