College and community

Tasks for college courses, libraries and community groups working with people ages 18 to 24.

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Educator edition

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Student edition

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Student pages have the same page numbers in both books on screen.

How the college tasks work

College courses, libraries, youth programs and community groups working with people ages 18 to 24.

How these tasks differ

Tasks are set on campus and in the community: club policies, memos to campus offices, public comment and workplace questions.
Students write for a reader who can act, such as a committee, a supervisor or a public office.
Each task names the real sources and professional codes it relies on.
Legal points stay questions, and tasks give general information, not legal advice.
Two cases are partial fits: Lessons 2 and 12 rest on rules for high school students, so college students explain or support instead of applying the rules to themselves.

What participants practice

Evaluate case documents and real sources for authority, context and purpose before using them.
Write for a campus or community reader who can act, such as a committee, a campus office, a newsroom, a supervisor or a public board.
State legal and policy points accurately and as questions, without giving legal advice.
Weigh the effects of a decision on different people, including people who cannot attend the meeting.
Keep private information out of every product.

Time and grading

Plan about 75 minutes for most tasks, as one long class session or two short ones. The tasks for Lessons 7 and 12 need about 90 minutes because students weigh more real sources.

Grade with the case rubric and each route’s assessment line. AAC&U designed the VALUE rubrics for institutional-level assessment, not for grading, so use the rubric and frame names to describe the learning each task practices.

Cases and tasks for college and community groups

For each case: the task for this band, what students make, how long the task takes and the professional codes of ethics or federal rules the case uses. Frameworks names the AAC&U VALUE rubrics and ACRL frames the task practices.

Case	Task	Students make	Time	Frameworks	Professional standards	Open
Lesson 1 Is the screening canceled?A cropped clip in the group chat seems to cancel the crew’s screening, so you check the original documents and write an update.	Write an update-and-correction procedure for a student club’s group chat and social accounts, using the Common Room rumor as the worked example. Include the correction the club would post.	Procedure, 250–350 words, plus a model correction of 60–90 words	75 minutes. Full chapter: 107 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Information Literacy, Written Communication ACRL frames: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process How this task uses them Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students evaluate the forwarded clip against the transcript and the booking email before they use it (Evaluate Information and Its Sources Critically). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a procedure and a correction for club members and guests who are about to travel (Context of and Purpose for Writing). Authority Is Constructed and Contextual. Students explain why the coordinator’s transcript carries more authority than a forwarded screenshot for this question. Information Creation as a Process. Students trace how cropping a seven-second clip changed what the meeting record appeared to say.	SPJ Code of Ethics, RTDNA Code of Ethics, PRSSA Ethical Principles for PR Students & Professionals	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 2 Does the worksheet show what Dec knows?Dec can explain a circuit out loud but gets lost on a crowded worksheet, so the crew asks what the task measures.	Write a one-page guide for volunteer tutors in a library or youth program who work with high school students like Dec. The guide shows how to describe what a tutor observes without diagnosing and how to point a student and family to the school’s own process.	Tutor guide, 350–450 words, with one worked example based on Dec	75 minutes. Full chapter: 107 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Written Communication, Ethical Reasoning, Information Literacy ACRL frames: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual How this task uses them Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write practical guidance for volunteer tutors, with a worked example (Context of and Purpose for Writing). Ethical Reasoning VALUE Rubric. Students decide what a tutor may say about a student’s learning and what belongs to the student, the family and the school (Ethical Issue Recognition). Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students use the IDEA regulation summary accurately and do not stretch it to decide anything about Dec (Use Information Effectively to Accomplish a Specific Purpose). Authority Is Constructed and Contextual. Students explain why an eligibility decision belongs to the school’s evaluation process and not to a tutor or a friend.	CEC Ethical Principles and Practice Standards, Code of Ethics of the Education Profession	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 3 What should a group do after a public mistake?The crew’s recap caption blamed younger neighbors for a late start, but the event log shows the projector failed.	Write a corrections policy for a student club’s social accounts, then use it to write the correction for the crew’s recap caption.	Corrections policy, 250–350 words, plus a posted correction of 70–100 words	75 minutes. Full chapter: 106 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Civic Engagement, Written Communication, Ethical Reasoning ACRL frames: Information Creation as a Process How this task uses them Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric. Students write a correction that reaches the younger neighbors the caption blamed (Civic Communication). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a corrections policy and a correction that fit a club’s social accounts (Genre and Disciplinary Conventions). Ethical Reasoning VALUE Rubric. Students weigh the club’s reputation against the harm to the people the caption blamed (Ethical Issue Recognition). Information Creation as a Process. Students compare how a caption, a setup log and a correction were each produced and what each can show.	PRSA Code of Ethics, RTDNA Code of Ethics, Credo for Ethical Communication	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 4 Who gets a say when a shared room changes?The Common Room’s board is weighing paid rentals on two free evenings, so the crew prepares a comment before the meeting.	Write a proposal to the nonprofit board for hearing from evening users before it chooses among Options A, B and C. Add a written comment that recommends one option.	Proposal, 300–400 words, plus a written comment of 150–200 words	75 minutes. Full chapter: 109 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Civic Engagement, Quantitative Literacy, Written Communication ACRL frames: Research as Inquiry How this task uses them Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric. Students plan how people whose shifts overlap the meeting can still be heard by the board (Civic Contexts/Structures). Quantitative Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students calculate the $200 weekly gap and explain why the $120 per rental is a projection (Calculation; Assumptions). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a proposal and a comment for a board audience, each with a clear request (Context of and Purpose for Writing). Research as Inquiry. Students turn gaps in the listening notes into questions that the input process must answer.	ASPA Code of Ethics, ALA Code of Ethics	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 5 Why is my deposit smaller than what I earned?Gia’s bank deposit is smaller than the pay she worked out, so she reads her pay statement line by line before asking payroll.	Write Gia’s question to payroll about the missing hours. Then write a one-page guide for new student workers that walks through her pay statement line by line. The guide could be used in a campus career office’s first-job workshop.	Payroll question, 50–80 words, plus a guide of 300–400 words	75 minutes. Full chapter: 90 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Quantitative Literacy, Written Communication, Information Literacy ACRL frames: Research as Inquiry How this task uses them Quantitative Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students follow gross pay to net pay and use pay-period dates to account for the three missing hours (Calculation; Interpretation). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a workplace question and a guide for new student workers (Context of and Purpose for Writing). Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students check each deduction against the IRS pages before they explain it (Use Information Effectively to Accomplish a Specific Purpose). Research as Inquiry. Students turn a confusing deposit into specific questions that the statement, the shift log and the IRS pages can answer.	PayrollOrg Code of Ethics, IABC Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 6 What can your family see in your college records?Rafa’s parents help pay his college bill, and a family-access form asks whether they should also get information about his grades.	Write a plain-language explainer for first-year students and their families, suitable for an orientation program or a student government page. It separates billing access from access to academic records and explains how a student changes an authorization.	Explainer for students and families, 350–450 words, with three short questions and answers	75 minutes. Full chapter: 94 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Information Literacy, Written Communication ACRL frames: Information Has Value; Authority Is Constructed and Contextual How this task uses them Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students cite the Department of Education pages accurately and respect the limits on sharing confidential records (Access and Use Information Ethically and Legally). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write one explainer for students and families at once (Context of and Purpose for Writing). Information Has Value. Students explain who controls access to education records and why an authorization can be limited or withdrawn. Authority Is Constructed and Contextual. Students weigh a college’s form and a federal FAQ as sources for different questions.	AACRAO Ethics and Practice, Credo for Ethical Communication	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 7 Did one complaint get the novel banned?A group chat says one parent’s complaint got a novel banned, so Mari and Gia check what the school library’s notice says.	Write an explainer for a public library newsletter or a campus newspaper on how a school library review works. Use the district’s reconsideration notice as the example. Separate the district’s adopted policy, the ALA’s guidance and what courts have and have not settled.	Explainer, 450–600 words, with a labeled source list	90 minutes. Full chapter: 101 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Information Literacy, Civic Engagement ACRL frames: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual; Information Has Value How this task uses them Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students weigh a district notice, a professional toolkit, news reports and a law-firm alert for what each can support (Evaluate Information and Its Sources Critically). Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric. Students tell the public how and when students, parents, staff and community members may give input (Civic Contexts/Structures). Authority Is Constructed and Contextual. Students explain why the ALA’s guidance is not law and why a district’s adopted policy governs its own review. Information Has Value. Students connect the review process to readers’ access to a book that stays available during the review.	ALA Code of Ethics, Code of Ethics of the Education Profession, Credo for Ethical Communication	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 8 Is it a recommendation or an ad?Gia loves a novel that a publisher sent her for free, and her video review does not mention the free copy yet.	Write a social media disclosure policy for a student organization whose members post reviews, and a one-page training handout. Then use the policy to rewrite the first three seconds and the caption of Gia’s review.	Policy, 300–400 words, a one-page handout and a revised opening and caption	75 minutes. Full chapter: 106 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Ethical Reasoning, Written Communication ACRL frames: Information Has Value; Information Creation as a Process How this task uses them Ethical Reasoning VALUE Rubric. Students decide what viewers are owed when a reviewer got the product free (Application of Ethical Perspectives/Concepts). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a policy and a training handout for members of a student organization (Genre and Disciplinary Conventions). Information Has Value. Students explain how a free product creates a relationship that viewers need to know about when they weigh a review. Information Creation as a Process. Students trace how placement in a spoken line, on-screen text or a caption changes what a viewer notices.	FTC Endorsement Guides (law or regulation), PRSA Code of Ethics	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 9 What is on your ballot, and where do you check?Dec turns 18 before the election on November 3, 2026, and his feed covers only one race on his ballot.	Write a nonpartisan voting-information guide for a student organization’s social accounts or a campus library display. Add a short note explaining how the guide avoids the problems in the creator’s voter guide.	Guide, 300–400 words, plus a note of about 100 words	75 minutes. Full chapter: 106 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Civic Engagement, Information Literacy ACRL frames: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual; Searching as Strategic Exploration How this task uses them Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric. Students give peers nonpartisan steps to find their own ballot and deadlines (Civic Communication). Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students rely on official sources and label the creator’s guide as a mix of facts and recommendations (Evaluate Information and Its Sources Critically). Authority Is Constructed and Contextual. Students explain why a state or local election office, not a creator’s post, is the authority on deadlines. Searching as Strategic Exploration. Students plan how a reader finds their own state’s registration rules and sample ballot.	SPJ Code of Ethics, RTDNA Code of Ethics, Credo for Ethical Communication	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 10 Whose job is it to fix the blocked route?A construction detour sends Sami toward stairs on her way to a city workshop, and her bus comes in 12 minutes.	Write a memo to the parks department about its workshop series. Report what Sami’s trip showed, summarize what the Department of Justice Title II guide says a city program must do and recommend two changes. Add a revised flyer that tells people how to request access.	Memo, 300–400 words, plus a revised flyer of 60–100 words	75 minutes. Full chapter: 103 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Civic Engagement, Problem Solving, Written Communication ACRL frames: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual How this task uses them Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric. Students direct a request to the city department that runs the workshop (Civic Contexts/Structures). Problem Solving VALUE Rubric. Students define the barrier along the whole route and propose changes the department can carry out (Define Problem; Propose Solutions/Hypotheses). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a memo and a flyer for two different readers (Context of and Purpose for Writing). Authority Is Constructed and Contextual. Students explain why the Department of Justice guide, not a photo or a detour sign, describes what a city program must do.	ASPA Code of Ethics, NPPA Code of Ethics for Visual Journalists, ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 11 Why are Jordy and Gia paid different rates?Jordy and Gia worked the same Saturday event, but Gia’s pay rate is $1.50 an hour higher, and Jordy wants to know why.	Write Jordy’s message to the supervisor and a one-page plan for the conversation. The plan lists the record Jordy brings, what Gia agreed to share, the questions to ask and Jordy’s options after each kind of answer.	Message, 80–120 words, plus a one-page conversation plan	75 minutes. Full chapter: 94 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Ethical Reasoning, Written Communication, Critical Thinking ACRL frames: Information Has Value How this task uses them Ethical Reasoning VALUE Rubric. Students decide how to use a coworker’s pay information that she agreed to share and keep her statement private (Ethical Issue Recognition). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a workplace message and a plan for the conversation (Context of and Purpose for Writing). Critical Thinking VALUE Rubric. Students state the pay question and the facts it depends on before they draw any conclusion (Explanation of Issues). Information Has Value. Students explain the right to discuss wages that the NLRB page describes and how it applies to comparing pay statements.	SHRM Code of Ethics, IABC Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 12 When can a school limit what students say?Anika’s poster asks her school to keep the library open at lunch, and now someone in her group chat suggests a walkout.	Write a plain-language explainer on posters and walkouts at public schools for a library teen night or a youth program. Separate the speech question, the attendance rule and possible discipline, and use Anika’s case as the example.	Explainer, 400–500 words, with a labeled source list	90 minutes. Full chapter: 113 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Information Literacy, Civic Engagement ACRL frames: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual; Scholarship as Conversation How this task uses them Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students weigh a court opinion, two news reports and an advocacy guide for what each can support (Evaluate Information and Its Sources Critically). Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric. Students explain rights and school rules to a younger community audience (Civic Communication). Authority Is Constructed and Contextual. Students explain why a Supreme Court opinion and an ACLU guide carry different kinds of authority. Scholarship as Conversation. Students trace how Mahanoy (2021) builds on and limits Tinker (1969).	ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, PRSA Code of Ethics, AIGA Standards of Professional Practice	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 13 Can the crew cut waste before it reaches the bin?The last Common Room screening used about 120 cups the city won’t recycle, and a box of parts arrived half full of packaging.	Write a memo to a student government events committee proposing one purchasing change for campus or club events. Use the Common Room supply list as the model, and include a measurement plan that states its boundary.	Memo, 300–400 words, with a materials table	75 minutes. Full chapter: 94 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Quantitative Literacy, Problem Solving, Civic Engagement ACRL frames: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual How this task uses them Quantitative Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students use counts from the supply list and set a measurement boundary before they claim any savings (Assumptions; Application/Analysis). Problem Solving VALUE Rubric. Students define the waste problem before the bin and propose one change with a way to check its results (Define Problem; Evaluate Outcomes). Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric. Students bring a proposal to the committee that decides event purchasing (Civic Contexts/Structures). Authority Is Constructed and Contextual. Students weigh a “recyclable” label against the city’s accepted-materials list.	FTC Green Guides (law or regulation), AIGA Standards of Professional Practice, IABC Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 14 Does giving credit let the crew use the song?Mateo wants to post the crew’s film tonight and credit the song’s artist, but Caio wants to check the license first.	Write a rights-clearance guide for a community film night or a student film club, using Caio’s rough cut as the worked example. The guide shows how to fill in a rights log, what a credit does and does not do, and where to get help.	Guide, 400–500 words, with a completed rights log for the rough cut	75 minutes. Full chapter: 110 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Information Literacy, Written Communication, Ethical Reasoning ACRL frames: Information Has Value How this task uses them Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students record where each outside element came from and what permission it has (Access and Use Information Ethically and Legally). Information Has Value. Students explain why credit, a license and fair use answer different questions about someone else’s work. Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a practical guide for club members with a worked example (Genre and Disciplinary Conventions). Ethical Reasoning VALUE Rubric. Students weigh the film’s needs against the interests of the recording artist and the TikTok creator (Ethical Issue Recognition).	AIGA Standards of Professional Practice, RTDNA Code of Ethics, PRSA Code of Ethics	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 15 Is Rafa’s unpaid internship really a job?A studio offers Rafa an unpaid summer internship running its customer inbox and says college credit makes it legal.	Write a memo to the campus career center about unpaid internship listings on its job board, using the studio’s listing as the example. Add a one-page checklist students can use before they accept an unpaid offer.	Memo, 300–400 words, plus a one-page checklist	75 minutes. Full chapter: 110 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Information Literacy, Written Communication, Ethical Reasoning ACRL frames: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual; Information Has Value How this task uses them Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students apply a federal fact sheet to one listing and cite it accurately (Use Information Effectively to Accomplish a Specific Purpose). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a memo for a campus office and a checklist for students (Context of and Purpose for Writing). Ethical Reasoning VALUE Rubric. Students weigh the studio’s claim about credit against the effect on students who cannot work for free (Ethical Issue Recognition). Authority Is Constructed and Contextual. Students compare the studio’s legal claim with the Department of Labor’s own guidance. Information Has Value. Students use NACE’s reports on paid and unpaid internships to show what an unpaid role costs in time and paid hours.	NACE Principles for Ethical Professional Practice, ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 16 Who wrote the new building rule?An unsigned notice says the building’s only step-free door locks at 8 p.m., and Sami’s workshop runs later.	Design a notice template that a building office could use for any rule change. Rewrite the rear-door notice with it, and write a short memo to the building office that explains each element.	Notice template, a rewritten notice of 60–120 words and a memo of about 150 words	75 minutes. Full chapter: 110 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Written Communication, Civic Engagement, Ethical Reasoning ACRL frames: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual How this task uses them Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students design a notice and a memo for residents and a building office (Genre and Disciplinary Conventions). Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric. Students plan how residents with different needs learn about a rule and whom they can ask (Civic Communication). Ethical Reasoning VALUE Rubric. Students weigh the effect of a door rule on different residents before recommending wording (Ethical Issue Recognition). Authority Is Constructed and Contextual. Students explain why bold type and capital letters do not show who issued a rule.	ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Credo for Ethical Communication	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 17 How should the crew give out ten free seats?Thirty people want ten free workshop seats, and the crew must choose a fair way to decide who gets them.	Write a memo to a student government committee recommending how to give out ten free workshop seats among thirty applicants. Then draft the announcement that publishes the method before sign-ups open.	Memo, 350–450 words, plus an announcement of 80–120 words	75 minutes. Full chapter: 107 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Ethical Reasoning, Civic Engagement, Written Communication ACRL frames: Information Has Value How this task uses them Ethical Reasoning VALUE Rubric. Students apply two ethical lenses to the options and evaluate the strongest objection to their choice (Evaluation of Different Ethical Perspectives/Concepts). Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric. Students design a process that people who do not get a seat can still accept (Civic Contexts/Structures). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a memo for a committee and an announcement for applicants (Context of and Purpose for Writing; Genre and Disciplinary Conventions). Information Has Value. Students decide what personal information a needs-based method would collect and how to protect it.	The Belmont Report, ASPA Code of Ethics	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 18 Why is the theater curtain still falling apart?The district’s proposed budget is $48 million, the school theater curtain won’t close, and Dec wants to ask the school board about it.	Write a fact-check of the viral post for a local news site or a campus newspaper. Correct the comparison, show the math and say what the proposed budget can and cannot tell readers about the curtain.	Fact-check, 350–450 words, with a worked calculation	75 minutes. Full chapter: 106 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Quantitative Literacy, Information Literacy, Written Communication ACRL frames: Information Creation as a Process How this task uses them Quantitative Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students convert a district total to a per-pupil figure and explain why the units in the post do not match (Representation; Interpretation). Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students check a viral post against the budget excerpt and the NCES page (Evaluate Information and Its Sources Critically). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a fact-check for local readers that shows its evidence (Sources and Evidence). Information Creation as a Process. Students explain the difference between a proposed budget and an adopted one and why the stage changes what a figure means.	ASPA Code of Ethics, SPJ Code of Ethics, Credo for Ethical Communication	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 19 What should Gia say in her two-minute comment?Gia has two minutes to speak to the parks committee about the court lights, but her draft is three pages long.	Prepare the crew’s input on item 4 as a small community group. Write a two-minute spoken comment for the parks committee and a follow-up email to the full council, which receives the committee’s recommendation.	Spoken comment, 2 minutes (about 260 words), plus a follow-up email of 120–180 words	75 minutes. Full chapter: 97 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Civic Engagement, Oral Communication, Written Communication ACRL frames: Scholarship as Conversation How this task uses them Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric. Students speak to the body that can act on the item and follow the decision to the full council (Civic Contexts/Structures). Oral Communication VALUE Rubric. Students deliver a timed comment with one central message and one supporting observation (Central Message). Written Communication VALUE Rubric. Students write a follow-up email for a different audience than the spoken comment (Context of and Purpose for Writing). Scholarship as Conversation. Students use research on who comments at local meetings (Einstein, Palmer and Glick, 2018) to decide whose view their comment should acknowledge.	ASPA Code of Ethics, Credo for Ethical Communication, SPJ Code of Ethics	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page
Lesson 20 Can the crew post this image as true?A realistic image says the campus courtyard flooded today, and Jordy must decide what the six o’clock recap can say about it.	Write the verification note the crew posts instead of the image. Then write a memo recommending two changes to the campus facilities alerts page that would help students check rumors.	Verification note, 50–80 words, plus a memo of 250–350 words	75 minutes. Full chapter: 97 minutes	VALUE rubrics: Information Literacy, Critical Thinking ACRL frames: Information Creation as a Process; Searching as Strategic Exploration How this task uses them Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. Students weigh a detector score, a secondhand reply and an alerts page for what each can show (Evaluate Information and Its Sources Critically). Critical Thinking VALUE Rubric. Students separate whether the image was generated from whether the courtyard flooded before they reach a conclusion (Evidence). Information Creation as a Process. Students explain what provenance data, labels, watermarks and detection each record, using the NIST overview. Searching as Strategic Exploration. Students look for the earliest post and an independent source before they judge the claim.	RTDNA Code of Ethics, SPJ Code of Ethics, PRSA Code of Ethics	Educator guide Case page Educator pages Student pages Educator PDF Student PDF Starter slides (PowerPoint, 7 slides)Family page

Frameworks the college tasks practice

Each college task names the AAC&U VALUE rubrics and the frames of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education that it practices. Open a case’s Frameworks list in the table above to see how its task uses each one. Score the work with the case rubric in the educator guide. AAC&U says the VALUE rubrics “are intended for institutional-level use in evaluating and discussing student learning, not for grading.”

The ACRL Board adopted the Framework on January 11, 2016. An ACRL task force has released a first draft of a revised Framework for comment (comments were due May 8, 2026), so check the frame names on ACRL’s page before you publish a syllabus. We checked these names on September 25, 2026.

AAC&U VALUE rubrics (2009)

Written CommunicationUsed in Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19
Information LiteracyUsed in Lessons 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14, 15, 18 and 20
Civic EngagementUsed in Lessons 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17 and 19
Ethical ReasoningUsed in Lessons 2, 3, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16 and 17
Quantitative LiteracyUsed in Lessons 4, 5, 13 and 18
Critical ThinkingUsed in Lessons 11 and 20
Problem SolvingUsed in Lessons 10 and 13
Oral CommunicationUsed in Lesson 19

ACRL Framework for Information Literacy (2016)

Authority Is Constructed and ContextualUsed in Lessons 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15 and 16
Information Has ValueUsed in Lessons 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15 and 17
Information Creation as a ProcessUsed in Lessons 1, 3, 8, 18 and 20
Research as InquiryUsed in Lessons 4 and 5
Scholarship as ConversationUsed in Lessons 12 and 19
Searching as Strategic ExplorationUsed in Lessons 9 and 20

Recommended resources

Free outside videos, games, readings and lesson plans we checked for college and community groups, up to two per case. Teach items are for you, and the rest work for students. Open a case for its full list in the educator guide.

Lesson 1: Is the screening canceled?
- Watch Sort Fact from Fiction Online with Lateral Reading (opens in a new tab) Digital Inquiry Group (Civic Online Reasoning)
- Read SIFT (The Four Moves) (opens in a new tab) Mike Caulfield (Hapgood)
Lesson 2: Does the worksheet show what Dec knows?
- Teach Universal Design for Learning Guidelines (opens in a new tab) CAST
- Watch UDL At A Glance (opens in a new tab) CAST
Lesson 3: What should a group do after a public mistake?
- Read Best Practices: Corrections (opens in a new tab) Ethics and Journalism Initiative (NYU Carter Journalism Institute)
- Read The Three Parts of an Effective Apology (opens in a new tab) Greater Good Science Center (UC Berkeley)
Lesson 4: Who gets a say when a shared room changes?
- Watch There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch (opens in a new tab) Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- Read Participatory Budgeting Project (opens in a new tab) Participatory Budgeting Project

Show resources for Lessons 5 to 20

Lesson 5: Why is my deposit smaller than what I earned?
- Try Reading a Pay Stub (interactive) (opens in a new tab) TV411 (Education Development Center)
- Try Tax Withholding Estimator (opens in a new tab) Internal Revenue Service
Lesson 6: What can your family see in your college records?
- Read FERPA (statute and regulations) (opens in a new tab) U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office
- Read Parents and Students (opens in a new tab) U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office
Lesson 7: Did one complaint get the novel banned?
- Teach Selection & Reconsideration Policy Toolkit (opens in a new tab) American Library Association
- Read Board of Education, Island Trees v. Pico (opens in a new tab) Oyez (LII, Cornell; Justia; Chicago-Kent)
Lesson 8: Is it a recommendation or an ad?
- Watch Online Advertising: Crash Course Media Literacy #7 (opens in a new tab) CrashCourse
- Try Meta Ad Library (opens in a new tab) Meta
Lesson 9: What is on your ballot, and where do you check?
- Watch Election Basics: Crash Course Government and Politics #36 (opens in a new tab) CrashCourse
- Try Vote.gov (opens in a new tab) U.S. General Services Administration
Lesson 10: Whose job is it to fix the blocked route?
- Teach Guide to the ADA Standards, Chapter 4: Ramps and Curb Ramps (opens in a new tab) U.S. Access Board
- Read State and Local Governments (ADA Title II) (opens in a new tab) ADA.gov (U.S. Department of Justice)
Lesson 11: Why are Jordy and Gia paid different rates?
- Try Occupational Outlook Handbook (opens in a new tab) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Read Pay Discrimination (Youth@Work) (opens in a new tab) U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Lesson 12: When can a school limit what students say?
- Watch The Tinker v. Des Moines Decision and the “Tinker Test” (opens in a new tab) Annenberg Classroom
- Watch Freedom of Speech: Crash Course Government and Politics #25 (opens in a new tab) CrashCourse
Lesson 13: Can the crew cut waste before it reaches the bin?
- Watch Controlled Experiments: Crash Course Statistics #9 (opens in a new tab) CrashCourse
- Read Frequent Questions on Recycling (opens in a new tab) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Lesson 14: Does giving credit let the crew use the song?
- Teach Fair Use Index (opens in a new tab) U.S. Copyright Office
- Watch Learning Engine Video Series (opens in a new tab) U.S. Copyright Office
Lesson 15: Is Rafa’s unpaid internship really a job?
- Read Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under the FLSA (opens in a new tab) U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
- Read Worker.gov (opens in a new tab) U.S. Department of Labor
Lesson 16: Who wrote the new building rule?
- Read Fair Housing (opens in a new tab) U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Read Report Housing Discrimination (opens in a new tab) U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Lesson 17: How should the crew give out ten free seats?
- Teach A Framework for Ethical Decision Making (opens in a new tab) Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University)
- Watch What Is Justice?: Crash Course Philosophy #40 (opens in a new tab) CrashCourse
Lesson 18: Why is the theater curtain still falling apart?
- Try CPI Inflation Calculator (opens in a new tab) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Read Search for Public School Districts (opens in a new tab) National Center for Education Statistics
Lesson 19: What should Gia say in her two-minute comment?
- Watch Submitting a Comment at Regulations.gov (opens in a new tab) HHS Office of Research Integrity
- Read Tips on Giving Public Comment (opens in a new tab) Seattle City Council
Lesson 20: Can the crew post this image as true?
- Watch Evaluating Photos & Videos: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #7 (opens in a new tab) CrashCourse
- Try RumorGuard’s Five Factors (opens in a new tab) News Literacy Project

For students: the checking toolkit has twelve free tools for checking a picture, an ad or a claim, each with a try-it from a case.

Anchor charts

Check a post before you share itUsed in Lessons 1, 7, 9, 18 and 20
Back up a claim with evidenceUsed in all 20 cases
Read a document closelyUsed in all 20 cases
Name the kind of ruleUsed in Lessons 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16
Find who decidesUsed in Lessons 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18 and 19
Write a holding statementUsed in Lessons 1, 3 and 20
Write a correctionUsed in Lessons 1, 3, 7, 18 and 20
Disclose a relationshipUsed in Lesson 8
Ask for the reason behind a decisionUsed in Lessons 2, 4, 5, 11, 15, 16 and 18
Check a choice against a code of ethicsUsed in all 20 cases
Compare options before you chooseUsed in Lessons 4, 6, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 18
Disagree in a discussionUsed in all 20 cases
Take a safe first stepUsed in all 20 cases

Open all charts Download all charts, PDF

Slides

Starter slides for each case (7 slides, PowerPoint). The same slides work for every grade band. Find them in the Open column of the table above.

Teaching decks for Lessons 1 to 4 (14 slides each), with speaker notes.

Get the teaching decks

Family pages

A one-page PDF for each case with a two-sentence summary and three questions to talk about at home.

College tasks are practice designed by No, Pero Why?. They are not official materials from AAC&U, ACRL or any college, and no college has reviewed them.