20 ten-minute warm-ups, one for each case, in case order. Each one uses a document from the case. Project it or print it, read it aloud and ask the question. Students can answer from the document alone.
Show the document for 2 minutes. Students read it on their own.
Ask the question. Students write one sentence, then share with a partner.
Use the follow-up questions for a 5-minute class discussion.
Lesson 1
Is the screening canceled?
Forwarded screenshot in the crew’s group chat, Friday 4:52 p.m.
Circuit practice brief, handed out Monday, period 4
Goal: Explain how a simple circuit works. Read the six paragraphs below before you answer. Use the diagram to trace the path of the current from the battery through the switch and the LED and back. Answer questions 1–4 in complete sentences. (One small diagram sits below six dense paragraphs. No time limit or speed target is listed.)
Question: What skill does the goal line say this sheet checks?
Follow-up questions
What else does a student have to do before answering the questions?
If a student gets the questions wrong, what are two possible reasons?
Listen for: Students notice that reading six dense paragraphs is a different skill from explaining how a circuit works.
Evening rentals, for discussion. Option A: keep the current free evenings; the funding gap remains. Option B: replace Tuesday and Thursday evenings with paid rentals. Option C: pilot one rental evening for six weeks while seeking additional funding. No vote has been taken.
Question: Is the board voting on evening rentals at this meeting, and which words tell you?
Follow-up questions
What are the three options?
Who would be affected if Tuesday and Thursday evenings became paid rentals?
Listen for: Students quote “for discussion” and “No vote has been taken.”
Pay statement, pay period ending Friday the 12th, paid the following Thursday
Hours: 15.00 at $17.00. Gross pay: $255.00. Social Security tax: $15.81. Medicare tax: $3.70. Federal income tax withheld: $8.40. State and local income tax withheld: $6.10. Net pay: $220.99.
Question: How much did this worker earn before deductions, and what was the net pay?
Follow-up questions
Which four lines are taxes?
The statement lists 15 hours. What would you check if you thought you worked more?
Listen for: Students name gross pay ($255.00) and net pay ($220.99), and the four tax lines add up to the $34.01 difference.
Publisher email offering a review copy, sent two weeks before posting
“Hi Gia, we love your book reviews! We’d be glad to send you a free copy of our spring novel for review. There’s no obligation to post, but if you do, we’d appreciate a tag. Best, the publicity team”
Question: What does the publisher offer Gia, and what does it ask for?
Follow-up questions
Does “no obligation to post” mean Gia has no connection to the publisher?
If Gia posts a review, what should her viewers know?
Listen for: Students name the free copy as a connection viewers should know about, even though Gia does not have to post.
Federal: U.S. Representative. State: State Senator; Superior Court judge (retention). Local: Board of Education, District 3 (vote for two); City Council, Ward 5. Measures: Measure T, transit improvements bond.
Question: Which contests on this ballot are local?
Follow-up questions
How many Board of Education candidates can a voter choose?
Which contest could affect a student’s school, and which could affect their bus?
Listen for: Students list the Board of Education and City Council races and Measure T, not only the race for Congress.
Anika’s poster, first version, printed Tuesday 3:15 p.m.
“KEEP OUR LIBRARY OPEN AT LUNCH. Wear blue Thursday.” A photo of the school’s sign and logo runs across the top. No student name or group appears anywhere on the poster.
Question: Who does this poster look like it comes from?
Follow-up questions
What is missing that would show who made it?
What does the poster ask people to do?
Listen for: Students point to the school’s sign and logo and to the missing student or group name.
Single-use cups (plastic-lined paper, labeled “recyclable”): about 120. Paper plates: 80. Printed flyers: 150. Paper straws, on request: 40. Folding chairs: borrowed from the bookshop.
Question: Which item did the event use the most of?
Follow-up questions
Which items could be reused or borrowed next time, the way the chairs were?
The cups are labeled “recyclable.” What would you check before trusting that label?
Listen for: Students find the largest count (150 printed flyers) and suggest cutting or reusing items before recycling them.
0:00–0:18 crew footage, no music. 0:18–0:38 sampled track, pitched up slightly, under the setup montage. 0:38–1:52 crew footage and interviews. 1:40–1:46 a 6-second clip downloaded from a stitched TikTok post.
Question: Which parts of this cut did the crew not make?
Follow-up questions
How many seconds of the sampled track are in the cut?
Would a credit in the caption give the crew permission to use those parts?
Listen for: Students name the 20-second sampled track and the 6-second clip from a TikTok post.
Studio internship listing, posted on the campus job board in April
“Summer Editing Intern (unpaid). Join our fast-paced studio! You’ll run the customer inbox all summer, help with client files and get great exposure to the industry. College credit available.”
Question: What will the intern do all summer, according to the listing?
Follow-up questions
Which words describe learning, and which describe work?
What does the listing leave out?
Listen for: Students notice that the listed duties are work (the customer inbox and client files) and that the listing names no training.
Unsigned notice beside the common-room door, found Monday morning
“NOTICE TO ALL RESIDENTS. Effective immediately, the rear door will be locked at 8:00 p.m. nightly. The common room is for resident social use only. NO BUSINESS USE.” No issuer, date or contact appears on the page.
Question: What two rules does this notice announce?
Follow-up questions
Who wrote the notice, and how could you find out?
Which features make it sound official?
Listen for: Students name both rules and point out that the notice has no issuer, date or contact.
“Free workshop: 10 seats. Add your name to show interest. How seats will be chosen: to be announced.” Thirty names by Wednesday; the first 22 were added before 10 a.m. on Monday.
Question: How many seats are there, and how many people signed up?
Follow-up questions
If the seats went to the first ten names, how early would you have had to sign up?
Who might see a sign-up sheet late?
Listen for: Students notice that first come, first served would give all ten seats to people who signed up in the first hour.
District proposed budget, facilities excerpt, posted in spring for next school year
PROPOSED BUDGET, NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. Total proposed budget: $48,000,000. Projected enrollment: 3,200 students. Facilities, building repairs (all schools): $310,000. Note: figures are proposed and may change before the board adopts the budget.
Question: Is this what the district spent, or what it plans to spend?
Follow-up questions
How much is proposed for building repairs at all schools?
What would you need to know to find out whether the stage curtain will be fixed?
Listen for: Students read “proposed” and “may change before the board adopts the budget” and find the $310,000 repair line.
Item 4. Evening court hours. Proposal to turn off the court lights and close the lighted courts at 8:00 p.m. Background: complaints about evening noise from nearby residents. Action: committee recommendation to the full council.
Question: What does the proposal in item 4 change?
Follow-up questions
Does this committee make the final decision?
Who might want to speak about this item?
Listen for: Students say that the committee makes a recommendation and the full council decides.
