Civics/Government

Click on the image above to access more information about the Seal of Civic Readiness Toolkit.

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Grade K - Are All Rules Good Rules?
Grade 2 - Do We Have to Have Rules?
Grades 9-12 - Who Do Gun Laws Protect?

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NCSS Resources to address violence on January 6, 2021 at the Capitol:

Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport: The Role of Social Studies in Safeguarding the Republic.
Kenneth C. Davis
Social Education (September 2019)
It's a critical time to engage in classroom discussions about democracy—what it is, what threatens it today, and how we can protect it

Strongman: The Rise of Dictators and the Fall of Democracy
Kenneth C. Davis
Social Education (October 2020)
Teaching students about the history and patterns of authoritarianism can help bolster our own collective awareness of the vulnerability of democracy. .

Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? An Interview with Dr. Alexander Keyssar.
Social Education (October 2020)
This probing discussion of the Electoral College offers new approaches to teaching about this often-perplexing political system

Demystifying the Electoral College: 12 Frequently Asked Questions
Tiffany Middleton
Social Education (September 2012)
What is the Electoral College? The Electoral College is a body of people appointed by each U.S. state and the District of Columbia, who elect the president and vice president. Voters in each state and the District of Columbia select electors to be the authorized participants in each presidential election. The electors cast electoral votes after the general election and officially elect the president and vice president.

Election Security: Fundamental and Threatened
Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, Suzanne Spaulding and Devi Nair
Social Education (September 2020)
Inviting students to ponder the meaning of secure elections can launch an important discussion about public trust in election results.

Confronting Confirmation Bias: Giving Truth a Fighting Chance in the Information Age
Alan C. Miller
Social Education (October 2016)
At a time when algorithms shape and filter our newsfeeds, teaching students news literacy—how to differentiate credible information from misinformation—has taken on unprecedented importance.

Misinformation in the Information Age: What Teachers Can Do to Help Students
Erica Hodgin and Joe Kahne
Social Education (September 2018)
Three educational approaches outlined in this article help young people develop the capacity to judge the accuracy and credibility of online information.

Teaching Students to Navigate the Online Landscape
Joel Breakstone, Sarah McGrew, Mark Smith, Teresa Ortega, and Sam Wineburg
Social Education (September 2018)
There is no silver bullet for combatting the forces that seek to mislead online, but we can equip students with a digital tool belt stocked with strategies.

Teaching Controversial Issues in a Time of Polarization.
Kei Kawashima-Ginsburg and Rey Junco
Social Education (November/December 2018)
Families and principals can play a crucial role in fostering controversial-issue classroom discussions that support students’ civic learning.

Invoking History in Today's Politics
Jocelyn Stanton and Laura Tavares
Social Education (October 2016)
Studying the Weimar Republic can help students make connections between the past and present and understand how history can inform our choices today.

Beyond the Nineteenth: A Brief History of the Voter Suppression of Black Americans
Anthony Brown, Joanna Batt, Esther June Kim
Social Education (September 2020)
A close look at the history of African American voting rights can launch a lively classroom discussion about present-day democratic struggles.

Additional Resources
Disclaimer: National Council for the Social Studies has curated these materials to offer helpful teaching strategies and resources for educators. The links posted on this webpage do not represent an endorsement of any organization or product by the association as a whole, its staff, or the members of its board.

*****(NSCSS Editor's Note: The sources in bold print are also cited below in the resources from NDE.)

#sschat resources
ADL-Discussing Political Violence and Extremism with Students
Civics for All Resource Guide
Civil Discourse in the Classroom
Creating Civic Spaces in Troubling Times
CSPAN: Learning from Previous Presidential Transitions
CSPAN: The History of Contested Presidential Elections
District of Columbia Public Schools
Dr. Alyssa Hadley-Dunn Teaching the Days After
Facing History and Ourselves
Fostering Civil Discourse: A Guide for Classroom Conversations
Fostering Civil Discourse: How Do We Talk About Issues That Matter
iCivics Peaceful Transfer of Power
Illinois Civics
Michigan Council for the Social Studies
Mikva-Attack on Capitol
National Constitution Center
Newseum-Front Pages From Around the Country
PBS
PBS-Structured Academic Controversy
Teaching About Controversial or Difficult Issues
Teaching Tolerance-Civic Disobedience
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NDE Resources:

January 6, 2020 Events:

Creating Civic Spaces in Troubling Times article (Illinois Civics)
Social Justice Probing Questions (DCPS Social Studies Team)
Resources for Teachers on the Days after the Attack on the U.S Capitol (Dr. Alyssa Hadley Dunn, Michigan State University Professor of Education)
Jan. 6th Resource Sharing (compiled by #sschat)
FAQs about Presidential Transitions (Center for Presidential Transition)
Political Polarization Explainer (Facing History and Ourselves)
Classroom resource: Three ways to teach the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol (PBS NewsHour Extra)

Creating & Building Classroom Community:

Social and Emotional Learning (NDE Social Studies)
Guide for Setting Ground Rules
Creating a Classroom Contract (Lesson from Facing History and Ourselves)
Speak Up for Civility (Classroom contract from Teaching Tolerance)

Supports for Having the Conversations:

Fostering Civil Discourse: A Guide for Classroom Conversations (From Facing History and Ourselves)
Teaching About Controversial or Difficult Issues (From the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility)
Civil Discourse in the Classroom (From Teaching Tolerance)
Your Roadmap for Teaching Controversial Issues (From iCivics)
Seven Ways to Teach Civil Discourse to Students

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Checkology Virtual is a free resource! The News Literacy Project (NLP) is a nonpartisan national education nonprofit that works with educators and journalists to teach middle school and high school students how to sort fact from fiction in the digital age. NLP provides these students with the essential skills they need to become smart, active consumers of news and information and engaged, informed citizens. newslit.org/
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Civics in Action Projects

The teacher’s guide is designed to be flexible and includes all preview and lesson pages from the student edition, answers to activities, step-by-step lesson plans, plus suggested extension activities, teaching options, assessments, and more! Download a free sample at https://www.xanedu.com/icivics/#sample

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iCivics provides lesson plans, games, presidential candidate guides, infographics, and webquests with registration for a free account. www.icivics.org/election?utm_campaign=TSSP&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=95817104&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-98Jpc2H2ZIpp_7aWHlljnSLa7LuokPdcikt_o7n_YXBuh5fvMu-ykCi7kThw02zR2XgqHVijlc7B2K8q-XOViYQKy4Ew&utm_content=95817104&utm_source=hs_email

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"Global Youth Justice, Inc. Champions 1,800+ volunteer-driven youth justice and juvenile justice diversion programs called Teen Court, Youth Court, Student Court, Peer Court and Peer Jury on 5-Continents, making it the most replicated juvenile justice and youth justice program around the globe. They are volunteer-driven, inexpensive, adaptable, practical, scaleable, and are replicating widely in urban, rural, suburban and tribal settings."
www.globalyouthjustice.org/about/background/

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Resources to Support Schools & Systems in the Wake of Racial Violence

 Teaching & Learning

Staff

Family

Some of the resources listed above are from Teaching Tolerance which can be accessed by clicking on the project's name.

The NEA edjustice page has an extensive list of materials for Black Lives Matter at School https://neaedjustice.org/black-lives-matter-school-resources/?utm_campaign=TSSP&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=89237852&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--vRRreRG-bNjGVCUTRqSrQD-NH4xiOP3U7s454F_Q92z8KCDWmQtfeL9yydw-g3PaDHjeM-IsCj08nVPsREN6gYN6e_w&utm_content=89237852&utm_source=hs_email
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Education Week has another list of resources for "Discussing Racism, Policing, and Protest." https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2020/06/15_classroom_resources_for_discussing_racism_policing_and_protest.html?utm_campaign=TSSP&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=89237852&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9R4lq5uBMPNFgc01ihMcspMERdgjVkX47XDDPsuPoc6OTWN8FE4B39UZnAE4-YbEkFMxPLVHiEfETFBbfumjZf8E2eew&utm_content=89237852&utm_source=hs_email

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More resources to fight hate and racism:

The Southern Poverty Law Center has published "Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide."
Teaching Tolerance offers a vast wealth of resources and a Learning Plan Builder to help teachers build lessons around social justice standards aimed at prejudice reduction.
A Twitter campaign, #charlottesvillecurriculum, is generating a trove of ideas for teaching tolerance, including contributions from the National Council of Teachers of English and Education Week. Brightly, an online reference for parents, also has relevant material, including “Books to help kids understand the fight for racial equality.”
Unite Against Hate! offers resources for students, educators, and families as they engage in current national dialogue about racism, hate, and bias, compiled by the National Education Association.
The Alliance for Excellent Education has produced: "Condemning Racism and Bigotry While Using Charlottesville as a Teachable Moment: Resources for Teachers, Parents, and Others" available here: tinyurl.com/CharlottesvilleResources.
The Anti-Defamation League explains the teachable moments resulting from the recent Charlottesville events in “Lessons to Teach and Learn from ‘Unite the Right'."
In “Talking to Children When Hate Makes Headlines,” CNN offers resources to teachers and parents now having conversations about hate and bigotry with children.
Teach Plus compiled a list of Tools and Resources for Teaching About Race, History, and Other Issues Related to Charlottesville.
Edutopia’s site features “How to Teach Beyond Ferguson,” by José Vilson, a middle school math teacher and coach, who provides tools and strategies for having difficult but necessary conversations.

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"Should students study civics?"
Read pages K12-K13 in the 51st Annual PDK Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools

https://pdkpoll.org/assets/downloads/2019pdkpoll51.pdf
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View or download the entire document at http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/01/10/48/11048.pdf
Pages 26-32 list many resources for your classroom!
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This short video traces the evolution of James Madison’s thinking about the necessity of a Bill of Rights. While originally opposed to both a bill of rights and conditional ratification, Madison came to appreciate the political and the practical efficacy of both. Professor Jack Rakove notes that, unlike many bills of rights that use the phrase “the government ought not,” the American Bill of Rights says “the government shall not,” thus creating a set of legal commands to limit government. This is one in a series of American History Videos sponsored by the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHKuCA_69fE

This National Archives workbook includes primary sources to help students explore some of the core concepts, or protections, found in the Bill of Rights, and how they’ve been tested throughout American history. Each chapter leads you to consider the implications of one core concept and includes background Information; a key question or questions to frame your thinking; questions to help you analyze the document; a primary source document or documents; discussion questions to help you consider the impact or importance of the concept. Click on the image above to download.

Announcing a New, Free Self-Directed Course on the Fundamental Values and Principles of American Constitutional Democracy
The Center for Civic Education is pleased to announce Learn.civiced.org, a new website for anyone interested in learning more about American constitutional government! The site offers a free online course, discussion forums, and highly recommended links to teaching and learning resources.

Here are some of Learn.civiced.org's features:
●      We the People Open Course: A free course that follows the content of the Center’s We the People: the Citizen & the Constitution text. The course is entirely self-paced, so you can complete it on your own schedule. It is divided into six units, each of which features a noted scholar explaining topics related to the Constitution. The course takes participants from the philosophical foundations of the U.S. Constitution through the modern interpretation and application of its ideals. You can take the entire course, or just select the sections that interest you. It is indexed with key concepts important for all citizens to know in understanding the American political system.
●      Civics Forum: Discuss civics and government and share resources with other interested people throughout the country.
●      Resources: Access ebooks, lesson plans, free materials, and other great websites for teaching and learning about civics and government.
We will continue to add courses, resources, and more to the site in the months ahead. Learn.civiced.org was made possible by the U.S. Department of Education through a Supporting Effective Educator Development grant.
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From The Choices Program...

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Encounter the original founding documents of the United States in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, the permanent home of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and Bill of Rights. These three documents, known collectively as the Charters of Freedom, are instrumental to the founding and philosophy of the United States. museum.archives.gov/founding-documents
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For students interested in a career in law:

Many resources are available from the very popular We the People program! http://www.civiced.org/wtp-the-programwww.civiced.org/wtp-the-program
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Here is a great site to teach your students about civil discourse:
https://www.edutopia.org/article/hot-button-topics-civil-discussions-anne-vilen-katie-dulaney
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