Getting Started
Overview
The projects on this site are different from the customary technical writing assignments. There are no make-believe audiences and no imaginary goals. There are real community groups with real members and stakeholders. Even if students work without contact with the community group, they can identify the people who belong to the community, those who benefit from it, and those who contribute toward meeting its goals.
Students may have less experience with such public writing scenarios. They will be contributing writing that matters, writing that can make a difference. The authenticity of their audience and purpose along with the public nature of the community resources students will create means that students may need extra preparation to work effectively.
The preparation activities listed below provide materials for helping students do the preliminary work that will be important to the projects that they pursue. In some cases, the activities focus more on decisions that you as the teacher need to make and then suggests how to present those decisions to the class. In other cases, the activities explain tasks that the class can complete together.
You may not need every preparation activity that is listed. They’re are not requirements—they’re options. Choose the preparation that makes sense for the students you are teaching, the communities they will focus on, and the projects that they will pursue.
Preparation Activities for Community Projects
| Preparation Activities | Description |
|---|---|
| Addressing Sensitive Topics in the Classroom | Some communities work toward goals that may appear to differ with the values of state or local governments, administrator, and others. Consider these guidelines to prepare yourself for questions from students and those outside the classroom. |
| Choosing a Community Focus | Students need to focus on a community for their projects, and there are hundreds available to choose. Find details on how to offer options and ensure students make reasonably-focused choices. |
| Collaborating with a Community | Prepare students to talk to community members as they research what the community wants and how they can work together to create resources. |
| Finding Community Resources | I can't remember the point of this.....maybe it was how to use/find models? |
| Learning about the Community | Help students identify basic information about a community with these tips on where to look, including advice for online research, and suggestions for what they need to find. |
| Preparing for Difficult Conversations | Community issues can result in heated debates. Use these resources to prepare students for class and group discussions, ensuring the classroom offers an inclusive and safe environment for everyone. |
| Setting Up Work Groups | Students can work collaboratively on many of these projects, especially those that involve larger documents or complicated tasks. Follow this advice to organize work groups that work well together. |