Plan a Better Richmond!

This project will ask you to look at the experiences of other cities, and make a plan for your own city to be better. Everyone will work together on this project, but every person will have to do many assignments individually. Each person will work on a different idea, and you will have to work on your skills in all four subjects in order to earn credit. We will make specific plans for how our town can be better, and submit them to the mayor's office. This project will be based mostly on the computer because you need strong computer skills to get jobs and be successful in school. (Here is some research showing that http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm#context)
Richmond can be a better place to live, let's make it that way!

How do I earn grades and credits?
HISTORY: [] Understand the history of Richmond's economy and population [] Understand Richmond's municipal government [] Understand the effect of solutions to inner-city problems

For History, you need to learn about Richmond's history, its current problems, and what can be done to make it better. Let's start by making our version of a Memory Map: http://shareable.net/blog/the-visceral-neighborhood

Here's how we can do it:

Richmond's History ---- read these pages and write a summary of what you learned. We will want to refer to these facts in our essays.

1. http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/01/11/richmond-once-a-mecca-for-the-blues/
2. http://richmondconfidential.org/2010/10/02/richmond-residents-celebrate-rosie/
3. http://richmondconfidential.org/2010/08/17/a-richmond-jewel-reborn/
4. http://richmondconfidential.org/2010/06/22/developers-parks-service-close-to-deal-at-ford-point/
5. http://richmondconfidential.org/2010/05/28/the-mechanics-bank-a-history-shared-with-richmond/
6. http://richmondconfidential.org/2010/05/02/local-icon-reminisces-on-his-march-with-history/

Richmond Right Now -- read these pages and identify 4 problems and some solutions that are being tried. These will help us plan our suggestions.
What's going on right now to improve the city?
http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/index.aspx?nid=1610  and http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/index.aspx?NID=1841
http://richmondconfidential.org/

Here is a discussion about some things other people would like to see in their cities. You might agree, disagree, love or hate their ideas, but it should make you think about what you would like to see in Richmond....and why. http://www.city-data.com/forum/general-u-s/114873-things-you-would-do-improve-your.html

How Can A City Be Improved?
Choose a link that you will read. Then, make a poster with a list of ideas and put a star next to your 3 favorite ideas for Richmond. Present it to the class so that we can choose ideas as a group. Each person will be assigned a few ideas, and they will figure out how to make them real.

1. http://shareable.net/blog/12-nifty-ideas-to-improve-your-city
2. http://www.ehow.com/how_4699035_improve-cities.html
3. Two people might work on this one together: http://www.d-log.info/cities.pdf
4. http://www.cityofaikensc.gov/index.php?page=ways_to_improve_your_neighborhood
5. http://www.cityoftacoma.org/Page.aspx?hid=11654
6. http://www.helium.com/items/237049-how-to-improve-conditions-in-distressed-inner-city-neighborhoods
7. http://citypaper.net/articles/2008/05/22/one-stone

This page connects urban youth all over the United States who are changing their cities by creating jobs that improve the environment! http://www.greenforall.org/blog/video-meet-the-dream-reborn-story-contest-winners

ENGLISH:  [] Understand how to structure a 5 paragraph essay [] Understand how to write strong introductions and conclusions [] Understand how to expand on supporting arguments


You will need to write three 5-paragraph essays. They will have these topics:

1. How We Should Improve the Environment in Richmond
2. How We Should Improve Health in Richmond
3. How We Should Improve Jobs in Richmond

Each time, we will go through the stages of the writing process:

• Prewriting
• Drafting
• Revising
• Editing
• Publishing

We will help each other become better writers. In the end, we will choose three essays to be included in our package delivered to the mayor's office.

Here is a page that teaches you how to write a good 5 paragraph essay. Follow the steps when you are Drafting, and then ask someone to help you revise and then edit. http://www.gc.maricopa.edu/English/essay/

MATH: [] Understand how to translate words into algebraic expressions [] Understand how develop algebraic formulas to solve future problems 
In this project, we will go a step beyond just making a budget for what we want. We will figure out the costs and benefits of our suggestions in algebraic terms. That means, we will show someone how to figure out what the cost is, depending on how big their project is.  Here is a webpage that teaches this whole skill, starting with the basics you already know. http://www.themathpage.com/alg/algebraic-expressions.htm#expressions

Write an algebraic formula to calculate the cost of each of your ideas, and explain it in words.

SCIENCE: [] Understand what cells are and why they are important [] Understand the link between food, glucose and energy [] Understand the importance of amino acids and enzymes in human diets [] Understand the importance of lipids in human diets


Read and study Chapter 24, Sections 1 - 4 in Prentice Hall Chemistry. Answer all questions in the section reviews in complete sentences. Use the facts you learn here in your essay about how to improve health in Richmond. Here are some links to help you learn and understand:
Section 1: http://www.exploratorium.edu/traits/cell_explorer.html
Section 2: http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP13104
Section 3: http://www.learnerstv.com/animation/animation.php?ani=170&cat=Biology
Section 4 : http://www.learnerstv.com/animation/animation.php?ani=172&cat=Biology


What are some health problems present in Richmond?
Here are some links about this issue. Read them and make a list of health problems that we can try to solve in Richmond.
http://richmondconfidential.org/2010/11/04/health-care-on-wheels/
http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/index.aspx?NID=1900
http://www.richmondgreens.net/pollution.htm

1. bss.sfsu.edu/raquelrp/projects/515_ej/Richmond_CA.ppt

   
   
2. What will our final product be?
3. You will be graded on the following products:
1. Three 5 Paragraph Essays --- 400 points
2. Pop-Up Map Contribution --- 200 points
3. Project Vocabulary Notebook --- 200 points
4. 
   
5. We will submit a pop-up map of Richmond showing our projects to the Mayor's office. Here are some tools that can help us design our final product. 

http://www.ehow.com/how_6524223_make-pop-up-map.html
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PLSlHbQ-bc&feature=relmfu

Call Ms. Anke any time!