I’ve often written in this blog (and in my books) about one of my favorite lessons — ESL students compare our school’s neighborhood with the most wealthy one in Sacramento, and write a persuasive essay about which one they like the best. Students first identify what qualities are most important to them in a community, and do lots of other activities.

We just finished this year’s lesson and all the students chose our neighborhood as the better one (usually, about 80% choose our neighborhood). You can see their essays here, and a slideshow about our field trip, too.

Actually, we’re not quite done yet. Students will finish up by designing their ideal neighborhood….