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. Students had to write about whether or not development would destroy the community. Students were given the 1997 median house price of the most expensive suburb in the area and asked if racism was a factor. Students had to describe and hypothesize data that would lead them to conclude that racism was a factor, and data that would lead them to conclude racism was not a factor. Mathematics included data analysis, percentages, and problem-posing.