Resource List for Teaching Civics and Government “Democracy needs to be re‐born in each generation and education is its mid‐wife.” ‐John Dewey, Education Reformer A great deal of information is available to help teachers improve their content understanding of civics and government; locate lesson plans, materials and activities for classroom use; and provide information about groups and organizations involved in citizenship and law related education efforts. This guide has been developed to help classroom teachers access this information. Organizations have been listed alphabetically followed by a website address and a brief summary of what is included on each website. It is hoped that this resource guide will be helpful to elementary and secondary teachers in planning effective inquiry lessons to help their students gain a better understanding of and a genuine interest in citizenship and government. RESOURCES American Bar Association The American Bar Association provides a wealth of information. Their Division for Public Education provides information about the 2016 Law Day theme, “Miranda: More Than Words”. Also included is information about the 2016 Summer Teachers Institute – “Federal Trials and Great Debates in U. S. History”. The ABA is also sponsoring a series of programs in 13 cities around the country on the topic of “Civility and Free Expression in a Constitutional Democracy – a National Dialogue” to explore the balance between norms of civility and the laws of free expression within our society and system of government. The site also includes links to lesson plans organized by grade level and topic, including lessons on topics such as antitrust law, environment and law, intellectual property and international issues. Annenberg Classroom The Annenberg Classroom website provides “Resources for Excellent Civic Education”. The “Knowledge” section of the site includes videos, games and a play giving examples of information about the Constitution in action. The Annenberg Guide to the U. S. Constitution
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divides the document into its Articles and Sections followed by the document’s text and an explanation for each section. The site also includes a number of lesson plans that highlight case studies of the Constitution in action. For example, there are two lessons related to Japanese internment during WWII: “The Importance of the Japanese Internment Cases” including a conversation with Supreme Court Justices and “When National Security Trumps Individual Rights”. Additionally the site includes a section of “Critical Thinking Lesson Plans” using a variety of topics to spark student interest. The “News” section highlights current events stories that relate to Constitutional issues. This site provides a wide variety of helpful information and very useable material for any teacher of civics and government. TeachingAmericanHistory.org The Ashbrook Center at Ashland University provides training to teachers of American history and government. Ashbrook’s TeachingAmericanHistory.org website offers teachers, at no cost, an extensive and growing library of primary source documents (currently near 2,500 documents) related to American history and government. The website also contains special exhibits on the Constitutional Convention, Ratification Debates, and Bill of Rights, designed in conjunction with a leading scholar, to assist teachers in teaching these materials in a way that interests and engages their students. Teachers can also learn about and register for the free professional development opportunities Ashbrook offers. The Bill of Rights Institute The Bill of Rights Institute provides very useful information and materials for teachers and students. The site includes free lesson plans on a wide variety of topics related to the Bill of Rights. Also, the eLesson Newsletter, sent via email to teachers who register, includes historical content, connections to real life, classroom activities and discussion questions. Professional development opportunities for teachers such as Constitutional Seminars, Constitution Day and Founders Fellowship are explained. In addition, the site includes information on student programs such as “Think the Vote”, “Constitution Connection” and “We the Students Essay Contest”. Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, a coalition of forty organizations, has as its goal the improvement of civics education in schools. One resource, Civic Learning Online, provides links to other organizations that feature lesson plans and practices for all grade levels. The site also provides access to research study results focused on civics education and civic engagement. 2
Center for Civic Education The Center for Civic Education is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational corporation dedicated to fostering the development of informed, responsible participation in civic life by citizens committed to the values and principles fundamental to American constitutional democracy. The Center specializes in civic/citizenship education, and international education exchange programs for developing democracies. Civics Renewal Network The Civics Renewal Network allows teachers to search by topic and grade level for free teaching materials from their many partner organizations. Teachers can create a free account allowing them to bookmark materials to their account for future account. Civic Engagement Research Group Civic Engagement Research Group, conducts research focused on understanding the nature of youth civic engagement, the impact of civic learning opportunities and digital media participation. The site includes a series of videos highlighting youth engagement, information on CERG’s publications, and a series of Connected Learning webinars exploring ways to support youth engagement in public life. Also included is a press release of a very interesting Education Week article titled “Why Are We Teaching Democracy Like A Game Show?” that questions the wisdom of requiring all students to pass the U.S. Citizenship Test as a graduation requirement. CNN Politics CNN Politics is the website of CNN provides up to the minute information and video clips of political news. In addition, a number of CNN videos are available for classroom use on current issues. The Connecticut Network The Connecticut Network has developed three excellent sets of videos that provide valuable information for all citizens, but may be of particular use to students who may have limited experience interacting with their elected officials. These may be especially useful to students “taking informed action” as the result of an inquiry project or lesson. Constitute Project Developed by the Comparative Constitutions Project, the website contains the constitution of nearly every independent state in the world as of September 2013. Teachers may search by country and topic. The website is free and provides information for the study of comparative governments for use with middle school or high school students. This site may be particularly useful to teacher of grades 6 and 7 as well as high school world history teachers. 3
Constitutional Rights Foundation The Constitutional Rights Foundation provides a variety of programs and teaching materials for educators. Lessons include topics related to black history month, the Bill of Rights and Common Core skill related lessons. In addition, the site provides useful information about civics related programs for students including The Civic Action Project, Courtroom to Classroom, and the Mock Trial competitions. The site links to companion sites such as Educating About Immigration; the Civic Action Project; Judges, Courts and the Law and a CFR Blog for discussion and information for all social studies educators. C‐Span Classroom C‐Span Classroom provides a wealth of free primary source material for social studies teachers. This site includes a variety of timely videos about recent events and an American History TV program for classroom use. A Classroom Deliberations program, including a series of video clips and background information, is designed to help students examine different points of view and includes a variety of information to engage students in informed debate on a topic. The site also provides access to a number of websites related to American history and government. To access the teacher lesson plans, On This Day in History and Constitution Clips, teachers must register and create a user name and password. In addition, C‐Span offers two teacher workshops each summer to help 6‐12 grade teachers learn to effectively integrate C‐Span’s online resources into their classes. Courts in the Classroom Courts in the Classroom is a product of the Judicial Branch of California and the Constitutional Rights Foundation. The site includes a section titled “Big Ideas” that provides information on topics such as privacy, censorship and due process; a section titled “The Third Branch” including information on courts and judges; and a section titled “Landmark Cases” related to the amendments. The “Teachers” section includes lesson plans on the Constitution. C3 Teachers C3 Teachers is an organization designed to promote inquiry teaching in social studies. The College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework, a national social studies framework, guided the development of the Connecticut Social Studies Frameworks. The C3 Teachers website includes 15 civics related inquiries available to teachers. Topics include: The First Amendment, Political Parties, Voting, The Constitution, Industrialization, The Great Compromise, The Declaration of Independence, Government and Citizens, Civic Ideals and Practice, Global Citizens, The President, and Civic Ideals and Rules. Inquiries are available for students in grades K – 12 with more being developed. In addition, the website provides information on the Inquiry Design Model for teaching. 4
Dirksen Congressional Center The Dirksen Congressional Center is a non‐partisan, not‐for‐profit foundation with the mission of helping people better understand the U. S. Congress, its people, its processes and the public policies it produces. The website seeks to promote civic engagement by providing current and historical information about Congressional activities, the legislative process, and lawmakers’ duties. There is an interactive Congressional timeline and an extensive collection of legislative related political cartoons, some with lesson plans. The political cartoons would offer teachers excellent primary source material to develop inquiry lessons for their classrooms. Congress for Kids provides information useful to elementary school teachers in planning civics and citizenship related lessons. Everyday Democracy Everyday Democracy is an organization that is focused on helping communities talk and work together to create communities that work for everyone. The organization works directly with local communities across the U. S. on issues such as racial equality, poverty reduction education reform and building strong neighborhoods providing advice, training and how‐to resources. The website includes lessons for civics teachers as well as a resource list of organizations that will be helpful to educators teaching civics. FactCheck.org FactCheck.org will be a very useful resource for any teacher of civics and government or current events. The site examines the content of speeches and interviews of elected officials and candidates to determine their degree of accuracy. Examples of articles include “Trump Gets Refugee Numbers Wrong”, “Cruz Misquotes Clapper on Refugees” and “Clinton and the Benghazi Reports”. FlackCheck.org FlackCheck.org is the political literacy companion site to FactCheck.org. This site provides resources to help students recognize flaws in arguments in general and political ads in particular. This will be a very useful tool to any teacher planning lessons about upcoming elections. Joint Florida Center for Citizenship Joint Florida Center for Citizenship is designed to make civics instruction an essential part of teacher education at Florida’s colleges and universities and help teachers already in the classroom enhance their civics teaching skills and methods. The site includes materials for students in elementary, middle and high school. The high school segment, A Conversation with Congress, is a series of video discussions, each on a specific topic, with a moderator and a former Republican and Democratic member of Congress. The middle school and elementary school sections include a number of lessons complete with materials. This material may be very helpful to teachers at all grade levels. 5
Joe Foss Institute The Joe Foss Institute is an educational non‐profit organization to battle civics illiteracy and close the civics education gap. They provide programs for schools, youth organizations and schools to prepare students for a life of active engaged citizenship. One goal of the Institute is to have every state pass a law requiring every high school student to pass the test given to anyone becoming a naturalized citizen. Their education programs aim to teach students about the roots of democracy. The Judicial Learning Center The Judicial Learning Center was created to promote public understanding of the function and value of the judicial branch of government, especially at the federal level. It is both a physical space (located at the Thomas F. Eagleton U. S. Courthouse in St. Louis) and a not‐for‐profit corporation dedicated to promoting the rule of law in American society. The site includes a number of court and law related lesson plans for students in grades 6‐12 such as How to Create a Law (including articles about recent laws in the U. S.), Separation of Powers, The Federalist Papers and The Federal Judiciary, State and Federal Courts, What’s Wrong with This Court and Trial By Jury. iCivics iCivics is an organization founded by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The website was created to help and support civic educators to engage students in the study of the Constitution and government. The site includes units organized by topic that include lesson plans, materials, background information tied to each state’s standards and grade levels. Unit topics include The Constitution (one unit for each branch of government) Citizenship and Participation, Politics and Public Policy, Media and Influence, Civil Rights, International Affairs, Government and the Market, Landmark Library (a variety of landmark Supreme Court cases), Influence Library (People, Ideas and Events that have influenced the U. S. government) and County Solutions (focused on solving community issues). It also includes games and web quests to teach a variety of topics about the government. There is a wealth of information and material here for civics teachers to use with students. The information is free to educators who register – teachers are given a user name and password. Library of Congress The Library of Congress provides a wide variety of materials for teachers related to civics and government (click on themes then civics). There are lesson plans that have been created by teachers. In addition, a vast collection of civics related primary source materials can serve as the basis for the creation of exciting inquiry lessons for classroom use. The site also offers multimedia resources to improve teachers’ content understanding and to serve as materials to use with students. 6
National Center for State Courts The National Center for State Courts is an independent, nonprofit organization founded to educate the public about the state courts. A search feature allows one to search by state, providing a wealth of information about state courts throughout the country. In addition, the Center has developed a series of graphic novels, called Justice Case Files, that provide insight into how judges make decisions, how the courts protect the public and why courts are so important to a democratic society. Lesson plans for middle and high school teachers are available for use with three of the novels. National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) is a Congressionally chartered national organization that believes that everyone has the power to make a difference in how their community and country thrive. A non‐partisan organization, NCoC explores the shape of today’s citizenry to define the evolving role of the individual in our democracy and uncover ways to motivate greater participation. NCoC sponsors events (including an annual conference), conducts research, and publishes reports to expand our nation’s understanding of what it means to be a citizen. Through its national “civic health” initiative, it seeks new ideas and approaches for creating greater civic health and vitality throughout the United States. The organization has partnered with 20 states (including Connecticut) and 7 major cities in publishing state and local “civic health index” reports with a wealth of information on various indicators of civic participation, including voting, volunteering, contacting and working with public officials, attending public events, working with neighbors on local issues and donating. National Constitution Center The National Constitution Center is a physical museum at Independence Mall in Philadelphia, but is also a website. The website includes a section titled Interactive Constitution where experts interact with each other to explore the Constitution’s history and what it means today. For each provision of the Constitution, scholars of different perspectives discuss what they agree upon, and what they disagree about. By clicking on the “Learn” section, teachers gain access to lesson plans, activities, games, videos, and historical documents. A variety of lesson plans are offered for elementary, middle and high school classes. One example is “Address America: Your Six Word Stump Speech”, where students examine stump speeches from recent president elections and then create their own six word stump speech summarizing their candidacy. The activities section includes puzzles and craft ideas. Online games are accessed in the “games” section. The “videos” section includes Constitution related videos for students in grades 5 – 12. The “documents” section includes a number of primary source documents as well as timelines and perspectives written by scholars. 7
This site includes material that will be very helpful to any teacher creating lessons about the Constitution. The National Endowment for the Humanities, EDSITEMENT! The National Endowment for the Humanities, EDSITEMENT! website is divided into three sections. The “Lesson Plan” section includes a number of history and social studies lesson plans, many related to civics and government. For example, the site includes lessons such as “The Argument of the Declaration of Independence”, “Background on the Patriot Attitude toward the Monarchy” and “Balancing the Three Branches: Our System of Checks and Balances”. The lesson plans are very complete, including materials and assessments. The “Student Resources” section includes a variety of interactive activities collected from around the web. The “Features” section includes highlighted collections of resources. For example, the collections include titles such as “The Teacher’s Guide to the 150th Anniversary of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln”, “Four Freedoms for the Fourth”, and The Declaration of Sentiments by the Seneca Falls Conference (1848): A Common Core”. National Priorities Project The National Priorities Project is a very interesting and potentially useful resource for civics and government teachers. The mission of the site is to make the federal budget transparent so that citizens can see how their dollars are spent. The “Federal Budget 101” explains how the federal budget works, where the money comes from, where the money goes and borrowing and the federal debt. The Educator Toolkit: Peoples Guide to the Federal Budget includes such activities as “Debate on Keynesian vs Supply Side Economics”. This site shows the importance of economics in the understanding of government and civics. New York Times Learning Network The New York Times Learning Network provides the latest news and opinions including the world of politics and government. The Teaching Topics section is an index linked to thousands of stories, many connected to civics and government. The site also includes a daily news quiz. The Learning Network includes a variety of lessons including “Fake News vs. Real News: Determining the Reliability of Sources” with a video and lesson plan. Also included is “Drawing for Change: Analyzing and Making Political Cartoons”. Students can post their opinions on issues in the news on an online forum. This site includes a wealth of information for middle and high school teachers and students of civics and government. Newseum Institute News First Amendment Center The First Amendment Center of Newseum News provides a research library of resources on the first amendment, and sections titled “First Amendment FAQ, “State of the First Amendment”, and the “National First Amendment Moot Court Competition”. 8
PBS News Hour Extra The PBS News Hour Extra website is an extension of the daily PBS News Hour program. It includes a series of lesson plans based on the program’s news stories, including a number of government and citizenship related lessons. A sample of these lesson titles includes: “Constitutional Amendments and Same‐Sex Marriage”, “What Makes Someone a Bystander”, and “The State of the Union Address”. In addition, the “News for Students and Teachers” provides additional material for grades 7‐12, including daily and archived videos. PBS Learning Media PBS Learning Media provides an abundance of material that can be searched by topic and grade level including lessons related to civics/government and history. Additionally, the site provides access to video clips that have been archived as well as current events videos. Since the site includes materials on all disciplines, it may prove especially useful to teachers planning interdisciplinary lessons and to elementary teachers who use social studies content in connection with literacy skill lessons. Teachers need to create an account (free) and then can log into the account to access materials. Rock the Vote Rock the Vote is a non‐profit, non‐partisan organization established to educate and register young Americans and encourage them to vote. The organization uses pop culture, politics and technology to mobilize young citizens to vote, protect voting rights and advocate for voting systems that work in today’s United States. The site includes a variety of short videos by popular recording artists and other young people. The site provides election information on a number of topics such as voter registration deadlines and absentee voting and information on Rock the Vote in the news. Street Law Street Law is a not for profit organization committed to engaging students around issues of law, democracy and human rights. They develop curricula for use with students and professional development programs for teachers. They publish Street Law: A Course in Practical Law, a textbook used in many classrooms. They provide a wide variety of programs to help young people gain a better understanding of law related topics. In addition, the site includes a listing and description of many free, useable lesson activities. The “Deliberation” series engages students in discussion around topics such as “Freedom of Expression: Should our Democracy Permit Hate Speech?” and “Direct Democracy: Should our Democracy Allow National Referendums?” The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center at the Ronald Reagan Foundation The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center at the Ronald Reagan Foundation has developed the first in a series of lesson units, a ten lesson unit on civics and citizenship for high school students. 9
Unit topics include: Rights and Limits, Roles and Responsibilities, Civil Disobedience, Private vs. Public Character, Civic Dispositions, Civic Participation, as well as preparation and presentation of a project. The lessons use a variety of primary source material and are based on the UBD model. Primary source document analysis sheets are included. TeachingAmericanHistory.org The Ashbrook Center at Ashland University provides training to teachers of American history and government. Ashbrook’s TeachingAmericanHistory.org website offers teachers, at no cost, an extensive and growing library of primary source documents (currently near 2,500 documents) related to American history and government. The website also contains special exhibits on the Constitutional Convention, Ratification Debates, and Bill of Rights, designed in conjunction with a leading scholar, to assist teachers in teaching these materials in a way that interests and engages their students. At TeachingAmericanHistory.org, teachers can also learn about and register for the free professional development opportunities Ashbrook offers. Teaching Civics Teaching Civics is focused on supporting educators with a growing repository of relevant material that brings the subject of civics and government to life. The website provides civic education and law‐related education materials that assist teachers in creating engaging lessons for their students. The lessons are designed for elementary, middle, and high school classrooms and include simulations, discussions, mock trials, case studies and other research based materials. The website contains hundreds of lessons that teachers can filter by teaching strategy, grade level, teaching standard or lesson topic. In addition, the website provides a list of many professional development workshops and programs to help teachers learn new content and keep current on law related topics. This will be a very useful site for any social studies teacher. Text, Talk, Vote! Text, Talk, Vote! is an interesting platform to encourage civil discourse and youth voting conversations. It encourages small groups to discuss suggested topics and then register their conclusions with a “vote,” via texting, on a national platform. Text, Talk, Vote was developed as a partnership between New Hampshire Listens, Everyday Democracy, and the National Institute for Civil Discourse, based on a similar platform (Text, Talk, Act) developed by Creating Community Solutions. National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives houses a vast collection of primary sources related to our nation’s history and government, much of this material has been digitized, is available free online and can serve as the basis for countless lessons for social studies teachers. In addition, their DocsTeach.org section includes lessons that utilize primary sources to inform students about a topic and ask them to make judgements related to the material. 10
Some civics related topics include Separation of Powers or Shared Powers, Immigration, To What Extent Was Reconstruction a Revolution, Assimilation of American Indians, Documenting Key Presidential Decisions, Congress in Article I of the U.S. Constitution, Extending Suffrage to Women and Lowering the Voting Age. Free distance learning programs are available for elementary and high school students about the Constitution, presidential powers and more. The website also provides information on National History Day resources for teachers and students, professional development webinars for educators and information about education programs at presidential libraries and events and public programs at regional NARA sites. National Conference of State Legislators The National Conference of State Legislators provides news, current events, information, and nonpartisan analysis to support state legislatures. It also includes bipartisan case studies facing state governments. NCSL provides access to pending and enacted state legislation through 50‐ state searchable databases covering a variety of issues. Through NCSL, educators and students can find current legislation, with bill status and other bill information, in the 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico and nationally in Congress. In addition, NCSL has developed a variety of specialized legislative and statutory analyses on issues important to state legislatures. This site provides a wealth of information about the organization and composition of the legislatures in all 50 states. It also includes a video and information about serving as a state legislator or staff person. This site will provide a wealth of information for any social studies teacher planning a unit on state government. National Constitution Center The National Constitution Center provides this website where Constitutional experts interact with each other to explore the Constitution’s history and what it means today. For each provision of the Constitution, scholars of different perspectives discuss what they agree upon, and what they disagree about. The site includes a variety of lesson plans for all grades including topics such as Born in the USA: Music as Political Protest, Bill of Rights, Citizenship and Character: Moderation, Creating a Modern Day Propaganda Poster, Debate It!, and Prohibition Era Dinner Party. In addition there are a number of civics related games, activities and videos. A number of important documents are included – some as primary sources such as the 13th Amendment (Handwritten Congressional Copy) and the Emancipation Proclamation (Leland‐ Boker Edition from 1864 signed by President Lincoln). Some of the documents are typed in modern text and some are translated into a variety of languages. 11
Also included are biographies of the founding fathers by state and a Marketplace of Student Ideas where high school students can debate important issues on a webcast. This side provides a great deal of useful materials and information. Tufts University Center for Information on Civic Learning and Engagement (Circle) Circle conducts research and publishes findings on youth engagement in the U. S. The website includes a variety of interesting material including statistics and trends on youth involvement, especially voting. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services – Citizenship Resources Center The U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website is designed to provide information to those wishing to check their immigration status and apply for citizenship. However, this website also includes valuable information for social studies educators. It includes the 100 Civics Questions (study guide with answers), the basis for the naturalization test potential citizens must pass. It also includes lesson plans for teachers, in beginner and intermediate levels, including such topics as You and Your Government, Bill of Rights and Other Amendments, Fighting for Our Rights, U.S. Constitution, Early America, and Establishing Independence. United States Courts The US Courts website provides links to very interesting and useable information and materials for educators. Amendment activities allow students to apply landmark Supreme Court cases to contemporary scenarios. A number of scenarios are provided for rights guaranteed in the first, fourth, fifth and sixth amendments. In addition, under the Supreme Court Landmarks section, students participate in interactive landmark Supreme Court cases that have shaped history and that have an impact on citizens today. There are also interactive outreach activities prepared for high school teachers and students including “Unique Niche: Courts, Judges, and Teen Issues”, “Local Court Involvement” where federal judges across the nation host in‐court events and programs, and “Open Doors to Federal Courts”, an annual in‐court event presided over by host judges that involve students in realistic legal dilemmas, coached by volunteer attorneys. There is also a wide variety of information provided on a range of court related topics that will be useful to teachers and students. This site provides access to engaging activities for high school students. U. S. Government Printing Office The U. S. Government Printing Office, , is designed to inform students, parents and educators about the Federal Government. The site is provides basic information about government written in age appropriate language for students ages 4‐8, 9‐13, and 14+. 12
Youth Leadership Initiative The Youth Leadership Initiative from the University of Virginia Center for Politics, develops free education resources for civics teachers with the goal of encouraging students to participate in the political process. The center provides a complete teacher‐developed curriculum of lesson plans at a variety of grade levels. The mock election program allows students to vote online for real candidates. The E‐Congress program is an interactive online legislative simulation. Democracy Corps is a complete service learning program. A More Perfect Union is a political campaign simulation. Teachers need to register (free) for this site to access all material. NOTE: Everyday Democracy and its consultant do not take any position on, nor shall be held responsible for, the lack of accuracy, partiality, intent or agenda, or credibility of the content and the organizations, institutions, websites, etc. included in this resource list. Teachers should use their own judgment when accessing and using materials and resources from these organizations/institutions and their sites. This resource list, developed by Mr. Daniel Coughlin, was commissioned by Everyday Democracy and made possible through a planning grant from Connecticut Humanities. © Everyday Democracy, October 2015.
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