Explore the ways the free press has covered major events in history dating back to the American Revolution with PBS NewsHour EXTRA's interactive Journalism in Action: Civic Engagement and Primary Sources Through Key Moments in History, a website supported by a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program. Fun, engaging civic activities for middle and high school students illuminate historical documents and help students make their own judgments using news … [Read more...]
TPS Spotlight: Engaging Congress
October 21, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Engaging Congress—part of the Congress, Civic Participation, and Primary Sources Project supported by a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program—is a free digital interactive for grades 6-12 that uses primary source documents from the Library and other digital collections to explore the basic tenets of representative government and the challenges they face in contemporary society. Currently, there are seven Engaging Congress modules. Each module begins with … [Read more...]
TPS Spotlight: KidCitizen
September 13, 2020 by Leave a Comment
KidCitizen is part of the Congress, Civic Participation, and Primary Sources Project, which is supported by a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program. KidCitizen is a digital interactive for K-5 learners that promotes historical inquiry, civic engagement and literacy through the investigation of primary sources from the Library of Congress and making connections to their daily lives. To learn more about the design and pedagogy of the digital interactive, don't … [Read more...]
Middle School Teachers: Apply for Civic Engagement Champions Award
May 22, 2019 by Leave a Comment
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...]
Timely Connections: Civics, History & Multidisciplinary Connections
December 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The overarching goal of a general education in the United States has been, and should continue to be, to promote civic competence. Teaching with primary sources, no matter the content focus, provides students with the skills necessary to be competent and active citizens. Digging into primary sources and grappling directly with different perspectives provides students practice in information literacy skills that they will employ in numerous contexts throughout their lives. When students "do" … [Read more...]
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