There are people out there advocating for the U.S. Citizenship test to be administered as a graduation requirement. Like we discussed last week, this is a bad idea. This legislation passed in some states, including Arizona and Wisconsin, and legislators introduced it in others. It’s not hard to see why. Just about everyone agrees that […]
The “Take a Stand” activity is a method for teaching controversial issues. The idea is simple. You ask a controversial question, and students line up according to their opinion. This can be used as an introductory activity, as a formative assessment, or as a closure activity. The method is also sometimes called the “continuum” method […]
This post is the first one in a recurring series called “Sunday Spotlight.” Every Sunday, we’ll post an article from an educator describing what makes him or her a civic educator. If you’re interested in submitting your own story, we’d love to hear from you. Head over to the Submission Guideline and use the form […]
Youth Participatory Action Research is a way to engage students in investigating an issue of concern that they see in their community. Once they’ve done their research, the students then work on a plan to tackle that issue and make their community better. I first encountered Youth Participatory Action Research – or YPAR – when […]
I’m not a huge fan of watching movies in class. As a general rule of thumb, I don’t think it’s a wise usage of time. That being said, there are plenty of movies that can be useful tools for teaching concepts in civics and government. If you’re teaching AP Government and Politics, it can help […]
Legislators take note – tests are not the right answer. They’re an easy answer. They’re a simple answer. But they don’t make education better, and they’re not the way to make civics education better. While searching for some civics related info earlier tonight, I stumbled upon this gem: Civics Education Initiative. It’s an innocuous sounding […]
Did you know that you can take your class on a free field trip to the New Jersey State House (aka the State Capitol)? More specifically, the Eagleton Institute of Politics partners with the Office of Legislative Services and the New Jersey Legislature to offer grants (in the amount of $300) for your trip to […]
Did you know that New Jersey law requires that schools help students register to vote? Well, not exactly. To be more specific, New Jersey Administrative Code 6A:32-14.1 does state … District boards of education […] shall provide to each eligible high school student prior to the school year’s graduation date a voter registration form, a […]
The Citizens Campaign is a non-profit that empowers citizens to be civic leaders in their community. One part of their programming is the civic trust – a group of community members who regularly meet to discuss issues facing their community and craft solutions to present to the appropriate stakeholders. Prior to joining the civic trust, […]
Today’s Friday, the first Friday of the year for me. Oftentimes, I like to take some time at the end of the week to break up the routine of class and talk about discuss some current events with my students. To do that, I’ve got a go to, free resource: CNN10. What Is CNN10? CNN10 […]