The National Association for State Boards of Education (NASBE) has announced a new Civic Engagement Champions Award for middle school teachers who promote their students’ active citizenship. This first year, the award will be open to teachers of grades 5-8 from 4 states representing NASBE’s four regional membership areas (see below). Teachers should self-nominate and submit completed applications by June 10, 2019. With the support of the Frank Islam Institute for 21st Century Citizenship (FII), … [Read more...]
Citizen U Webinar: Should the Government Ever Censor the Press?
October 22, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Citizen U lessons infuse civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions across the core subjects in elementary, middle, and high school grades. This interactive webinar featured practice with interdisciplinary civics, inquiry-based learning, and teaching with primary sources, and provided information about free middle and high school lessons that can be used in either ELA or social studies classes. Webinar recording Lesson Plans Middle School: Freedom of the Press, Censorship, and … [Read more...]
Citizen U Webinar: Teaching About Journalists & a Free Press
October 8, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Citizen U lessons infuse civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions across the core subjects in elementary, middle, and high school grades. This interactive webinar featured practice with interdisciplinary civics, inquiry-based learning, and teaching with primary sources, and provided information about a free elementary-level lesson that can be used in either ELA or social studies classes. View webinar recording Lesson Plans Elementary: Journalists and a Free Press Middle … [Read more...]
Citizen U Webinar: Teaching About Dolores Huerta & the United Farm Workers
September 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Citizen U lessons infuse civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions across the core subjects in elementary, middle, and high school grades. This interactive webinar featured practice with interdisciplinary civics, inquiry-based learning, and teaching with primary sources, and information about three ELA-Civics lessons about Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers. The lessons reach across grade levels to elementary, middle and high school students. View webinar recording. Related … [Read more...]
Guided Primary Source Analysis: The Brownies’ Book
April 11, 2018 by Leave a Comment
In a group, complete a quick primary source analysis of the image above to note what you see, what you think or feel about what you see, and any questions that you have. Based on your analysis, what do you think the Brownies' Book was and why do you think it was created? Then review this page. What more did you learn about the Brownies' Book was and why it was created? As you answer each question, be sure to point to evidence from the source in your response. With your group, skim through the … [Read more...]
Citizen U: Lessons Infusing Civics Across the Curriculum
January 28, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Citizen U curriculum is a collaboration between the Barat Education Foundation (BEF), Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF), and DePaul University’s Office of Innovative Professional Learning (DePaul OIPL) and was developed thanks to a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program. The goal of the Citizen U curriculum is to infuse civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions across the core subjects in elementary, middle, and high school grades. Working with … [Read more...]
Primary Source Learning to Develop Civic Competencies
January 25, 2018 by Leave a Comment
In the Guardian of Democracy: the Civic Mission of Schools report, Lee H. Hamilton, founder of the Center on Congress and U.S. Representative from Indiana (1965 to 1999), wrote: Citizenship requires both knowledge about government and the ability to be involved in governance. It means knowing how to identify and inform yourself about issues, explore and evaluate possible solutions, and then act to resolve problems. It demands that you know how to interact respectfully with others. And it asks … [Read more...]
Timely Connections: Immigrant Soldiers
November 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The United States is a nation of immigrants, many of whom have served the country in times of need. Below you will find links to news articles about immigrant soldiers, historical background resources, and related primary sources and teaching resources. How does studying sources from the past inform your understanding of the contemporary debate surrounding immigrants in the U.S. armed forces? Legislation: H.R.2346 - Support and Defend Our Military Personnel and Their Families Act Introduced … [Read more...]
Primary Source & Civic Learning
October 24, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The Barat Education Foundation (BEF), a long time member of the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program (TPS), began working with the Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) in 2016 to create multidisciplinary lessons that feature primary sources from the Library of Congress and infuse civic learning across the curriculum (stay tuned, coming soon). Primary source learning engages students through inquiry, provides them with access to different perspectives, helps them to … [Read more...]
Learning from the Source: Cesar Chavez & Good Citizenship
December 8, 2015 by Leave a Comment
This activity is adapted from lessons in the Barat Education Foundation Our American Voice® program. This civics program for 4-8 graders features a spiral curriculum and emphasizes critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills as students learn the fundamentals of American democracy and work to create positive change in their communities. Overview Using Cesar Chavez as an example, students consider how good citizens contribute to their communities and work together to affect … [Read more...]
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