Y-PLAN Elementary Field Guide.pdf

The Y-PLAN Elementary Field Guide, developed by the Center for Cities + Schools at UC Berkeley, is a tool for educators and students to engage in project-based civic learning experiences. Y-PLAN empowers young people to address real-world community issues, fostering them as agents of change. The field guide follows a structured, flexible process called the Y-PLAN Roadmap, consisting of five sequential phases:

1. Start-Up: Establish relationships, identify assets, and define the project.
2. Making Sense of the City: Engage in community mapping, research, and analysis.
3. Into Action: Brainstorm ideas, participate in a charrette, and develop a project proposal.
4. Going Public: Present the project to a panel of civic actors.
5. Looking Forward, Looking Back: Reflect critically and plan future actions.

Each phase highlights key products and skills developed by students. The process begins with an authentic project question posed by a civic client, focusing on a specific site with both design and policy implications. The field guide encourages active use, with teachers and students encouraged to take notes, generate ideas, and create recommendations for change.