Students read a newspaper article about a developer who wanted city permission to raze a small park in order to build parking for his condominium development. They had to use two maps with two different scales to determine distance and time between various locations. Mathematics included also ratio and measurement. Students had to write about whether the condo developer should be allowed to raze the park. They had to write about the social implications of the changing demographics.
Tomato pickers take on the growers.
Students read a New York Times article by this name, about how the farmworkers' wages had gone down over 20 years, even without taking inflation into account. Students had to write about what they would do if they were in the shoes of the workers. Each group had to survey 80-100 people, make graphs, present findings, propose open research questions, write conclusions, and justify their choices along the way. Students read a long feature article about development in the school neighborhood. Mathematics included using percentages, compound interest, ratio, and proportion.