Civics Course Implementation Blog

  As of July 1, 2021, Illinois Civics and Illinois Democracy Schools Network have merged into the Illinois Civics Hub, housed at the DuPage County Regional Office of Education. Visit illinoiscivics.org for new resources and content that will continue to serve educators across the state of Illinois. 

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist This week, the Illinois Civics Hub foray into the themes of the Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Roadmap featured Dr. Emma Humphries and Natacha Scott from iCivics who unpacked how the EAD Roadmap can help inform instruction around the question, “What is Constitutional Democracy? This question hails from Theme 4 - A New Constitution and A New Government in the Roadmap. The question of how to define the form of government in the United States is an enduring one that spans from the founding to the present. The webinar opened with the poll question below.   How did you respond? The question was one that the authors of the EAD Roadmap themselves wrestled with, landing on the term “Constitutional Republic” because:   But as the Declaration of Independence makes clear, self-government depends on both liberty and equality. It is, after all, the work of free and equal citizens. It requires both order and participat...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist This week, the Illinois Civics Hub (ICH) at the DuPage Regional Office of Education took a “deeper dive” into inquiry as the primary mode of learning. The ICH hosted a webinar that examined “teacher moves” recommended by Pedagogy Companion to the Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Roadmap to support student centered inquiry in the K-12 classroom. The EAD Pedagogy Companion is designed to support classroom teachers, students, and district and community stakeholders with research and actionable steps to support the civic mission of schools. Importantly, it presents the Six Core Pedagogical Principles exemplified by the “EAD teacher,” designed to focus educators’ effort on techniques that best support the learning and development of student agency required of history and civic education. These principles include: Excellence for All Growth Mindset and Capacity Building Building An EAD Ready Classroom and School Inquiry a...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist What responsibility do we have to our shared ownership of our public spaces? Matthew Wdowiarz, a 5th Grade teacher at Winfield Elementary School led his students in an inquiry that wove together social studies, language arts and science to take informed action through service learning . This past week, Matthew’s students returned to school during their summer break to meet with the school board to share their findings and make recommendations to enhance their school. Matthew is one of 26 educators participating in the Guardians of Democracy Microcredential Program with Volunteer Generation Fund support from Serve Illinois to facilitate service learning opportunities for classrooms to work together for the good of their community. We asked Matthew to share a bit more about his experience of using interdisciplinary inquiry to take informed action to develop the civic knowledge, skills and dispositions of our youngest citizens. He...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist The most recent Supreme Court of the United States case around free speech involving an angry cheerleader using social media to vent about her frustration has provided a teachable moment for classrooms around the country. In a previous blog post , we shared how Illinois Civics Instructional Coach Chris Johnson from Oneida used a moot court around Mahanoy v. B.L. to launch his high school students in an inquiry that developed a social media policy that could be used by coaches and sponsors at ROWVA Junior/Senior High School. Matt Wood, an Illinois Civics Instructional Coach who teaches at Leman Middle School in West Chicago, took a slightly different tactic with his students. Matt used the Mahanoy case to inspire informed action through service learning to have students reflect on their own school rules and raise awareness of these rules. In the end, students met with the administration and members of the school board to shar...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist The Illinois Civics Hub (ICH) summer programming launched this week with two webinars. The first tackled the role of essential and supporting questions in curriculum design. The second featured the American Bar Association (ABA) Division of Public Education as we tackled Theme 5 of the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap - Institutional and Social Transformation. The EAD Roadmap provides a non-partisan path for vertically-aligned K-12 history and civics education. The roadmap is designed around seven content themes that provide driving questions to shape curriculum. These driving questions differ from essential questions. The EAD site explains: Unlike essential questions, which are about larger questions of civic life and history that do not have a predetermined right answer, driving questions in the Roadmap often do. An example of an essential question might be, “Does history really repeat itself?”, but with a drivi...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist The Illinois Social Science standards has students address essential questions in history to help students be personally responsible citizens in their communities. Further, two of the historical questions around the theme of civic participation in the new Educating for American Democracy Roadmap ask, “How have Americans come together in groups, made decisions, and affected their communities, the country, and the world” and “How can that history inform our civic participation today?” Brad Marcy, a history teacher from LeRoy High School addressed both standards and these important historical questions when he engaged his students in an examination of homefront efforts in the United States during the World Wars to address issues of food insecurity past and present. The lessons learned inspired students to take informed action in their community to help neighbors in need. Brad is one of 26 educators participating in the Guardians...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist The Illinois civics course requirements for both middle and high school require students to discuss current and societal issues to apply their knowledge of democratic institutions through civil discourse around essential questions facing our republic. A case taken up by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) this term, Mahanoy v. B.L. is sure to animate many #CivicsInTheMiddle classrooms. This case involves a cheerleader removed from the squad for her Snapchat postings. This case will determine whether Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District , which holds that public school officials may regulate speech that would materially and substantially disrupt the work and discipline of the school, applies to student speech that occurs off-campus. Chris Johnson, an Illinois Civics Instructional Coach from ROWVA Junior/Senior High School, led his students in an inquiry around the First Amendment that explored...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist All educators are civics educators. This year’s Illinois Democracy Schools webinar series illustrated that civics happens across the curriculum. We send implicit and explicit messages to students about power, identity and justice through how we engage student voice in creating norms, the content we curate for classroom use and the way we engage both students and faculty in exploring the intersections of civic learning, school climate, and vision and leadership. Whether students aspire to be a dancer , scientist, accountant, farmer, or plumber, all occupations are impacted and impact public policy. All students are members of their community with lived experiences that make them uniquely qualified to be counted among “we the people.” All sectors of society contribute to making a “more perfect union.” Jason Artman, an Illinois Civics Instructional Coach , and his colleague Aaron Sester from Mendota High School had their social s...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist The mission statement of our constitutional republic can be found in the 52 words that comprise the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution . This ambitious opening statement by the framers challenges all of us to see ourselves as part of “we the people” and that we have a role to create that “more perfect union” in our communities. As Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of Berkeley Law School; Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California - Berkley Law School and Michael Stokes Paulsen, Distinguished University Chair and Professor at University of St. Thomas School of Law, explain in the National Constitution Center’s Interactive Constitution : Importantly, the Preamble declares who is enacting this Constitution—the people of “the United States.” The document is the collective enactment of all U.S. citizens. The Constitution is “owned” (so to speak) by the people, not by the government or any branch thereof. We ...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist The Illinois civics course requirements at both middle and high school require the use of current and societal issue discussions around essential questions facing our communities. Engaging students in these civic inquiries allow students to explore enduring issues that “we the people” have grappled with over the history of our constitutional republic and see themselves as having a role in making a “more perfect union.” The Lou Frey Institute (LFI) at the University of Central Florida recently joined the Illinois Civics Hub at the DuPage Regional Office of Education to connect educators with virtual resources that can be used to address current events from a civics lens. Civics in Real Life is a weekly series which uses civics concepts to explore timely topics in a one-page, student-friendly, image-rich text. This includes hyperlinks to related content and a closing activity that encourages reflection and engagement. The we...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist The Illinois Social Science standards provide a pathway for students to use rigorous historical inquiry to explore essential questions around justice to help students appreciate how individuals worked to create a “more perfect union” and their own rights and responsibilities in this constitutional republic. Students at Glenn Westlake Middle School in Lombard embarked on this journey to understand their own role as “we the people” with the help of social studies teacher Dana Bering and instructional coach Annette Hanson. Students studied the pre-Civil War era with attention to the Underground Railroad and how Harriet Tubman took action in the face of injustice. Then, students brought this topic of inequality and injustice into the present by engaging in a virtual Town Hall meeting with Illinois State Representative Terra Costa Howard to explore how she serves her constituents and the community resources they could use to be ups...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist Recently, the Illinois Civics Hub hosted a book discussion with Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy , co hosts and executive producers for New Hampshire Public Radio’s Civics 101 Podcast . Nick and Hannah’s podcast is a “go to” resource for 6-12 civics classrooms for concise, easy to understand content on how our constitutional republic works.   A User’s Guide to Democracy: How America Works is Nick and Hannah’s answer to a beginner’s civics textbook, complete with witty and creative illustrations from Tom Toro that is sure to make complex topics like federalism and checks and balances come to life. Good Reads explains: Within this book are the keys to knowing what you’re talking about when you argue politics with the uncle you only see at Thanksgiving. It’s the book that sits on your desk for quick reference when the nightly news boggles your mind. This approachable and informative guide gives you the lowdown on everything fr...

by Sue Khalaieff, Democracy Schools Network Manager Despite the unusual nature of the past school year, Democracy Schools have continued our mantra that “every teacher is a civics teacher.” To support this mission, we have offered a series of webinars since December that have explored “Civics across the Curriculum.” Blog posts and recordings are available on the Webinar Archive page. Melinda Wilson is the Dance Artistic Director at Curie Metropolitan High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Chicago. She is a choreographer, dance instructor, dancer, and test writer for ISBE dance certification. Melinda has been recognized for her work — both locally and globally — with great distinction and numerous awards. She has vigorously engaged her students in meaningful ways in their communities. Melinda’s leadership in connecting the arts and civics makes her a valuable member of the Advisory Council of the Democracy Schools Network. How do the arts help students find their voi...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist May is Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI). The Illinois Civics Hub partnered with the Illinois Democracy Schools Network to host a free webinar for students and teachers titled, Honoring AAPI Heritage: Reflecting on AAPI History to Inform Action. Participants had an opportunity to reflect on AAPI History, discuss the recent rise in hate crimes against the Asian American community and explore opportunities for students to take informed action .   Dr. Karen Korematsu , Founder and Executive Director of the Fred Korematsu Institute provided a historical grounding for this conversation. Sonia Mathew , Program Officer at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation then led a panel of AAPI champions in an exploration of current events and opportunities for informed action to support the AAPI community and beyond, responding to participant questions throughout. Panelists included: Grace Pai , Director of Organizing,...