then vote on whether or not to support the skateboarding park and to give the rest of the money needed to build the park.

Persuading the City Council

The teens worked on a speech to give before the City Council. They practiced it until they knew it by heart. They got people to agree with their point of view and to volunteer to talk for them before the City Council. The mayor also said she would support them.

In their speech, the teens explained why the skateboarding park was important to them. They described the benefits, or good things, that a park would create and used examples from their own lives to personalize the speech.

Finally, it was time for the City Council to vote. All the hard work paid off—the City Council voted in favor of the park. The teens’ reward for all their effort was a brand-new skateboarding park.