About the Project

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Alignment with NYS Learning Standards

Activities in the project support the following skills and learning outcomes outlined in the NYS Learning Standards for Social Studies and English Language Arts:

Social Studies

Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Key Idea 4: The study of civics and citizenship requires the ability to probe ideas and assumptions, ask and answer analytical questions, take a skeptical attitude toward questionable arguments, evaluate evidence, formulate rational conclusions, and develop and refine participatory skills.

Performance Indicators: Students will...

  • Take, defend and evaluate positions about attitudes that facilitate thoughtful and effective participation in public affairs
  • Consider the need to respect others’ points of view
  • Participate in school/classroom/community activities that focus on an issue or problem
  • Prepare a plan of action that defines an issue or problem, suggests alternative solutions or courses of action, evaluates the consequences for each…and proposes an action plan to address the issue or to resolve the problem

English Language Arts

Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

Performance Indicators: Students will...

  • Recognize and acknowledge various perspectives on issues of local, national and world concern
  • Determine points of view, clarify positions, make judgments, and form opinions
  • Use the perspectives of other individuals, groups, recognized experts, and prior knowledge to analyze and evaluate presentations
  • Evaluate the expertise and possible bias of the speaker in order to judge the validity of the content
  • Recognize the use of protocols and traditional practices of debating, public speaking, interviewing
  • Evaluate impact of medium on the message
  • Express opinions or make judgments about ideas, information, experience, and issues in articles, public documents, and advertisements
  • Articulate personal opinions to clarify stated positions, persuade or influence groups, or state preferences about topics
  • Present content that is clearly organized and based on knowledge of audience needs and interests
  • Present reasons, examples, and details from sources cited to defend opinions or judgments
  • Present arguments from different perspectives
  • Modify content and presentation strategies based on audience response during presentation
  • Speak extemporaneously to clarify or elaborate
  • Ask and respond to questions to seek clarity or to suggest different perspectives

The project requires students to: connect current events to wider frames of reference, including enduring Constitutional issues; construct focused research questions to guide investigation; identify potential panelists and community experts related to issue under study; analyze text, audio and visual media for information; write, revise and polish personal position papers; develop effective listening, note-taking and questioning techniques; and use social studies and language arts knowledge and skills in a real-world radio production.

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