Lesson 4: Who gets a say when a shared room changes? Educator guide

The Common Room’s board is weighing paid rentals on two free evenings, so the crew prepares a comment before the meeting.

Grades 6–12 and college
45-minute lesson
3 evidence documents
Lesson 4 of 20

Open the student page Printable pages

Overview

Students read a short story about the Common Room, where a nonprofit board is considering paid evening rentals. The rentals would help close a $200 weekly budget gap. Students read the board agenda, a budget note and listening notes from evening users, then map who might miss the meeting. They write a note or a spoken comment with a budget question and an access question.

Key terms

Proposal

A proposal is a change that someone suggests and that has not been approved yet. En español: propuesta

In this case: Option B is a proposal on the board’s agenda. No vote has been taken, so it is not a decision yet.

Trade-off

A trade-off is a choice where getting one benefit means accepting a cost or giving something up. En español: compensación entre opciones

In this case: Paid rentals help close the $200 weekly gap but take away free evenings Sami and Dec use.

Decision-maker

A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice. En español: quien toma la decisión

In this case: The nonprofit board decides, not a city community board and not the crew.

Where this example applies

United States. EPA commenting is one example of public participation.

Grade levels, subjects and time

Grade levels: 6–12, plus college and community groups.
Subjects: English language arts; also public policy and civics.
Time: 45 minutes for the lesson steps on this page. The student page takes 25 to 35 minutes.

Learning objectives

Students will be able to:

identify who decides a proposal and whether it is up for discussion or a vote;
calculate a weekly budget gap and explain why a projected figure is uncertain;
write a comment that states an effect on people and makes a request the board can act on.

What students should already be able to do

The student edition for each grade band assumes students can already:

Grades 6–8: read a short list of numbers; tell a proposal from a decision; write a polite question.
Grades 9–10: read a simple budget and find a gap; state a position on a choice between options; speak from a short script.
Grades 11–12: compare options on more than one measure; apply a named idea from a reading to a new case; write a memo with headings.
College and community: read a simple budget and state figures as projections; plan a meeting or a survey around people’s schedules; write a formal comment to a board.

Skills, terms and roles

New skill

Weigh the trade-offs of each option

List every option on the agenda, then name what each one gains and what it costs, including your favorite.

Skills students use again

Find the original source (Lesson 1). You read the board’s actual agenda and budget note instead of a petition headline.
Check what a task is meant to measure (Lesson 2). You ask what problem each option is designed to solve.

Key terms

New in this case: Proposal, Trade-off, Decision-maker
From earlier cases: Framing (Lesson 1)

Character spotlight

Mari leads. Mari is paid to close the bookshop and also uses the room at night, so she can see both halves of the budget.

Sami: She works afternoons and runs a print workshop in one of the few step-free rooms nearby, so she asks who has checked with the evening users.
Mateo: He arrives with a petition headline and learns to turn it into a request the board can answer.

The student’s role

You’re the one who checks the budget figures before the crew speaks to the board.

Materials

The student page for Lesson 4: Who gets a say when a shared room changes?. Students read the case, look at the evidence and write their response there.
The evidence handout below: 3 documents, one copy per pair.
The student edition for your grade band, printed or on screen. See printable pages by grade band.

Evidence handout

Evidence A Board agenda, Wednesday 6:30 p.m. meeting

The proposal

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.

What it shows: The board is discussing three options, and it has not voted.

What it leaves out: Who uses each evening now, and what the board will do if the pilot falls short.

Ask: Is this a vote or a discussion? Which words tell you?

Evidence B Weekly budget note for the board

The budget note

Evening staffing and utilities: $600. Current grants and donations: $400. Each paid rental is projected to add $120 after its extra costs. Two bookings would add $240; one would add $120. Demand is uncertain.

What it shows: The weekly gap is $200. Two rentals could cover it if the projection holds, and one would leave $80.

What it leaves out: Whether the $120 projection is based on any past bookings.

Ask: Which number is a guess, and what could change it?

Evidence C Listening notes from evening users

The missing voices

Sami works afternoons. Dec rehearses on Thursdays. Mari closes the shop. A nearby resident worries about late noise. The proposed meeting time overlaps with several shifts.

What it shows: Four evening users have different needs, and the meeting time conflicts with several shifts.

What it leaves out: Everyone else who uses the room, including people who cannot come to the meeting.

Ask: Whose voice is missing from these four notes?

Printable pages by grade band

Each grade band has its own student pages and educator pages for this case. The educator pages show every student page with sample answers. See every printable page for this case, including the course editions.

Grade band	Educator pages	Student pages
Grades 6–8	Open on screen Print this case Download PDF, 553 KB	Open on screen Print this case Download fillable PDF, 427 KB
Grades 9–10	Open on screen Print this case Download PDF, 579 KB	Open on screen Print this case Download fillable PDF, 446 KB
Grades 11–12	Open on screen Print this case Download PDF, 415 KB	Open on screen Print this case Download fillable PDF, 458 KB
College and community	Open on screen Print this case Download PDF, 601 KB	Open on screen Print this case Download fillable PDF, 461 KB

Real news and research for this case

These news stories and studies are real. Each link opens the original in a new tab.

Real source News Education Week February 6, 2023

Letting Students Decide Where Money Should Go: How One District Did It

A real district let students propose and vote on how shared school spaces and money would change.

Read on edweek.org (opens in a new tab)

Real source News First Alert 4 (KMOV) June 4, 2026

St. Louis shuts down streets to cars, hands them over to neighbors

A city pilot that changes a shared space for a trial run, so neighbors can test trade-offs before anything is permanent.

Read on firstalert4.com (opens in a new tab)

More news and research (4)

Real source Video PBS (Preserving Democracy) May 29, 2024

Get Involved: How will this Chicago-area community collectively spend $3 million?

Evanston let anyone 14 and older help decide how to spend public money, a real answer to who gets a say.

Read on pbs.org (opens in a new tab)

Real source Research CIRCLE (Tufts University) August 9, 2024

Participatory Budgeting in Schools Helps Build Student Voice and Civic Skills

Findings from Illinois high schools where students decided how to spend school funds and learned to weigh competing needs.

Read on circle.tufts.edu (opens in a new tab)

Real source Research Education, Citizenship and Social Justice (Farahmandpour & Zrudlo) December 4, 2023

Investigating young people’s involvement in participatory budgeting

Peer-reviewed look at how young people take part when communities share decisions about public resources.

Read on doi.org (opens in a new tab)

Real source Government source Office of the New York City Comptroller April 25, 2025

Streets for People: Open Streets and the Future of Public Space Management in NYC

An official review of who runs shared street space, which neighborhoods benefit and who carries the work.

Read on comptroller.nyc.gov (opens in a new tab)

Links checked September 24, 2026.

Professional standards

Many professions publish a code of ethics. These parts of real codes apply to this case.

Real source American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) 2013

ASPA Code of Ethics: 5. Fully Inform and Advise.

Provide accurate, honest, comprehensive, and timely information and advice to elected and appointed officials and governing board members

In plain words: ASPA members agree to give decision-makers, such as board members, accurate and complete information.

Ask: The budget note projects $120 more per rental. What should it also tell the board about how certain that is?

Sample answers

Grades 6–8: The note should also tell the board that $120 is a guess and bookings might not come.
Grades 9–10: The note should also say that demand is uncertain and what happens with only one booking, because the gap would stay at $80.
Grades 11–12: The note should also say what the $120 projection is based on. It should add that demand is uncertain, because a board may treat an estimate as a promise.

Read the full code on the ASPA website (opens in a new tab)

Real source American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) 2013

ASPA Code of Ethics: 3. Promote democratic participation.

Inform the public and encourage active engagement in governance. Be open, transparent and responsive, and respect and assist all persons in their dealings with public organizations.

In plain words: ASPA's code asks people in public service to make it easy for every affected person to take part in decisions.

Ask: The listening notes say the meeting overlaps several shifts. How could the board hear from evening users who cannot attend?

Read the full code on the ASPA website (opens in a new tab)

Adapted from a real source American Library Association (ALA) 2021

ALA Code of Ethics: Principle 1 (of 9)

Summary: Summary, not a quotation: the first principle commits library workers to serve all library users through well-organized resources, equitable service policies, equitable access and accurate, unbiased, courteous answers.

In plain words: Library workers who follow the ALA code commit to service policies that give every user a fair chance to use the library.

Ask: Option B replaces the free Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Whose evenings does that change, and how would the board know?

Read the full code on the ALA website (opens in a new tab)

Share, schedule or open in your apps

Reading passage by grade band

Each grade band has its own longer reading passage built from this case’s story and its real sources. Real news, laws and research are cited in the text with their dates. Three “Stop and think” questions sit inside each passage. Open a band to read it, or print that band on its own.

Grades 6–8: Two free evenings and a $200 gap

426 words

Two free evenings and a $200 gap

The story: The room might change

The Common Room is more than a screening space. A small neighborhood nonprofit runs it alongside the bookshop. Now the nonprofit’s board is thinking about renting the room to paying groups on two evenings a week. The money would help pay the evening staff. No vote has happened yet.

The crew cares about the room, but each friend sees the plan differently. Mateo already has a petition headline. Mari works the bookshop counter and closes the shop at night. “Free nights matter,” she writes. “So does paying whoever stays to lock up. That’s me.” Sami runs a print workshop in the room after her afternoon shift. It is one of the few step-free rooms nearby. She asks a question nobody has answered: “Has anyone asked the evening regulars?”

Reading the options

In Lesson 1, you learned to find the original source. Here, that means reading the board’s agenda instead of a petition headline. The agenda lists three options. Option A keeps the free evenings, but the money gap stays. Option B replaces the free Tuesday and Thursday evenings with paid rentals. Option C tests one rental evening for six weeks while the board looks for more funding.

Each option is a proposal. A proposal is a change that someone suggests and that has not been approved yet. Each one is also a trade-off. A trade-off is a choice where getting one benefit means accepting a cost or giving something up.

The budget note gives the numbers. Evening staffing and utilities cost $600 a week. Grants and donations bring in $400. That leaves a $200 gap. Each rental is expected to add $120. Two rentals would cover the gap if people book them. One rental would leave $80 still missing. Your job is to check these figures before the crew speaks to the board.

Lesson 1 taught you that framing is choosing which parts of a situation a message brings forward. Option B frames the $200 gap as the problem. It brings forward the money. It leaves out who loses those evenings.

Who gets a say in real life

A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice. Here, it is the nonprofit’s board. In New York City, the decision-maker for library hours was the city. Budget cuts ended Sunday hours at library branches in 2023, and Brooklyn’s last Sunday was December 17, 2023 (NY1, November 17, 2023). In 2024, the city restored the money, and Sunday service returned (NYC Mayor’s Office, July 1, 2024). Council members thanked New Yorkers who called and wrote (New York City Council, July 14, 2024).

Key terms in this passage

Proposal: A proposal is a change that someone suggests and that has not been approved yet.
Trade-off: A trade-off is a choice where getting one benefit means accepting a cost or giving something up.
Decision-maker: A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice.
Framing: Framing is choosing which parts of a situation a message brings forward.

Real sources cited

NY1, “Public libraries over the next two weeks to begin closing on Sundays,” November 17, 2023. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
NYC Mayor’s Office, “Mayor Adams Celebrates $58.3 Million Investment in City’s Three Library Systems,” July 1, 2024. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
New York City Council, “NYC Council, Library Leaders, and New Yorkers Celebrate Library Budget Restorations to Restore Full Service, as Branches Reopen and Reinstate Services on Sunday for First Time in Months,” July 14, 2024. Open the source (opens in a new tab)

Grades 9–10: A headline is not a budget

597 words

A headline is not a budget

The story: A room with two kinds of value

It is the Friday after the crew’s first screening, and the board meeting is coming up. The Common Room is run by a small neighborhood nonprofit alongside the bookshop, and its board is considering paid rentals on two evenings a week to help cover staffing. Nothing has been decided. Still, the group chat moves fast. Mateo announces that he already has a petition headline.

Mari slows him down. She is 19, works the bookshop counter and is the person paid to close the shop at night. She is also one of the people who use the room afterward, for zine nights with her friends. “I can’t pretend either half away,” she says. On rental nights, she would be staffing a stranger’s event instead of making zines. Maybe that is fine, she admits, but it is still a cost, and nobody has written it down.

Sami, who works afternoons and runs a print workshop in the room in the evening, points to a different gap. The crew keeps deciding what evening users need without asking them. Moving her workshop online would not help. Her printing tools do not fit in a video call. Mateo reads the thread and concedes the point. He had a headline. He did not have the budget.

Options, numbers and trade-offs

Start with the Lesson 1 skill and read the original documents. The board agenda lists three options for discussion. Option A keeps the free evenings, and the funding gap remains. Option B replaces the Tuesday and Thursday evenings with paid rentals. Option C pilots one rental evening for six weeks while the board seeks more funding. Each is a proposal, a change that someone suggests and that has not been approved yet.

The weekly budget note shows $600 in evening staffing and utilities against $400 in grants and donations, a $200 gap. Each rental is projected to add $120 after its extra costs. Two would add $240 and one would add $120, but the note warns that demand is uncertain. The listening notes add the human side. Sami works afternoons. Dec rehearses on Thursdays. Mari closes the shop. A nearby resident worries about late noise, and the meeting time overlaps several shifts.

Every option is a trade-off, a choice where getting one benefit means accepting a cost or giving something up. Lesson 2 taught you to ask what a task is meant to measure. Ask the same of each option: what problem is it designed to solve? Lesson 1’s idea of framing helps too. Option B frames the $200 gap as the problem and the free evenings as the price. That frame leaves two questions open. Who loses those evenings, and what happens if bookings come in lower than projected? Ask the same questions about your own favorite option.

Who decides, in the room and in the city

A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice. The nonprofit’s board controls its own schedule. A city is different. When budget cuts closed New York’s libraries on Sundays, Brooklyn’s last Sunday of service was December 17, 2023 (NY1, November 17, 2023). The restored funding, part of a $58.3 million investment, let the libraries resume Sunday service in July 2024 (NYC Mayor’s Office, July 1, 2024). Council members credited New Yorkers who called and wrote (New York City Council, July 14, 2024).

Other communities have handed more of the choice to residents. Evanston, Illinois, let anyone 14 and older help decide how to spend $3 million in public money (PBS, May 29, 2024). Your role in this case is to check the budget figures before the crew speaks to the board.

Key terms in this passage

Proposal: A proposal is a change that someone suggests and that has not been approved yet.
Trade-off: A trade-off is a choice where getting one benefit means accepting a cost or giving something up.
Decision-maker: A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice.
Framing: Framing is choosing which parts of a situation a message brings forward.

Real sources cited

NY1, “Public libraries over the next two weeks to begin closing on Sundays,” November 17, 2023. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
NYC Mayor’s Office, “Mayor Adams Celebrates $58.3 Million Investment in City’s Three Library Systems,” July 1, 2024. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
New York City Council, “NYC Council, Library Leaders, and New Yorkers Celebrate Library Budget Restorations to Restore Full Service, as Branches Reopen and Reinstate Services on Sunday for First Time in Months,” July 14, 2024. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
PBS (Preserving Democracy), “Get Involved: How will this Chicago-area community collectively spend $3 million?,” May 29, 2024. Open the source (opens in a new tab)

Grades 11–12: What is the problem represented to be?

745 words

What is the problem represented to be?

The story: The meeting nobody can attend

The Common Room’s board meets Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The small nonprofit that runs the room alongside the bookshop is weighing paid evening rentals to help cover staffing. The agenda item is marked “for discussion,” and no vote has been taken. By Friday, the crew’s group chat has split along predictable lines. Mateo, who likes turning “we should” into a plan, has drafted a petition headline. Others are less sure a petition is the right tool.

Mari holds both sides of the problem in one job. She is paid to lock up the bookshop and then stays for zine night with her friends. She wants the free time protected, but she knows the bookshop has costs, and she proposes asking which hours earn money and testing a different arrangement. Sami raises a procedural objection. The crew keeps speaking for evening users without asking them. For her own part, she wants three things from the meeting: the actual proposal, a way to give input without speaking on the spot and a clear answer about what that input can change.

Caio, 24, runs the crew’s Tuesday film night, one of the evenings Option B would rent out. Dec rehearses on Thursdays. The proposed meeting time overlaps several people’s shifts. The people most affected by the decision are among those least able to attend it.

Reading an agenda like an analyst

The documents lay out the choice. Option A keeps the current free evenings and leaves the funding gap. Option B replaces Tuesday and Thursday evenings with paid rentals. Option C pilots one rental evening for six weeks while seeking additional funding. Each is a proposal, a change that someone suggests and that has not been approved yet. The budget note puts evening staffing and utilities at $600 a week against $400 in grants and donations. Each rental is projected to add $120 after costs, so two would cover the $200 gap and one would leave $80. The note adds a caution the headline would never carry: demand is uncertain.

A trade-off is a choice where getting one benefit means accepting a cost or giving something up. Every option has one. Option A protects the evenings and leaves the deficit. Option B closes the deficit on paper and ends two free nights. Option C limits the loss and leaves a smaller gap. It also leaves open what the board will do if the pilot falls short.

The policy scholar Carol Bacchi offers a sharper tool. Her approach asks what a proposed solution assumes the problem is (Carol Bacchi, “What’s the problem represented to be?”, November 1, 2017). Option B represents the problem as a $200 gap and treats two free evenings as the price. That representation is a form of framing, the Lesson 1 idea of choosing which parts of a situation a message brings forward. It brings the budget forward and pushes Sami, Dec, Mari and Caio into the background. Bacchi’s question applies to the crew’s own preferences too. A petition to “keep it free” represents the problem as a threat to free space and leaves the staffing cost out of view.

Decision-makers and public participation

A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice. The board controls its own schedule, so a strong comment names the proposal, explains one effect with evidence and asks for something the board can decide. Public agencies follow different rules. New York’s community boards, for example, have advisory authority (NYC.gov, Brooklyn Community Board 13, no date listed).

New York’s libraries show how funding decisions reach ordinary schedules. City budget cuts ended Sunday hours at every branch that still had them, and Brooklyn’s last Sunday was December 17, 2023 (NY1, November 17, 2023). Restored funding, part of a $58.3 million investment, brought Sunday service back starting July 14, 2024 (NYC Mayor’s Office, July 1, 2024). Council members thanked residents who called and wrote (New York City Council, July 14, 2024).

Professional codes speak to the board’s side of the table. The American Society for Public Administration asks public servants to “inform the public and encourage active engagement in governance” (ASPA Code of Ethics, 2013). The crew’s plan puts that into practice. It sends the board a joint question that leaves room for disagreement. Mari checks the figures, Sami proposes a way to send written feedback and Mateo rewrites the petition as a request the board can answer. Your role is to check the budget figures before the crew speaks to the board.

Key terms in this passage

Proposal: A proposal is a change that someone suggests and that has not been approved yet.
Trade-off: A trade-off is a choice where getting one benefit means accepting a cost or giving something up.
Decision-maker: A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice.
Framing: Framing is choosing which parts of a situation a message brings forward.

Real sources cited

Carol Bacchi, “What’s the problem represented to be?,” November 1, 2017. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
NYC.gov, Brooklyn Community Board 13, “About community boards,” No date listed. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
NY1, “Public libraries over the next two weeks to begin closing on Sundays,” November 17, 2023. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
NYC Mayor’s Office, “Mayor Adams Celebrates $58.3 Million Investment in City’s Three Library Systems,” July 1, 2024. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
New York City Council, “NYC Council, Library Leaders, and New Yorkers Celebrate Library Budget Restorations to Restore Full Service, as Branches Reopen and Reinstate Services on Sunday for First Time in Months,” July 14, 2024. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), “ASPA Code of Ethics,” 2013. Open the source (opens in a new tab)

College and community: Budgets, access and the politics of a shared room

723 words

Budgets, access and the politics of a shared room

The story: A small board with a real deficit

The Common Room is a shared space run by a small neighborhood nonprofit alongside a Fort Greene bookshop. Its board is considering paid rentals on two evenings a week to help cover staffing, and it will discuss the idea at a Wednesday 6:30 p.m. meeting. No vote has been taken. The crew, who hold screenings, workshops and film nights there, agree that the room matters. They disagree about the best schedule.

Their positions follow their circumstances. Mateo arrives with a petition headline and, by his own account, no budget. Mari, 19, is paid to close the bookshop and also uses the room afterward, so she sees a cost that nobody has recorded. Rental nights would turn her zine evenings into shifts spent staffing a stranger’s event. Sami, who works afternoons and runs a print workshop in one of the few step-free rooms nearby, objects to the process. The crew is deciding what evening users need without consulting them. She also rejects the easy substitute of moving her workshop online, which would require devices, quiet space and supplies that not everyone has. Caio, 24, runs the Tuesday film night that Option B would end.

The documents and the frame

The agenda offers three proposals. A proposal is a change that someone suggests and that has not been approved yet. Option A keeps the free evenings and accepts a continuing funding gap. Option B replaces Tuesday and Thursday evenings with paid rentals. Option C pilots one rental evening for six weeks while the board seeks other funding. The weekly budget note shows $600 in evening staffing and utilities against $400 in grants and donations. Each rental is projected to net $120, so two would close the $200 gap and one would leave $80. The note flags demand as uncertain and does not say whether the $120 figure rests on any past bookings.

A trade-off is a choice where getting one benefit means accepting a cost or giving something up. Carol Bacchi’s policy-analysis approach asks what a proposed solution assumes the problem is (Carol Bacchi, November 1, 2017). Option B represents the problem as a revenue shortfall, which makes free evenings the natural place to find money. The Lesson 1 concept of framing, choosing which parts of a situation a message brings forward, describes the same move. A different representation, such as unequal access to the few step-free rooms nearby, would make different options look reasonable. Bacchi’s method is symmetrical. It applies equally to the petition, which represents the problem as a threat to free space and treats staffing costs as someone else’s concern.

The listening notes supply the evidence a representation can hide. Sami works afternoons. Dec rehearses on Thursdays. Mari closes the shop. A nearby resident worries about late noise. The meeting time overlaps several shifts, so the people with the most at stake are the least able to attend.

Participation, authority and professional duty

A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice. The board decides its own schedule. Public bodies distribute authority differently. New York’s community boards advise rather than decide (NYC.gov, Brooklyn Community Board 13, no date listed). The city’s library cuts illustrate the chain. Budget reductions ended Sunday service at every branch that still had it, with Brooklyn’s last Sunday on December 17, 2023 (NY1, November 17, 2023). A $58.3 million restoration brought Sundays back from July 14, 2024 (NYC Mayor’s Office, July 1, 2024), and Council members credited residents who called and wrote (New York City Council, July 14, 2024).

Some institutions share the decision itself. Researchers at Tufts’ CIRCLE found that participatory budgeting in Illinois high schools helped students weigh competing needs (CIRCLE, August 9, 2024). A peer-reviewed study examined how young people take part when communities share decisions about public resources (Farahmandpour and Zrudlo, Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, December 4, 2023).

For administrators, the ASPA code asks them to provide “accurate, honest, comprehensive, and timely information and advice” to governing boards (ASPA Code of Ethics, 2013). A budget note that projects revenue without stating its basis falls short of that standard. The crew answers in kind: one joint question that leaves room for disagreement, checked figures and an accessible way to send written feedback. Your role is to check the figures before the crew speaks, and to ask the board how certain the $120 projection is.

Key terms in this passage

Proposal: A proposal is a change that someone suggests and that has not been approved yet.
Trade-off: A trade-off is a choice where getting one benefit means accepting a cost or giving something up.
Decision-maker: A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice.
Framing: Framing is choosing which parts of a situation a message brings forward.

Real sources cited

Carol Bacchi, “What’s the problem represented to be?,” November 1, 2017. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
NYC.gov, Brooklyn Community Board 13, “About community boards,” No date listed. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
NY1, “Public libraries over the next two weeks to begin closing on Sundays,” November 17, 2023. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
NYC Mayor’s Office, “Mayor Adams Celebrates $58.3 Million Investment in City’s Three Library Systems,” July 1, 2024. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
New York City Council, “NYC Council, Library Leaders, and New Yorkers Celebrate Library Budget Restorations to Restore Full Service, as Branches Reopen and Reinstate Services on Sunday for First Time in Months,” July 14, 2024. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
CIRCLE (Tufts University), “Participatory Budgeting in Schools Helps Build Student Voice and Civic Skills,” August 9, 2024. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
Education, Citizenship and Social Justice (Farahmandpour & Zrudlo), “Investigating young people’s involvement in participatory budgeting,” December 4, 2023. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), “ASPA Code of Ethics,” 2013. Open the source (opens in a new tab)

Pacing options

10-minute bellringer

10 minutes

One piece of evidence and one question. Use it to open the case or to review it the next day.

Go to the bellringer

One class period

45 minutes

Teach the lesson steps on this page in four parts.

Go to the lesson steps

The student edition also has a one-period plan for each grade band:

Grades 6–8: 45 minutes
Grades 9–10: 50 minutes
Grades 11–12: 60 minutes
College and community: 75 minutes

Full chapter

76 to 109 minutes

Teach every page of the student edition chapter. The educator edition has notes and sample answers beside each page.

Grades 6–8: 76 minutes
Grades 9–10: 91 minutes
Grades 11–12: 101 minutes
College and community: 109 minutes

Find the printable pages

Minutes for each page

How long each student edition page takes, and what to cut when you have one class period.

Open your grade band.

Grades 6–8: full chapter 76 minutes, one period 45 minutes

Page	Full chapter	One period	How to cut
Opener	6 min	4 min	Read What happened aloud. Skip the opening question.
Key terms	5 min	3 min	Read the key terms aloud. Skip Who is involved.
Look at the evidence	10 min	9 min	Work the budget example together. Students fill in only the “What it shows” boxes.
Look at the evidence, continued	5 min	4 min	Read the listening notes aloud.
Key idea	8 min	3 min	Read the first paragraph of the key idea aloud. Skip the code of ethics.
Sort the evidence	8 min	4 min	Do the Option B row together and stop.
Practice	6 min	Skip	Skip this page.
Your task	15 min	13 min	Fill in two people on the people map before class.
Check your work	5 min	Skip	Skip this page. Check notes against the success criteria yourself.
Questions to discuss	8 min	5 min	Use question 2 as an exit ticket.
Talk about this case at home	At home	At home

Grades 9–10: full chapter 91 minutes, one period 50 minutes

Page	Full chapter	One period	How to cut
Opener	5 min	4 min	Read What happened aloud. Skip the opening question.
Key terms	5 min	Skip	Skip this page. Define proposal and trade-off aloud in one minute.
Look at the evidence	10 min	9 min	Work the gap together. Students fill in only the “What it shows” boxes.
Look at the evidence, continued	5 min	3 min	Read the listening notes aloud. Students fill in only the first box.
Key idea	8 min	4 min	Read the first paragraph of the key idea aloud. Skip the code of ethics.
Sort the evidence	8 min	Skip	Skip this page.
Practice	6 min	Skip	Skip this page.
Your task	8 min	6 min	Students fill in the option and figure boxes only.
Your draft	18 min	16 min	Students write the comment in class and time it at home.
Check your work	8 min	3 min	Students record their time and one change. Skip the rubric boxes.
Questions to discuss	10 min	5 min	Use question 1 as an exit ticket.
Talk about this case at home	At home	At home

Grades 11–12: full chapter 101 minutes, one period 60 minutes

Page	Full chapter	One period	How to cut
Opener	5 min	4 min	Read What happened aloud. Skip the opening question.
Key terms	5 min	Skip	Skip this page.
Look at the evidence	10 min	9 min	Students fill in only the “What it shows” boxes.
Look at the evidence, continued	5 min	3 min	Read the listening notes aloud. Skip the boxes.
Key idea	12 min	10 min	Skip the In the news section.
Sort the evidence	8 min	Skip	Skip this page. The options matrix covers it.
Practice	6 min	Skip	Skip this page.
Your task	12 min	10 min	Fill in the Option B row of the matrix together.
Your draft	22 min	20 min	Students write the comparison in class and the recommendation at home.
Check your work	6 min	Skip	Collect memos and score them yourself.
Questions to discuss	10 min	4 min	Use question 1 as an exit ticket.
Talk about this case at home	At home	At home

College and community: full chapter 109 minutes, one period 75 minutes

Page	Full chapter	One period	How to cut
Opener	5 min	4 min	Read What happened aloud. Skip the opening question.
Key terms	5 min	Skip	Skip this page. Define proposal and decision-maker aloud.
Look at the evidence	10 min	9 min	Participants fill in only the “What it shows” boxes.
Look at the evidence, continued	5 min	4 min	Read the listening notes aloud. Participants fill in only the first box.
Key idea	10 min	8 min	Skip the In the news section.
Sort the evidence	8 min	Skip	Skip this page.
Practice	6 min	Skip	Skip this page.
Your task	12 min	10 min	Fill in the first planner box together.
Your draft	30 min	30 min
Check your work	8 min	4 min	Participants answer the four questions only.
Questions to discuss	10 min	6 min	Discuss question 3 only.
Talk about this case at home	At home	At home

Minutes for each page are in the educator edition for each grade band.

10-minute bellringer

1 min Project Evidence A as students come in.
5 min Students read it on their own. Each student writes a one-sentence answer to the question.
4 min Take two or three answers. Then ask the follow-up questions.

Evidence A Board agenda, Wednesday 6:30 p.m. meeting

The proposal

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.”

This is the same bellringer as on the bellringers page, which has one for every case.

Lesson steps

This plan takes 45 minutes in four parts. Each step says what you do, what students do and how to check.

Warm-up 5 minutes

1 Name the decision 5 min
You
Read the agenda aloud. Ask: is this a final vote? Who decides?
Students
Identify the decision-maker and the stage of the proposal.
Check
Students say “nonprofit board, discussion only, no vote yet.”

Read and discuss 20 minutes

2 Work the numbers 10 min
You
Model $600 − $400 = $200. Provide calculators.
Students
Model zero, one and two rentals; underline “demand is uncertain.”
Check
Correct figures: a $200 gap, an $80 gap with one rental, a $40 surplus with two.
3 People map 10 min
You
Draw the map: who uses the room, when, and who might miss the meeting.
Students
Add Sami, Dec, Mari and the resident; add missing voices as questions.
Check
Map includes at least one missing voice written as a question.

News connection questions

Who was using those Sunday hours, and who would notice first?
Where is the Common Room’s schedule actually decided, and by whom?
What would the board need to hear to weigh free evenings against a $200 weekly gap?

Questions for the people in the case

Mari: What would the paid bookings change? Check next: Compare the proposed hours with actual schedules. Do not assume one schedule represents everyone.
Mari: Does the room need to stay exactly as it is? Check next: Find the cost information and the decision-maker before choosing an alternative.
Sami: Would moving the workshop online help? Check next: List what each option makes possible and what it moves onto participants.
Sami: What would make the meeting useful? Check next: Check the process, the available choices and how the final decision will be explained.

Method for this case

Options and criteria + stakeholder inquiry. This classroom version draws on policy analysis and public participation. Where this method comes from (opens in a new tab)

Problem: The weekly cost is $600. Confirmed support is $400. Who can decide how to cover the gap?
Options: Compare no rentals, one rental and two rentals using the same weekly figures.
People: Who loses an evening? Ask whose work, access or travel schedule the proposal misses.
Recommendation: Defend an option, name its cost and say what new evidence could change your mind.

Task 12 minutes

4 Draft the comment 12 min
You
Share the four parts: position, effect, figure, request.
Students
Write a 90-second comment or 120–160 word letter.
Check
Comment uses one figure accurately and asks for something the board can do.

Wrap-up 8 minutes

5 Board test 6 min
You
Partners play board members.
Students
Ask one good-faith question; the speaker revises one line.
Check
Each comment shows one revision made in response.
6 Exit 2 min
You
Ask for a person affected who may miss the meeting.
Students
Name them and one alternate way to contribute.
Check
Answer names a real route, like a written comment.

Educator notes by page

These notes follow the pages of the student edition chapter. The educator edition prints the same notes beside each page. Heat check tells you how likely a page is to bring up strong feelings: low, medium or high. Medium and high pages come with a cool-down. Open a page to see what to say, what to watch for and how to support students.

Opener

Heat check: Low

Say this

“A room you use might lose two free evenings. What would you want to know before you speak up?” Take three answers and write them as questions.

Watch for

Misconception:: Students assume the change is already decided.
Listen for:: “They’re taking our nights away.”
Then:: Point to the story: no vote has happened. Write “proposal” on the board.

Support

Read What happened aloud while students follow along.
Draw the Common Room’s week on the board and mark Tuesday and Thursday.

Key terms

Heat check: Low

Say this

“Write your first guess now. You will come back to it at the end.” Keep first guesses private unless a student wants to share.

Watch for

Misconception:: Students think a proposal is a decision.
Listen for:: “The board decided to rent it out.”
Then:: Reread the definition. A proposal has not been approved yet.

Support

Pair students who share a language to explain each term.
Frame: “A trade-off here is ___. The cost is ___.”

Look at the evidence

Heat check: Low

Say this

“Put your finger on the word ‘projected’ in the budget note. What does it tell you about the $120?” Wait for “it’s a guess.”

Watch for

Misconception:: Students treat $120 per rental as guaranteed.
Listen for:: “Two rentals means $240, done.”
Then:: Point to “Demand is uncertain.” Ask what happens with one booking, or none.

Support

Provide a calculator and work $600 − $400 = $200 together.
Read one option at a time aloud.

Stretch

Ask students to work out the gap with zero, one and two rentals, and say which result is a guess.

Key idea

Heat check: Low

Say this

“A trade-off means gaining one benefit costs something else. What does each option cost, and who pays?” Build a three-column chart: A, B, C.
“The ASPA code asks for accurate, complete information for decision-makers. What is missing from the budget note?” Wait for the basis of the $120.

Watch for

Misconception:: Students treat the ASPA code as a law.
Listen for:: “The board has to follow ASPA.”
Then:: Say: “A code of ethics is a standard a profession sets for its own members. The ASPA code is not a law.”

Support

Read the code card aloud. Point out the label: it is a quotation from a real code.

Stretch

Read the second ASPA card. Ask how the board could hear from evening users who cannot attend.

Sort the evidence

Heat check: Medium

Why: The missing-perspective question can lead to talk about access needs or money at home. Cool-down: Keep it about the people in the case. No student needs to describe their own schedule or budget.

Say this

“Follow Option B to the end of its chain. Which consequence depends on a guess?” Model the Option B row together.

Watch for

Misconception:: Students list only money consequences.
Listen for:: “B makes $240.”
Then:: Ask who is affected at the end of the chain. Point to Dec on Thursdays.

Support

Let students write $ (money) or P (people) next to each consequence before writing sentences.

Practice

Heat check: Low

Say this

“The meeting is Wednesday. What should the crew ask for first?” Vote first.

Watch for

Misconception:: Students choose A because it feels urgent.
Listen for:: “We have to warn everyone.”
Then:: Ask whether the board has voted. It has not, so A misstates the facts.

Your task and draft

4 grade bands

The task is different in each grade band. Open yours.

Grades 6–8

Your task

Say this

“Ask one money question and one people question.” Pairs share.
“Who might miss the meeting? Put that person on your map first.” Point to the line about shifts in the listening notes.

Watch for

Misconception:: The note treats the change as decided.
Listen for:: “Why did you take our nights?”
Then:: Point to “No vote has been taken.” Ask a question the board can answer.

Misconception:: Students state the $120 as certain.
Listen for:: “Two rentals will pay for it.”
Then:: Point to “Demand is uncertain.”

Grades 9–10

Your task

Say this

“Your comment has 90 seconds. What must the board hear first?” Write position, person, figure, request.

Watch for

Misconception:: Students state the $120 as a promise.
Listen for:: “The pilot will bring in $120.”
Then:: Point to “Demand is uncertain.” Add “if bookings hold.”

Your draft

Say this

“Read your comment to a partner who plays a board member. They ask one question.” Time each comment. Stop at 90 seconds.

Watch for

Misconception:: The comment asks for something the board cannot do.
Listen for:: “The city should fund the room.”
Then:: Ask who controls the schedule. The nonprofit board does, so ask it for something it can decide.

Grades 11–12

Your task

Say this

“Before you recommend anything, give every option its best case. What is Option A’s best case?” Students often skip A. Ask for one strength.

Watch for

Misconception:: The memo presents projections as facts.
Listen for:: “Option B raises $240.”
Then:: Ask what the note says about demand. Rewrite with “projected” and “if both evenings book.”

Support

Frame: “Option ___ would ___, but it assumes ___.”

Your draft

Say this

“Your review measure has to be something the board can count. What will it count after six weeks?” Accept bookings and lost evenings. Push back on vague measures.

Watch for

Misconception:: Bacchi’s question becomes a claim about the board’s motives.
Listen for:: “The board only cares about money.”
Then:: Keep it on the framing: what the funding frame leaves out, not why the board chose it.

College and community

Your task

Say this

“The meeting is Wednesday at 6:30. Who in the listening notes can’t be there, and how else could they be heard?” List answers, then sort them by cost and effort.

Watch for

Misconception:: The plan hears only people who agree with the crew.
Listen for:: “We’ll invite the evening regulars.”
Then:: Ask who else is affected. Point to the resident who worries about noise.

Support

Frame: “Before it votes, the board can hear from ___ by ___.”

Your draft

Say this

“Your comment makes one request. Could the board say yes to it at its next meeting?” Partners mark the request in each other’s comment.

Watch for

Misconception:: The comment treats the pilot’s $80 gap as settled.
Listen for:: “The pilot leaves exactly $80.”
Then:: Add “projected” and “if bookings hold.” Demand is uncertain.

Check your work

Heat check: Low

Say this

“Could a board member act on your request tomorrow? Mark your level, then make one change.” Ask for one figure stated as a projection.

Watch for

Misconception:: Students state the $120 as certain.
Listen for:: “The pilot will bring in $120.”
Then:: Point to the Evidence row. Add “is projected to.”

Questions to discuss

Say this

“Answer with a detail from the agenda, the budget note or the listening notes.” Post the question numbers and call on one student per question.

Stretch

Model what happens if only four of six pilot rentals are booked.

Talk about this case at home

Say this

“Take this page home or read it with someone you trust.” Nobody needs to share a personal story to complete it.

Sample response

Model response

Task: Prepare a 90-second comment for the nonprofit board.

I use the room after work. Removing both free evenings would leave me with fewer accessible meeting options. A one-night pilot would still leave a projected $80 weekly gap, so I’m asking for a funding plan, input from evening users and a review after six weeks before a longer-term change.

Worked example, grades 9–10

Prompt: Prepare a 90-second public comment recommending an option, using at least one figure accurately.

Student response

Good evening. I use the Common Room on weeknights, and I’m here about the evening rental options. 1 I think the board should choose Option C, the six-week pilot. Option B would replace both Tuesday and Thursday free evenings, and 2 Dec rehearses on Thursdays, so he would lose his spot. The budget note says 3 each rental will add $120, so the pilot will bring the gap down to $80. That still leaves a gap, but the board could ask local businesses to sponsor the room. Also, a lot of people who use the room are working during this meeting. 4 Could the board accept written comments for two weeks so they can be heard too? Thank you.

Audience. A clear position on a specific option, stated early enough for a listener to follow.
Evidence. Good use of the listening notes: an affected person tied to a specific evening.
Revise. The budget note calls $120 a projection and says demand is uncertain. Say “is projected to” and “if bookings hold.”
Strength. Strong request: the board can act on it, and it reaches people the meeting time leaves out.

Before: The budget note says each rental will add $120, so the pilot will bring the gap down to $80.

After: The budget note projects $120 per rental, so if bookings hold, the pilot would bring the weekly gap down to about $80.

Why: The revision matches the source’s own uncertainty, which makes the speaker more credible to a board that knows demand could fall short.

Educator commentary: The comment is organized for listening: position, affected person, figure, request. Its one weakness is treating a projection as a promise, which a board member would catch at once. With the figure stated conditionally it reaches Proficient on Evidence, and naming the resident’s noise concern would move it toward Advanced on Reasoning.

Task answers by grade band

What a strong student in each grade band writes in the student edition task.

Open your grade band.

Grades 6–8

Make a people map of who uses the room, then write a short note to the board asking one budget question and one access question.

Students make: People map plus a 4–6 sentence note.

Steps students follow

Circle the board on the agenda and underline “No vote has been taken.”
Find the gap: $600 − $400 = $200.
Put each person from the listening notes on the people map.
Mark one person who might miss the meeting.
Write a note of four to six sentences in the Your draft box.
Ask one question about money and one about who can use the room.

Sample answers for the task boxes

Who decides: The nonprofit board
The weekly gap: $200
Someone who might miss the meeting: Mari, who closes the shop.

Sample draft: Your note to the board

Sample answer Grades 6–8

Dear board members, I use the Common Room on weeknights. 1 I know the room has a $200 gap each week. 2 Could the board explain how sure it is that each rental will bring in $120? 3 Could you also tell us who uses the room on Tuesday and Thursday nights? Some people work during the meeting, so could they send written comments? Thank you.

Uses the figure correctly.
Asks one budget question.
Asks one access question.

Check your work questions

Does your note name the board as the decision-maker?
Does it ask one question about money?
Does it ask one question about who can use the room?
Does it treat the agenda as a proposal, not a final decision?

One change I made: I added a question about written comments because some people work during the meeting.

My take: sample answers

I think the crew should ___ because ___.: I think the crew should support the pilot because it keeps one free night.
The evidence that changed my first guess is ___.: The budget note changed my first guess. The room has a $200 gap each week.
One question I still have is ___.: One question I still have is who uses the room on other nights.

Grades 9–10

Prepare a 90-second public comment recommending an option, using at least one figure accurately.

Students make: 90-second spoken comment (about 200 words) with written script.

Steps students follow

Choose one option from the agenda in Evidence A to support.
Find one figure in Evidence B that supports your choice.
Name one person in Evidence C whose evening your option changes.
Write a comment of about 200 words on the Your draft page.
Ask the board for one decision or follow-up it can make.
Read your comment aloud to a partner and time it at 90 seconds or less.

Sample answers for the task boxes

The option I support: Option C, the six-week pilot of one rental evening.
One figure, stated as a projection: If bookings hold, one rental would leave a projected gap of about $80.
Someone the choice affects: Dec, who rehearses on Thursdays.
My request: Accept written comments from evening users.

Sample draft: Your 90-second comment, about 200 words

Sample answer Grades 9–10

Good evening. I use the Common Room on weeknights, and I’m here about the evening rental options. 1 I support Option C, the six-week pilot of one rental evening. Option B would replace both the Tuesday and Thursday free evenings. 3 Dec rehearses on Thursdays, so he would lose his spot. Sami runs a print workshop here after her afternoon shift, and this is one of the few step-free rooms nearby. The budget note shows a $200 weekly gap, and I know that gap is real. It projects $120 per rental, 2 so if bookings hold, the pilot would bring the gap down to about $80. That still leaves a gap, and demand is uncertain. I’m asking the board for two decisions. First, please share what the $120 projection is based on. Second, many evening users work during this meeting. 4 Could the board accept written comments for two weeks and review the pilot with evening users after six weeks? Thank you.

States a position on a specific option early.
Uses the figure as a projection, not a promise.
Names an affected person and the evening that matters to him.
Makes a request the board can act on.

Check your work questions

Does your comment name the option you support?
Does it use one figure correctly, with words like “projected”?
Does it name someone the change would affect?
Does it ask for a decision the board can make?

My time when I read it aloud: 84 seconds
One change I made after practice: I changed “will add $120” to “is projected to add $120,” because the budget note says demand is uncertain.

My take: sample answers

My claim: ___.: The crew should support the pilot and ask for a plan for the $80 gap.
The best evidence is ___, because ___.: The budget note, because it shows one rental would leave a projected $80 gap.
Someone who disagrees might say ___.: Two paid nights would cover the whole gap.
I would change my mind if ___.: Past bookings showed that the $120 projection is reliable.

Grades 11–12

Write a policy memo comparing all three options on cost, access and uncertainty, and recommend one.

Students make: Policy memo, 400–500 words.

Steps students follow

Fill in the options matrix: cost, access and uncertainty for Options A, B and C.
Mark each figure that depends on the $120 projection.
Write what Option B assumes the problem is.
Choose one option and a measure for reviewing it.
Draft the memo’s comparison and recommendation on the Your draft page.
Finish the memo, 400 to 500 words, in the online workspace.

Sample answers for the task boxes

Option A: cost, access, uncertainty: Cost: the $200 gap remains. Access: both free evenings stay. Uncertainty: how the gap gets paid.
Option B: cost, access, uncertainty: Cost: covered if two bookings hold. Access: Tuesday and Thursday evenings end. Uncertainty: demand.
Option C: cost, access, uncertainty: Cost: a projected $80 gap remains. Access: one free evening stays. Uncertainty: demand and new funding.
What Option B assumes the problem is: It treats the $200 gap as the whole problem, so the free evenings become the price of solving it.
My review measure: Bookings per week against the $120 projection, and how many evening users lose access.

Sample draft: Your comparison section

Sample answer Grades 11–12

The board faces a $200 weekly gap: $600 in evening costs against $400 in grants and donations. 1 Option A keeps both free evenings but leaves the gap unfunded. Option B would cover the gap if two rentals each bring in the projected $120, but it ends the Tuesday and Thursday free evenings. Dec rehearses on Thursdays, and the crew’s film night is on Tuesdays. Option C pilots one rental evening for six weeks. If the booking holds, it leaves a projected $80 gap while the board seeks other funding. 2 Every revenue figure depends on a projection the note itself calls uncertain.

Treats each option fairly, including its cost.
Names the assumption behind the figures.

Sample draft: Your recommendation

Sample answer Grades 11–12

Framing the issue as a funding gap makes the free evenings look like the only item to trade. 1 Bacchi’s question asks what that framing leaves out: the evening users who would lose access. I recommend Option C with a measurable review. After six weeks, the board should 2 compare actual bookings with the $120 projection and count how many evening users lost their usual night.

Applies the framing question from the key idea.
Recommends a review the board could measure.

Check your work questions

Does your memo compare all three options fairly?
Are your figures accurate, with their assumptions named?
Do you apply Bacchi’s question to the funding framing?
Does your recommendation include a review the board could measure?

One change I made after feedback: I added Option A’s strengths, because my first draft treated it as a weak option without saying why.

My take: sample answers

My claim: ___.: The board should pilot Option C and review it with evening users after six weeks.
The best evidence is ___, because ___.: The listening notes, because they show whose evenings each option changes.
Someone who disagrees might say ___.: A pilot only delays a hard decision.
The limit of the evidence is ___.: No document shows what the $120 projection is based on.
I would change my mind if ___.: The board found funding that closes the gap without rentals.

College and community

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.

Students make: Proposal, 300–400 words, plus a written comment of 150–200 words.

Steps students follow

Reread Evidence A, B and C. Note who the meeting time leaves out.
Plan two ways the board can hear from evening users before it decides.
Add a way to hear the nearby resident’s concern about noise.
Say how the board will report back what it heard.
Draft the proposal, 300 to 400 words, on the Your draft page.
Write a comment of 150 to 200 words that recommends one option.

Sample answers for the task boxes

Who the meeting time leaves out: People whose shifts overlap with the Wednesday 6:30 p.m. meeting.
Input method 1: Written comments for two weeks.
Input method 2: A short session on a free evening.
How the board reports back: A one-page summary of the input, posted at the counter before the vote.

Sample draft: Your proposal, 300 to 400 words

Sample answer College and community

Proposal: hear from evening users before the board decides on evening rentals. The board’s agenda lists three options, and no vote has been taken. The proposed meeting time overlaps with several shifts, 1 so the people most affected may not be in the room. We propose two ways to hear them. First, accept written comments for two weeks, on paper at the bookshop counter and online. Second, hold one short listening session on a free evening, when evening users are already in the room. 2 Invite the nearby resident who worries about late noise, so that concern is heard alongside the users’ needs. The board should share the figures it is working from. Evening staffing and utilities cost $600 a week, and grants and donations cover $400. 3 Each rental is projected to add $120, but demand is uncertain. Finally, the board should post a one-page summary of what it heard before it votes. This plan asks for one decision the board can make at its next meeting: 4 approve the two-week comment period.

Names who the meeting time leaves out.
Includes the resident’s concern, as the success criteria require.
States the figure as a projection.
Makes one request the board can act on at its meeting.

Sample draft: Your written comment, 150 to 200 words

Sample answer College and community

Agenda item: evening rentals. Position: I support Option C, the six-week pilot. Option B would replace both the Tuesday and Thursday free evenings, and Dec rehearses on Thursdays. The pilot would keep one free evening. If its rental books, it would leave a projected gap of about $80. I ask the board to say how it will seek the rest. Request: please approve a two-week written comment period before the vote.

Check your work questions

Does your proposal name the board as the decision-maker and say no vote has been taken?
Do you use the figures accurately and call the $120 a projection?
Does your plan reach people whose shifts overlap with the meeting?
Do you make one request the board can act on?

One change I made after feedback: I added the nearby resident to the listening session, because my first plan heard only people who want the room open late.

My take: sample answers

My claim: ___.: The board should pilot one rental night and collect written input from evening users.
The best evidence is ___, because ___.: The budget note, because it calls demand uncertain.
Someone who disagrees might say ___.: Covering the full gap now protects the room for everyone.
The limit of the evidence is ___.: Four listening notes cannot represent every evening user.
I would change my mind if ___.: Past bookings showed that two rentals a week are reliable.

Sample task answers for each grade band are in the educator edition for that band.

Evidence answers

Sample answers for the two boxes under each document in the student edition. Grades 6–8 students write one question they still have instead of what the document leaves out.

Evidence A The proposal

Look closely: Is this a vote or a discussion? Which words tell you?

Grade band	What it shows	What it leaves out
Grades 6–8	The board is talking about three options and has not voted.	One question: Who uses the room on Tuesday and Thursday nights?
Grades 9–10	Three options are up for discussion, and no vote has been taken.	Who uses each evening, and what happens if the pilot falls short.
Grades 11–12	A proposal stage: three options, each with a cost, and no vote.	Who uses each evening, and the board’s plan if the pilot falls short.
College and community	Three options at the discussion stage, with no decision recorded.	Evidence of who uses each evening, and the pilot’s review plan.

Evidence B The budget note

Look closely: Which number is a guess, and what could change it?

Grade band	What it shows	What it leaves out
Grades 6–8	The room costs $600 a week and gets $400. That leaves $200.	One question: What if fewer people book the room?
Grades 9–10	The weekly gap is $200. Two rentals could cover it if the projection holds.	Whether the $120 projection is based on any past bookings.
Grades 11–12	A $200 gap, and a $120 per-rental projection the note calls uncertain.	The basis for the projection, and any other way to close the gap.
College and community	Fixed costs and income, plus a conditional revenue projection.	The data behind the $120 estimate, and any other funding.

Evidence C The missing voices

Look closely: Whose voice is missing from these four notes?

Grade band	What it shows	What it leaves out
Grades 6–8	Four people need the room at different times.	One question: Who else uses the room but was not asked?
Grades 9–10	Four evening users have different needs, and the meeting conflicts with shifts.	Everyone else who uses the room, including people who cannot attend.
Grades 11–12	Four stakeholders, including a neighbor, and a meeting time that excludes some.	Users not in the notes, and how their input would reach the board.
College and community	A small, uneven sample of evening users and one neighbor.	How the notes were collected, and who was never asked.

Practice answers

The feedback students see for each choice on the student page.

What should the crew ask the board for first?

Post that the board is taking away the free nights.
No vote has happened. Calling the proposal final leaves the board no specific question to answer, and Mari asks for a concern the board can respond to.
Ask for the budget assumptions, who uses each evening and a way to comment without attending. Best answer
Sami helps write questions about timing and access. The board can answer a concrete request without guessing what the crew needs.
Support whichever option brings in the most money.
Money matters, but the projection does not show who loses access. The request should put both the gap and the people on the page.

Why the best answer is best, by grade band

Grades 6–8: B. It asks for facts the board can give. A says the board already decided, and C ignores who loses the room.
Grades 9–10: B. It asks for the assumptions and the users before anyone takes a side. A treats a proposal as final, and C counts only money.
Grades 11–12: B. It asks the decision-maker for information it can supply and a way to comment. A misstates the process, and C ignores access.
College and community: B. It requests the budget basis and a way to hear people who cannot attend. The board can act on both.

Which recommendation can you explain to the board?

Keep both evenings free, because the room matters too much to rent out.
This states a preference, but it does not deal with the $200 gap. The board needs a funding or staffing idea it can act on.
Approve two paid nights, because they would cover the $200 gap.
The $120 per rental is a projection, and demand is uncertain. If bookings fall short, the gap returns, and evening users still lose two nights.
Try the six-week pilot, track who loses access and plan for the $80 that would remain. Best answer
This names the projected $80 gap and asks who will track it. It also asks for a review with evening users. It is a defensible choice, though not the only one.

Whose perspective is missing?

Prompt: Whose view is missing from these documents? What would you ask them?

Grades 6–8: The nearby resident’s view is missing. I would ask what time is too late for noise.
Grades 9–10: The view of evening users who were not in the listening notes. I would ask when they use the room and whether they can attend.
Grades 11–12: People who cannot attend the Wednesday 6:30 p.m. meeting. I would ask how they could give written input.
College and community: Possible renters. I would ask whether anyone has asked to book the room, since the $120 projection depends on demand.

Discussion answers

The numbers match the questions to discuss on the student page. Each sample answer is what a strong student in that grade band might say.

Option B treats the $200 gap as the problem. What does that way of stating the problem leave out?

Heat check: Low

Grades 9–10: It leaves out who loses the two free evenings, like Dec on Thursdays, and what happens if bookings fall short.
Grades 11–12: It treats access as a cost to cut, not as part of the problem. It also hides the risk that bookings fall short of $120 each.
College and community: Framing the issue as a funding gap makes two free evenings the price of solving it. The users who lose them, and the uncertain demand, drop out of view.

Mari is paid to close the shop and also uses the room at night. How does that shape what she asks for?

Heat check: Low

Grades 6–8: She knows the staff needs to be paid, so she asks for a plan for the money, not just free nights.
Grades 9–10: She sees both sides. She wants the free time protected, but she asks which hours earn money and whether a different setup could work.
Grades 11–12: Her two roles make her weigh the costs, so she asks for tested options and written costs, not a simple yes or no.

If the board chooses an option the crew did not support, how should the crew tell the group what happened?

Heat check: Medium

Why: Students may describe the board as the enemy or guess at its motives. Cool-down: Ask what the agenda and budget note show. Keep the talk on the decision, not on the people who made it.

Grades 6–8: They should say what the board chose and why, without calling the board mean.
Grades 9–10: Share the board’s decision and its reasons, say what the crew asked for, and name the next chance to give input.
College and community: Report the decision accurately, including the board’s stated reasons. Then explain what input is still possible, such as the pilot review.

How is the Common Room’s board different from the City Council that helped restore library Sundays?

Heat check: Low

Grades 11–12: The board governs one small nonprofit’s room. The City Council negotiates the city budget with the mayor, which is how the $58.3 million was restored.
College and community: The board decides the schedule for one nonprofit’s room. The Council is a public body that negotiates the city budget with the mayor, so the routes for input differ.

Sample explanation

One way a student could explain the case in plain words:

I agree this needs attention. Before we send everyone the same message, let’s find who decides, what input they are accepting and whose experience we have not heard.

En español: Sí, esto merece atención. Antes de enviar el mismo mensaje a todo el mundo, averigüemos quién decide, qué aportaciones acepta y a quién todavía no hemos escuchado.

Annotated student draft

Prompt: Write a comment to the nonprofit board about the evening rentals.

First draft

1 The board should not take away our free nights. The Common Room is important to the community and a lot of people use it. I have been coming here for movie nights since it opened and it’s one of the only places we can all hang out without paying. Renting it out just shows 2 the board cares more about money than people. 3 Sami and Dec would lose their spot and that is not fair. 4 Please keep it free for everyone. Thank you for listening.

Revise. No vote has happened. Treat it as a proposal still being discussed.
Revise. Guesses a motive. The budget shows a real $200 gap to address.
Evidence. Good affected perspectives. Say which evenings and why they matter.
Audience. Clear position, but the board needs a plan for the gap. What could it do?

Revised draft

I use the Common Room on weeknights, and I’m commenting on the rental options. Option B would replace both Tuesday and Thursday free evenings. Sami meets clients after her print-shop shift, and Dec rehearses Thursdays, so losing both nights hits people with the least flexible schedules. I understand the $200 weekly gap is real. Option C’s one-night pilot could cut it to about $80 if bookings hold. I’m asking the board to choose the pilot, collect written input from evening users who can’t attend, and review the results with them after six weeks.

Rubric

Score each row. Proficient is the target for most students.

Criterion	Beginning	Developing	Proficient	Advanced
Evidence	No figures or perspectives.	Mentions money or people vaguely.	Uses one figure and one affected perspective accurately.	Uses figures conditionally and names an uncertainty.
Reasoning	Assigns bad motives to the board.	States a preference without addressing the gap.	Recommends an option and addresses the gap.	Weighs trade-offs across options and explains the choice.
Audience & purpose	Speaks to the wrong decision-maker.	Addresses the board but asks for nothing specific.	Makes a request the board can act on.	Requests a process that includes people who can’t attend.
Revision	No change.	Tone edits only.	Replaces a motive claim with evidence.	Adds a figure, a perspective and a follow-up request.

Support and challenge

Support

Provide a calculator and a worked $600 − $400 example
Read one option at a time aloud
Spanish vocabulary: propuesta, proyección, autoridad, equidad
Offer a written comment instead of public speaking
Pre-fill two people on the people map
Use a calculator, a completed $600 minus $400 example and a people-map organizer. Read one option at a time. Offer a written comment rather than public speaking.

Supports written for each grade band:

Grades 6–8

Calculator and worked example
People-map organizer
Frames: “I use the room when __. Could the board explain __?”
Written comment instead of speaking

Grades 9–10

Comment template with four parts
Timer practice with a partner

Grades 11–12

Options matrix template
Model memo header

College and community

Options matrix: cost, access and uncertainty for A, B and C
People map from the workshop
Written-comment header: name, agenda item, position, request

Challenge

Model what happens if only four of six pilot rentals are booked
Research the difference between a nonprofit board and a public community board in your area
Test a zero-booking scenario and explain what the pilot would measure. Compare who attends with who is affected. Suggest an accessible feedback route.

College level: Apply Bacchi’s WPR questions to how “the funding problem” is framed. Compare nonprofit governance with local public-board authority without treating them as interchangeable.

Grades 6–8: Add a question about someone not in the listening notes.
Grades 9–10: Acknowledge the projected $80 gap under the pilot and propose how to address it.
Grades 11–12: Analyze how framing the issue as “a funding problem” leaves out access, and propose a review metric.
College and community: Plan input from evening users and from the nearby resident who worries about late noise. Say how the board would report back what it heard.

More extension prompts

These activities are not on the student page. Use them for students who finish early or want a different angle.

Trace it to the source Journalism: Distinguish an agenda, a projection, a vote and a recorded decision.
Check the rules Law: This nonprofit board controls its own schedule. NYC community boards have advisory roles; they are not interchangeable.
Reflect on your thinking Learning: Revise your recommendation after checking its biggest weakness.

Try it at your school

Find the room where your community’s decisions happen.

With a trusted adult, look up an upcoming library board, school committee or rec-center meeting agenda
Identify which body decides and whether the item is for discussion or a vote
Write one question about who uses the space and when
Check whether written comments are accepted if you can’t attend

Who to ask Library staff, a rec-center manager, the school board clerk or a student council advisor

Stay safe Go to public meetings with a trusted adult. Check whether comments and names become part of the public record before submitting.

Classroom resources

Free outside resources we checked for this case. Watch, Try and Read items work for students. Teach items are for you and stay off the student pages. Preview a link before you use it with a class.

Watch

Short videos to show in class or assign.

Students and educators Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

A short video on scarcity, choice and opportunity cost: every option on the agenda gives something up.

Grades 6–8
Grades 9–12
Ages 16–24

Also on the student page, under Explore more.

Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Try

Games, simulations and tools students use themselves.

For students iCivics

People’s Pie (game)

Set taxes and spending and watch each choice please some groups and cost others.

Grades 6–8
Grades 9–12

Free; plays in the browser.

Also on the student page, under Explore more.

Open on icivics.org (opens in a new tab)

Read

Articles, official pages and case records.

Students and educators Participatory Budgeting Project

Participatory Budgeting Project

See how residents and students vote directly on part of a public budget, with real examples.

Grades 9–12
Ages 16–24

Also on the student page, under Explore more.

Open on participatorybudgeting.org (opens in a new tab)

Teach

Lesson plans, slides and guides for you. These stay off the student pages.

For educators Council for Economic Education (EconEdLink)

Decision Making (PACED grid)

Lesson with a printable grid to list options, set criteria and score what each option gains and costs.

Grades 6–8
Grades 9–12

Open on econedlink.org (opens in a new tab)

Links checked September 25, 2026.

Standards

Common Core codes come from our standards map for this case. Each code links to the official standard. The C3 row names what students do for each code. The College and community row names the AAC&U VALUE rubrics and ACRL Framework frames the task practices. AAC&U says VALUE rubrics are for reviewing learning across a college, not for grading, so score the task with the case rubric.

Grade	What students do	Standards
Grade 6	Make a people map of who uses the room, then write a short note to the board asking one budget question and one access question. Students make: People map plus a 4–6 sentence note.	`RI.6.1` (opens in a new tab) `RI.6.7` (opens in a new tab) `RI.6.8` (opens in a new tab) `W.6.1.a` (opens in a new tab) `W.6.1.b` (opens in a new tab) `SL.6.1.c` (opens in a new tab) `SL.6.1.d` (opens in a new tab)
Grade 7		`RI.7.1` (opens in a new tab) `RI.7.8` (opens in a new tab) `RI.7.9` (opens in a new tab) `W.7.1.a` (opens in a new tab) `W.7.1.b` (opens in a new tab) `SL.7.1.c` (opens in a new tab) `SL.7.1.d` (opens in a new tab)
Grade 8		`RI.8.1` (opens in a new tab) `RI.8.8` (opens in a new tab) `W.8.1.a` (opens in a new tab) `W.8.1.b` (opens in a new tab) `W.8.1.c` (opens in a new tab) `SL.8.1.c` (opens in a new tab) `SL.8.1.d` (opens in a new tab)
Grades 9–10	Prepare a 90-second public comment recommending an option, using at least one figure accurately. Students make: 90-second spoken comment (about 200 words) with written script.	`RI.9-10.1` (opens in a new tab) `RI.9-10.8` (opens in a new tab) `W.9-10.1.a` (opens in a new tab) `W.9-10.1.b` (opens in a new tab) `SL.9-10.1.c` (opens in a new tab) `SL.9-10.1.d` (opens in a new tab)
Grades 11–12	Write a policy memo comparing all three options on cost, access and uncertainty, and recommend one. Students make: Policy memo, 400–500 words.	`RI.11-12.1` (opens in a new tab) `RI.11-12.7` (opens in a new tab) `W.11-12.1.a` (opens in a new tab) `W.11-12.1.b` (opens in a new tab) `SL.11-12.1.c` (opens in a new tab) `SL.11-12.1.d` (opens in a new tab)
College and community	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. Students make: Proposal, 300–400 words, plus a written comment of 150–200 words.	Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric (opens in a new tab) Civic Contexts/Structures Quantitative Literacy VALUE Rubric (opens in a new tab) Written Communication VALUE Rubric (opens in a new tab) Context of and Purpose for Writing Research as Inquiry (opens in a new tab)
Social studies (C3)	D2.Civ.6.6-8 Students describe how a civil-society organization (the nonprofit) shapes neighbors’ lives. D2.Civ.13.9-12 Students evaluate each option’s intended and unintended outcomes. D2.Civ.9.9-12 Students use a deliberative process to weigh options before recommending one. D4.8.6-8 Students apply democratic procedures by preparing a comment for the board.	`D2.Civ.6.6-8` (opens in a new tab) `D2.Civ.13.9-12` (opens in a new tab) `D2.Civ.9.9-12` (opens in a new tab) `D4.8.6-8` (opens in a new tab)

What each standard means

RI.6.1: Use evidence from the text to support what it says directly and what you can infer from it.
RI.6.7: Combine information from words, images and numbers to build a clear understanding of a topic.
RI.6.8: Follow an argument in a text and tell which claims are backed by reasons and evidence and which are not.
W.6.1.a: Open with your claim, then lay out the reasons and evidence in a clear order.
W.6.1.b: Support a claim with clear reasons and relevant evidence from credible sources.
SL.6.1.c: Ask and answer specific questions with details that add to the discussion.
SL.6.1.d: Review the main ideas of a discussion and show you understand other views by reflecting and paraphrasing.
RI.7.1: Use several pieces of evidence from the text to support what it says directly and what you can infer.
RI.7.8: Trace an argument in a text and judge whether its reasons and evidence are sound and sufficient.
RI.7.9: Analyze how two authors writing on the same topic present key information differently through the evidence or interpretations they choose.
W.7.1.a: State your claim, recognize opposing claims and put the reasons and evidence in a logical order.
W.7.1.b: Support a claim with logical reasoning and relevant evidence from accurate, credible sources.
SL.7.1.c: Ask questions that draw out more detail, and respond with relevant ideas that bring the discussion back on topic.
SL.7.1.d: Take in new information from others and change your view when the evidence calls for it.
RI.8.1: Use the evidence that most strongly supports your analysis of what a text says and implies.
RI.8.8: Break down an argument, judge whether its reasoning and evidence hold up and spot evidence that does not belong.
W.8.1.a: State your claim, show how it differs from opposing claims and put the reasons and evidence in a logical order.
W.8.1.b: Support a claim with logical reasoning and relevant evidence from accurate, credible sources.
W.8.1.c: Use words and phrases that show how claims, counterclaims, reasons and evidence connect.
SL.8.1.c: Ask questions that connect several speakers’ ideas, and respond with relevant evidence and observations.
SL.8.1.d: Take in new information from others and qualify or defend your view based on the evidence.
RI.9-10.1: Support an analysis with solid, complete evidence from the text, both for what it states and for what it implies.
RI.9-10.8: Evaluate an argument’s claims, reasoning and evidence, and identify false statements and faulty reasoning.
W.9-10.1.a: Introduce a precise claim, distinguish it from opposing claims and organize the claims, counterclaims, reasons and evidence clearly.
W.9-10.1.b: Develop claims and counterclaims fairly, giving evidence for each and their strengths and limits, with the audience in mind.
SL.9-10.1.c: Move a discussion forward with questions that connect it to larger ideas, bring others in and test ideas and conclusions.
SL.9-10.1.d: Respond to different views, sum up where people agree and disagree, and adjust your view when the evidence calls for it.
RI.11-12.1: Back up an analysis with the strongest evidence from the text, including where the text leaves things uncertain.
RI.11-12.7: Combine and evaluate sources in different media to answer a question or solve a problem.
W.11-12.1.a: Introduce a precise, informed claim, show why it matters, distinguish it from opposing claims and organize the argument logically.
W.11-12.1.b: Develop claims and counterclaims fairly and fully, with the best evidence for each, keeping the audience’s knowledge, values and possible biases in mind.
SL.11-12.1.c: Keep a discussion moving with questions that probe reasoning and evidence, and make sure the full range of views is heard.
SL.11-12.1.d: Respond to different views, pull together what each side says, resolve conflicts where possible and name what still needs research.
D2.Civ.6.6-8: Describe how political, civil and economic organizations shape people’s lives.
D2.Civ.13.9-12: Evaluate public policies by their intended and unintended outcomes and consequences.
D2.Civ.9.9-12: Use fitting deliberative processes in different settings.
D4.8.6-8: Use deliberative and democratic procedures to make decisions and act at school and in the community.
Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric: AAC&U’s rubric for taking part in community life, including civic communication and working within community structures toward a civic aim. In this case: Students plan how people whose shifts overlap the meeting can still be heard by the board.
Quantitative Literacy VALUE Rubric: AAC&U’s rubric for calculating, interpreting and explaining numbers in everyday situations. In this case: Students calculate the $200 weekly gap and explain why the $120 per rental is a projection (Calculation; Assumptions).
Written Communication VALUE Rubric: AAC&U’s rubric for writing that fits its context and purpose, develops its content and uses sources and evidence. In this case: Students write a proposal and a comment for a board audience, each with a clear request.
Research as Inquiry: Research is a cycle of asking questions whose answers raise new questions. In this case: Students turn gaps in the listening notes into questions that the input process must answer.

Plain wording is our paraphrase. The official text is at each link.

Course versions

Each course version changes what students read, make and show. The names are the official course names.

Open your course to see its task.

Honors (set by your school) 60 minutes

Task: Argue whether a community space should ever charge for access, using this case and one other example you research.

Students make: Argument essay, 600–700 words.
Assess: The essay is judged on the precision of its equality-versus-equity distinction and its handling of the funding counterargument, not on length.

Steps and sample answers

Steps students follow

Write a qualified position: when, if ever, should a community space charge for access?
Record one example from your research in the note-catcher.
Define equality and equity in your own words, using the case.
Write the funding counterargument and your answer to it.
Draft your opening and counterargument paragraphs on the Your draft page.
Finish the essay, 600 to 700 words, on lined paper or in the online workspace.

Sample answers for the task boxes

My qualified position: A community space may charge for some hours, but only if the people with the least flexible schedules keep a free option.
Equality in this case: Every evening follows the same rental rule.
Equity in this case: Sami still gets an evening she can use after her shift.
The funding counterargument, and my answer: Someone might say a free space that closes serves no one. But the pilot keeps one free evening while it tests the projected $120.

Sample draft: Your opening paragraph

Sample answer Honors (set by your school)

Community spaces cost money to open, and someone has to pay. The Common Room’s budget note shows $600 in weekly evening costs and only $400 in grants and donations. Charging for some hours can keep a room open, but it can also narrow who uses it. 1 A community space may charge for some hours only if the people with the least flexible schedules keep a free option. 2 Equal rules for every evening are not enough when users’ schedules are so different.

States a qualified thesis.
Separates equality from equity.

Sample draft: Your counterargument paragraph

Sample answer Honors (set by your school)

The strongest objection is that a free space that closes serves no one. That objection is real. 1 City budget cuts announced in November 2023 ended Sunday service at every New York public library branch that still opened on Sundays. Sundays began returning after the budget adopted for July 2024 restored $58.3 million. Money shapes access. But the Common Room’s pilot shows another path. 2 It keeps one free evening while testing whether rentals bring in the projected $120.

Brings in a second, real context with an accurate date.
Answers the funding objection instead of dismissing it.

Check your work questions

Is your thesis clear and qualified?
Do you use two contexts as evidence?
Do you use equality and equity accurately?
Do you answer the funding counterargument?

One change I made after feedback: I added the $200 gap to my opening, because my first draft ignored the funding problem.

This case in the Honors (set by your school) educator edition

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Pre-AP English 1 and Pre-AP English 2 50 minutes

Task: Observe the agenda, the budget note and the listening notes closely, then write an evidence-based paragraph on which option best balances the $200 gap and evening access.

Students make: Two paragraphs (about 300 words total).
Assess: Paragraphs are scored for correct calculations, a claim that addresses both budget and access, use of a listening note and an accurate answer to the what-if.
Course skills: Close observation and analysis, Higher-order questioning, Evidence-based writing.

Steps and sample answers

Steps students follow

Check each figure in Evidence B on the calculation sheet.
Underline “Demand is uncertain” in the budget note.
Choose the option that best balances the $200 gap and evening access.
Write a paragraph with a claim, a figure, a perspective and a limit.
Write a second paragraph that answers: what if only one booking comes through?
Trade with a partner who asks you one question as a board member.

Sample answers for the task boxes

Gap with no rentals: $200
Gap with one rental: $80
Gap with two rentals: None, $40 over
My claim: Option C best balances the budget and access, because it tests rentals while it keeps one free evening.

Sample draft: Paragraph 1: claim, figure, perspective, limit

Sample answer Pre-AP English 1 and Pre-AP English 2

Option C best balances the budget and evening access. The budget note shows $600 in weekly costs against $400 in grants and donations, a $200 gap. Each rental is projected to add $120, 1 so one rental evening would leave a projected gap of about $80. Option B could close the gap, but it would end both free evenings, and 2 the listening notes say Dec rehearses on Thursdays. Option C keeps one free evening while the board seeks more funding. 3 Its limit is that the $80 figure depends on a projection the note calls uncertain.

States the figure correctly and as a projection.
Uses a listening note as evidence about access.
Names the limit of the claim.

Sample draft: Paragraph 2: what if only one booking comes through?

Sample answer Pre-AP English 1 and Pre-AP English 2

1 If only one booking comes through, Option B would bring in $120 instead of $240. The gap would stay at $80, and both evenings would still be set aside for rentals. Under Option C, one booking is the plan, so the projected gap is the same $80, and one free evening remains. The what-if makes Option C look stronger, because it costs evening users less for the same projected result.

Answers the what-if with correct numbers.

Check your work questions

Are your figures calculated and stated correctly?
Does your claim address both the budget and access?
Do you use at least one listening note?
Does your second paragraph answer the what-if accurately?

The question my partner asked as a board member: My partner asked how the board would pay the $80 gap during the pilot.
What I changed, and why: I added that the board is seeking more funding under Option C, because that answers my partner’s question.

This case in the Pre-AP English 1 and Pre-AP English 2 educator edition

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Official course framework: College Board, Pre-AP shared principles and instructional practices (opens in a new tab)

AP English Language and Composition 50 minutes

Task: Write a synthesis-style argument: should the board adopt Option C?

Students make: Synthesis essay, about 550 words, 40 minutes.
Assess: The draft receives practice feedback on the three AP Lang scoring rows, with source use judged on the quality of commentary rather than the number of citations.
Course skills: Claims and Evidence (CLE), Reasoning and Organization (REO), Rhetorical Situation (RHS).

Steps and sample answers

Steps students follow

Read Sources A, B and C. Note what each one adds to the question.
Write a qualified thesis on whether the board should adopt Option C.
Draft your thesis paragraph and one body paragraph on the Your draft page.
Cite at least two sources in the form (Source B).
Write one sentence that concedes what the $120 projection cannot guarantee.
Finish the essay, about 550 words, in 40 minutes.

Sample answers for the task boxes

Qualified thesis: The board should adopt Option C as a six-week test, not a final answer, because it narrows the gap while it protects one free evening.
What Source B adds: A $200 gap and a $120 projection.
What Source C adds: Whose evenings each option changes.

Sample draft: Thesis paragraph

Sample answer AP English Language and Composition

The Common Room’s board must close a $200 weekly gap without losing the people who use the room (Source B). Of the three options on its agenda, 1 only Option C tests a solution before committing to it (Source A). The board should adopt Option C as a six-week test, not a final answer, because it narrows the gap while it protects one free evening.

Integrates a source into the claim with a citation.

Sample draft: Body paragraph

Sample answer AP English Language and Composition

1 Option C does not solve the budget problem, and it should not pretend to. Each rental is projected to add $120 after its extra costs, but the budget note warns that “Demand is uncertain” (Source B). If the pilot’s one rental books, a projected $80 gap remains. That concession strengthens the case for a pilot, because 2 a six-week test turns an uncertain projection into real bookings. Option B would stake both free evenings on the same projection. The listening notes show who would pay if it missed: Dec rehearses on Thursdays, and Mari closes the shop (Source C).

Concedes precisely what the pilot cannot do.
Commentary explains why the concession helps the argument.

Check your work questions

Is your thesis defensible and qualified?
Do you integrate at least two sources with commentary?
Does your line of reasoning address the budget constraint?
Do you concede what the projection cannot guarantee?

How I revised my thesis after a peer named my strongest objection: I added “as a six-week test, not a final answer,” because my peer said a pilot only delays a hard decision.

This case in the AP English Language and Composition educator edition

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Official course framework: College Board, AP English Language and Composition course page (opens in a new tab)

AP United States Government and Politics 50 minutes, partial fit

Task: Argument essay: which is more effective at influencing a decision-making body, individual public comment or organized groups? Use the Common Room board as your local example.

Students make: Argument essay, 40 minutes.
Assess: Practice feedback follows the published Argument Essay expectations for a defensible claim, foundational-document evidence, reasoning and rebuttal.
Course skills: Unit 5: Political Participation, Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy, Argumentation.

Fit: partial. Interest groups, pluralism and Federalist No. 10 are core Unit 1 and Unit 5 content, but a nonprofit board is not a government body, so the case can only illustrate participation; the essay’s evidence must come from government.

Steps and sample answers

Steps students follow

Write a claim: which influences a decision-making body more, individual comment or organized groups?
Paraphrase Madison’s argument about factions in Federalist No. 10.
Choose a government example as your main evidence, such as library Sundays.
Explain in one sentence why the Common Room board is not a government body.
Write an opposing view and your response to it.
Write the essay on lined paper in 40 minutes.

Sample answers for the task boxes

My claim: Organized groups influence decision-making bodies more than individual comments, because they combine many voices into one clear request.
Federalist No. 10 in my own words: Madison argued that a large republic makes it harder for one faction to control the government, because it holds many different interests.
My government example: People who wanted library Sundays back called and wrote to the City Council, and Sundays returned after the July 2024 budget.
Why the board is not a government body: It is a small nonprofit’s board that controls its own room.
An opposing view, and my response: Someone might say one strong personal comment can sway a board. But a single comment is easier to set aside than a request many people share.

Sample draft: Your opening paragraph

Sample answer AP United States Government and Politics

Organized groups influence decision-making bodies more than individual comments do, because they combine many voices into one clear request. Pluralism expects groups to compete for influence. 1 In Federalist No. 10, Madison argued that a large republic makes it harder for one faction to control the government. Organized groups work within that design by building a shared request that officials cannot easily ignore.

Uses the foundational document accurately.

Sample draft: Your evidence paragraph

Sample answer AP United States Government and Politics

New York’s library Sundays give one real example of public pressure on a government body. City budget cuts announced in November 2023 ended Sunday service at every branch that still opened on Sundays. People who wanted Sundays back called and wrote to the City Council, which negotiates the budget with the mayor. The budget adopted for July 2024 restored $58.3 million. 1 One outcome cannot prove that organized pressure always works, but it shows where a request has to go. The Common Room board is different, because 2 it is a small nonprofit’s board, not a government body.

Limits the claim to what the evidence shows.
Distinguishes the case from government, as the challenge asks.

Check your work questions

Is your claim defensible?
Do you use Federalist No. 10 accurately?
Is a government example your main evidence?
Do you respond to an opposing view?

One change I made after feedback: I stopped calling the Common Room board a government, because it is a nonprofit’s board that controls its own room.

This case in the AP United States Government and Politics educator edition

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Official course framework: College Board, AP United States Government and Politics course page (opens in a new tab)

AP Seminar 300 minutes

Task: Team inquiry: “Who should pay for shared community space?” Members research one lens each (nonprofit finance, disability access, urban planning, neighbor relations), write individual reports, then present a recommendation to the Common Room board.

Students make: Individual research report (800–1,000 words) plus 8-minute team presentation.
Assess: Reports and the presentation are scored with educator-adapted rubrics modeled on the published Performance Task 1 components; this is practice, not a submitted performance task.
Course skills: Question and Explore, Evaluate Multiple Perspectives, Team, Transform, and Transmit.

Steps and sample answers

Steps students follow

Choose one lens: nonprofit finance, disability access, urban planning or neighbor relations.
Write a research question for your lens.
Find two or three approved sources and annotate each one.
Draft your report’s opening paragraph on the Your draft page.
Write the full report, 800 to 1,000 words, in the online workspace.
Build an 8-minute presentation with your team that addresses the $80 gap and a missing voice.

Sample answers for the task boxes

My lens: Disability access
My research question: How should a community room weigh rental income against keeping step-free evening time for the people who need it?
Case evidence my lens explains: The room is one of the few step-free rooms nearby, and Sami runs a workshop there after her afternoon shift.
A missing voice we will address: Evening users who cannot attend the Wednesday 6:30 p.m. meeting.

Sample draft: Your report’s opening paragraph

Sample answer AP Seminar

A small nonprofit board is weighing whether to rent out two free evenings in its community room. The budget note shows a $200 weekly gap, and each rental is projected to add $120, though demand is uncertain. 1 This report looks at the decision through the lens of disability access. The room is one of the few step-free rooms nearby, 2 so an evening lost here may not be replaceable somewhere else. The question is how a community room can weigh rental income against keeping step-free time for the people who need it.

Names the lens and keeps the report focused.
Explains why the lens matters in this case.

Sample draft: Our team’s recommendation, first draft

Sample answer AP Seminar

Pilot one rental evening for six weeks. Keep one free evening in the step-free room. Collect written input from evening users, and 1 plan how to cover the projected $80 gap.

Addresses the budget gap, as the challenge requires.

Check your work questions

Is each lens researched accurately?
Does the recommendation synthesize the lenses?
Does it address both the budget and access?
Does it acknowledge uncertainty?

One uncertainty our recommendation admits: The $120 per rental is a projection, so the gap could be larger.
One change our team made after feedback: We added the resident’s noise concern, because our first draft left out neighbor relations.

This case in the AP Seminar educator edition

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Official course framework: College Board, AP Seminar course page (opens in a new tab)

Pre-IB (a school pathway, not an IB program) 90 minutes

Task: Analyze the room decision from four perspectives (the board, Mari, Sami and the nearby resident) in a perspectives table and a short written analysis. Then deliver a two-minute oral recommendation that names who holds power over the decision and who carries its costs.

Students make: Perspectives table with a 300-word analysis plus a two-minute oral recommendation.
Assess: The educator applies the school’s own pre-IB rubric for perspectives, evidence and oral delivery; no IB criteria, marks or grades are assigned.

Steps and sample answers

Steps students follow

Fill in the perspective table for the board, Mari, Sami and the nearby resident.
Mark who holds power over the decision and who carries its costs.
Write an analysis of about 300 words on the Your draft page.
Plan a two-minute recommendation with the oral planner.
Give the recommendation and answer one audience question with evidence.
Write two sentences on whose perspective was easiest for you to take, and why.

Sample answers for the task boxes

The board: Interest: close the $200 gap. Power: decides the schedule.
Mari: Paid to close the shop, and uses the room at night.
Sami: Runs a print workshop after her shift in a step-free room.
The nearby resident: Worries about late noise from evening rentals.

Sample draft: Your analysis, about 300 words

Sample answer Pre-IB (a school pathway, not an IB program)

1 The board holds the power in this decision. Its agenda lists three options, and no vote has been taken. The board’s interest is a $200 weekly gap between $600 in evening costs and $400 in grants and donations. Mari sees both sides. She is paid to close the shop, so she knows free evenings do not pay the staff. She also uses the room at night. Sami runs a print workshop in the room after her afternoon shift, and it is one of the few step-free rooms nearby. 2 For her, losing an evening could mean losing access, not just a time slot. The nearby resident worries about late noise, a cost that paid rentals might increase. 3 The people who carry the costs are not the people who decide. The board can narrow that distance by collecting written input, because the meeting time overlaps with several shifts. Option C would keep one free evening and leave a projected $80 gap, 4 if bookings hold.

Names who decides.
Represents Sami’s perspective with evidence.
Connects power to costs.
States the figure as a projection.

Sample draft: Whose perspective was easiest to take, and why

Sample answer Pre-IB (a school pathway, not an IB program)

Sami’s perspective was easiest for me, because access is easy to picture. The resident’s was hardest, because noise felt less important until I thought about late nights.

Check your work questions

Do you represent four perspectives fairly, with evidence?
Do you use the figures accurately and as projections?
Do you name who decides and who bears the costs?
Did you answer an audience question with evidence?

The audience question, and my answer: Someone asked if the resident matters more than Sami. I said both carry costs, and written input lets the board hear both.

This case in the Pre-IB (a school pathway, not an IB program) educator edition

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IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) 90 minutes

Task: Develop a statement of inquiry on community and access and design a feedback survey for evening users.

Students make: Survey (6–8 questions) plus 200-word rationale.
Assess: The educator uses Individuals and societies criteria B and D and Language and literature criterion C, applying the school’s own year-level descriptors.
Course skills: Individuals and Societies B: Investigating, Individuals and Societies D: Thinking critically, Language and Literature C: Producing text.

Steps and sample answers

Steps students follow

Write a statement of inquiry about communities and access.
List what the board needs to learn from evening users.
Write six to eight neutral survey questions on the Your draft page.
Rewrite any question that pushes people toward one option.
Plan how the survey reaches people who cannot attend the meeting.
Write a rationale of about 200 words that uses evidence from the case.

Sample answers for the task boxes

Statement of inquiry: Communities share limited resources more fairly when the people most affected by a change can shape it.
What the board needs to learn: Who uses each evening, what they would lose and whether they can attend meetings.
How the survey reaches people who cannot attend: Paper copies at the bookshop counter and an online form, open for two weeks.

Sample draft: Your survey, 6 to 8 questions

Sample answer IB Middle Years Programme (MYP)

1. Which evenings do you use the Common Room? 2. What do you use the room for? 3. Could you use the room at another time? Why or why not? 4. Does the step-free entrance matter for you or your group? 5. Can you attend the Wednesday 6:30 p.m. board meeting? 6. How would you like to give input: in writing, online or in person? 7. Which option would affect you most: A, B or C? 8. Is there anything else the board should know?

Sample draft: Your rationale, about 200 words

Sample answer IB Middle Years Programme (MYP)

The listening notes include only four voices, and the proposed meeting time overlaps with several shifts. 1 A survey lets the board hear from evening users who cannot attend. Each question is neutral. Question 7 asks which option would affect people most, not which option is best, 2 so it does not push anyone toward an answer. Question 4 matters because the room is one of the few step-free rooms nearby. Question 3 checks whether people could switch times, which Option B would require. 3 Paper copies at the bookshop counter reach people who do not go online. Our statement of inquiry says communities share resources more fairly when the people most affected can shape the change. This survey is one way to let them.

Justifies the survey with evidence from the listening notes.
Explains why a question is neutral.
Plans for people a meeting or a website would miss.

Check your work questions

Does your statement of inquiry connect communities and access?
Is every survey question neutral?
Does your survey reach people who cannot attend?
Does your rationale use evidence from the case?

A leading question I rewrote: I changed “Don’t you agree the free nights should stay?” to “Which evenings do you use the Common Room?”

This case in the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) educator edition

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Official course framework: International Baccalaureate, MYP curriculum (opens in a new tab)

IB Diploma Programme: Global politics 100 minutes, partial fit

Task: Use the room decision to rehearse scoping an engagement project: define the political issue, map the actors and the power each holds, identify whose voices are missing and plan two ways to engage people directly. Then write a short proposal explaining how power and legitimacy shape the decision.

Students make: Engagement-project proposal, 500–700 words, with an actor map.
Assess: The educator gives practice feedback on issue framing, actor analysis and engagement planning; the proposal is not an internal assessment submission and no IB marks are predicted.
Course skills: Global politics — key concepts: power and legitimacy.

Fit: partial. The decision raises the key concepts of power and legitimacy in a local setting and can model how to scope an engagement project, but it is a nonprofit’s internal budget choice with no clear link to the thematic studies, so use it only as engagement-project rehearsal.

Steps and sample answers

Steps students follow

Write the political issue in one sentence.
Map the actors: formal authority, resources, influence and voice.
Mark whose voices are missing.
Plan two ways to engage people directly, with consent and safety.
Draft the proposal’s opening and legitimacy section on the Your draft page.
Finish the proposal, 500 to 700 words, in the online workspace.

Sample answers for the task boxes

The political issue: Who has power over a shared room, and whose input makes its schedule legitimate.
Formal authority: The nonprofit board.
Resources: Grants, donations and possible renters.
Voice, and who lacks it: The four people in the listening notes have some voice. Users who cannot attend the meeting have little.
Two ways to engage people directly: A short written survey at the counter, and a listening session at a time outside work shifts.

Sample draft: Your proposal’s opening

Sample answer IB Diploma Programme: Global politics

This engagement project asks who holds power over a shared community room and whose input would make its schedule legitimate. 1 The Common Room’s nonprofit board has formal authority. It is weighing three options for its free evenings, and no vote has been taken. The board’s power rests on its control of the room and its budget, which shows a $200 weekly gap. Evening users hold little formal power, and the proposed meeting time overlaps with several of their shifts.

Maps the actor with formal power accurately.

Sample draft: Your legitimacy section

Sample answer IB Diploma Programme: Global politics

1 A decision can be within the board’s authority and still lack legitimacy in the eyes of the people it affects. Evening users who could not attend may accept the outcome more readily if the board asked for their input in writing. The board should also report back what it heard. My project would test that. 2 I would survey evening users with their consent and share only what they agree to share. Then I would compare their views with the board’s stated reasons for its decision.

Uses power and legitimacy precisely.
Plans ethical engagement with the people involved.

Check your work questions

Does your issue concern power over a shared resource?
Do you map the actors and their sources of power accurately?
Is your engagement plan ethical and feasible?
Do you use power and legitimacy precisely?

My real local example: A library board meeting agenda I found with a trusted adult.
One change I made after feedback: I added consent and safety steps to my survey plan, because engagement involves real people.

This case in the IB Diploma Programme: Global politics educator edition

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Official course framework: International Baccalaureate, Global politics course page (opens in a new tab)

Steps and sample answers for each course are in the educator edition for that course.

Not recommended for this case

IB Diploma Programme: Language A: language and literature: The case’s texts are an agenda, a budget note and listening notes, which reward civic and numerical reasoning more than analysis of language and form, and the optional New York library Sundays connection is a news clip the argument does not depend on.

Sources

Case sources

New York City Council, “NYC Council, Library Leaders, and New Yorkers Celebrate Library Budget Restorations to Restore Full Service, as Branches Reopen and Reinstate Services on Sunday for First Time in Months (opens in a new tab).” July 14, 2024. How the restored budget brought Sundays back, and who the Council credited for it.
NYC Mayor’s Office, “Mayor Adams Celebrates $58.3 Million Investment in City’s Three Library Systems (opens in a new tab).” July 1, 2024. The restored funding that let the libraries resume Sunday service.
NY1, “Public libraries over the next two weeks to begin closing on Sundays (opens in a new tab).” November 17, 2023. Reporting on the budget cuts that ended Sunday library service.
PIX11 News, “Last Sunday service held at Brooklyn Public Library (opens in a new tab).” December 17, 2023. News video from the last day of Sunday service at the Brooklyn Public Library.
Carol Bacchi, “What’s the problem represented to be? (opens in a new tab).” No date listed. A policy-analysis approach that examines the problem represented in a proposed solution.
NYC.gov, Brooklyn Community Board 13, “About community boards (opens in a new tab).” No date listed. A real local example of advisory authority and public participation. Check your own board’s procedures.
Design Council, “The Double Diamond (opens in a new tab).” No date listed. A framework for exploring a problem and testing responses.

Research behind the lesson

These are our teaching applications of the ideas below. For a rule or a fact, use the case sources.

Carol Bacchi, No date listed. What’s the problem represented to be? (opens in a new tab) Author’s explanation of a policy-analysis approach. Examine the view of the problem built into a proposed solution, including its assumptions and omissions. Question your own proposal, too. Keep in mind: Our entry questions adapt part of WPR. They are not the complete approach or a substitute for evidence about an option’s effects.
Jeong-Nam Kim and James E. Grunig, 2011. Situational theory of problem solving (opens in a new tab). Research article. How people recognize a problem, connect it to their lives and perceive barriers helps explain their communication about it. Keep in mind: A prompt for asking about people’s circumstances, not a way to infer someone’s beliefs from their identity.

Professional codes

American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), ASPA Code of Ethics (opens in a new tab). Revised 2013. ASPA has promoted ethical standards for public servants since 1984.
American Library Association (ALA), ALA Code of Ethics (opens in a new tab). Adopted in 1939; amended June 30, 1981; June 28, 1995; January 22, 2008; and June 29, 2021.

Standards and course frameworks

Common Core State Standards Initiative, English Language Arts Standards, Reading: Informational Text: grade 6 (opens in a new tab), grade 7 (opens in a new tab), grade 8 (opens in a new tab), grades 9–10 (opens in a new tab), grades 11–12 (opens in a new tab). Checked September 24, 2026.
Common Core State Standards Initiative, English Language Arts Standards, Writing: grade 6 (opens in a new tab), grade 7 (opens in a new tab), grade 8 (opens in a new tab), grades 9–10 (opens in a new tab), grades 11–12 (opens in a new tab). Checked September 24, 2026.
Common Core State Standards Initiative, English Language Arts Standards, Speaking and Listening: grade 6 (opens in a new tab), grade 7 (opens in a new tab), grade 8 (opens in a new tab), grades 9–10 (opens in a new tab), grades 11–12 (opens in a new tab). Checked September 24, 2026.
National Council for the Social Studies, “College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework (opens in a new tab).” Checked September 25, 2026.
College Board, Pre-AP shared principles and instructional practices (opens in a new tab). Checked September 25, 2026.
College Board, AP English Language and Composition course page (opens in a new tab). Checked September 25, 2026.
College Board, AP United States Government and Politics course page (opens in a new tab). Checked September 25, 2026.
College Board, AP Seminar course page (opens in a new tab). Checked September 25, 2026.
International Baccalaureate, MYP curriculum (opens in a new tab). Checked September 25, 2026.
International Baccalaureate, Global politics course page (opens in a new tab). Checked September 25, 2026.
American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), “VALUE Rubrics (opens in a new tab).” 2009. Checked September 25, 2026.
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, “Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (opens in a new tab).” 2016. Checked September 25, 2026.

Margin notes

Evidence to check
A question to ask
Who it affects
A connection

The companions are characters in the story. Their notes point to something to check or ask.

AP, Pre-AP and IB activities are practice designed by No, Pero Why?. They are not official College Board or IB materials. Honors expectations are set by your school. 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. This guide gives general education, not legal advice.