#CivicsInTheMiddle Is Law in the Land of Lincoln - What Now?

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Instructional Specialist

As Shawn shared in last week’s blog, a required semester of civics within grades 6-8 is now Illinois law. Starting in the 2020-21 school year, middle school students are mandated to receive at least a semester of civics instruction that focuses not only on the disciplinary content outlined in the Illinois Social Science Standards, but also employs the proven practices of civic education. These methods include direct instruction on democratic institutions, simulations of democratic processes, current and societal issue discussions, and service-learning.

Schools that have embraced the pedagogical shifts reflected in the new standards are well-positioned to fulfill the requirements of this mandate. Many middle schools have redesigned their civics curriculum to go beyond teaching to the perceived “Constitution Test” requirement, but used the new standards to create essential questions that serve as a catalyst to student-led inquiries that result in more authentic performance assessments of civic learning.

Last school year, I had the privilege to collaborate with middle school teachers in a workshop titled, Inquiry to Informed Action: Engaging Students with Current & Societal Issues hosted by Skokie/Morton Grove School District 69. The workshop focused on how teachers can create a supportive classroom climate to engage in inquiry around current and societal issues that result in service-learning. Matthew Arends from Gemini Junior High in Niles attended the workshop and took a sample lesson from IllinoisCivics.org on arming teachers back to his classroom. This lesson was designed to help students practice citizenship skills in a problem-based case scenario that served as a simulation of democratic processes. After making a few “tweaks” to meet the needs of his students, the class engaged in a Structured Academic Controversy, a highly organized deliberation format to support current and societal issue discussions. Students took informed action through service learning, polling their peers and other stakeholders. Students shared the results with a school board member to inform his vote on a pending resolution at the Illinois Association of School Board Conference regarding arming teachers. The success of this lesson was grounded in the foundation Matthew created in direct instruction on democratic institutions the provided foundational knowledge to his students on the constitutional concepts of federalism and limited government.

This peek into a middle school classroom illustrates what implementation of the civics mandate might look like. Over the next several weeks, I will unpack the middle school civics requirement and illustrate how the proven practices of civic education embedded in the law reflect and enhance the standards work so many districts have embarked upon — with more examples of how teachers can put this new policy into practice.