Civics Course Implementation Blog

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist “a lady asked Dr. Franklin well Doctor what we got a republic or a monarchy— A republic replied the Doctor if you can keep it. The lady here aluded [sic] to was Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia” Diary Entry from James McHenry, September 18, 1787 The famous vignette above was captured by James McHenry, an Irish immigrant who served as an aide to both Washington and Lafayette during the American Revolution and as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention from Maryland. He recorded this exchange in his diary one day after the conclusion of the Convention. Franklin’s words are still relevant today as “we the people” strive “to keep” our constitutional republic. Civic education plays an important role in “keeping” our republic and working towards a “more perfect union” as explained in the excerpt from the 2011 Guardian of Democracy: The Civic Mission of Schools report. Self-government requires far more than voting in election...

by Sue Khalaieff, Democracy Schools Network Manager The fifth session of the Civics Across the Curriculum webinar series was held on Thursday, February 18, 2021. This year’s theme builds on the theme from the originally scheduled Democracy Schools Network Spring 2020 convening, “Every Teacher is a Civics Teacher: Best Practices for Civic Learning and Organizational Supports.” View a recording of the session . In order to better understand and address their students’ civic online reasoning skills, a team of teachers from Neuqua Valley High School partnered with the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG). SHEG is an award-winning research and development group that comprises Stanford faculty, staff, graduate students, post-docs, and visiting scholars; they seek to improve education by conducting research, working with school districts, and reaching directly into classrooms with free materials for teachers and students. They have created a Civic Online Reasoning curriculum to help s...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist This week, the eyes of the nation turned to the Senate as the impeachment trial for former President Donald J. Trump began. Student questions about power, process, justice, free speech, and sedition are sure to emerge as the proceedings continue over the next weeks. Dr. Steven D. Schwinn , Professor of Law at John Marshall Law School at the University of Illinois-Chicago joined Illinois Civics for a webinar this week to help address questions many classrooms have over this second impeachment trial. Dr. Schwinn also provided an update on the current Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) term with cases for classrooms to watch that address free association and freedom of speech. If you missed the webinar, a recording is available in the Webinar Archives . The Illinois Civics Instructional Coaches share their favorite resources to teach about SCOTUS: Jason Artman from Mendota shares, “ PBS Learning Media has a number of les...

The fourth session of the Civics Across the Curriculum (CAC) webinar series was held on Thursday, February 4, 2021. This year’s theme builds on the theme from the originally scheduled Democracy Schools Network Spring 2020 convening, “Every Teacher is a Civics Teacher: Best Practices for Civic Learning and Organizational Supports.” If you missed the session, view a recording . The program featured Candace Fikis, Social Studies Teacher at West Chicago Community High School and Logan Ridenour, CTE and Social Studies Teacher at Dupo Jr./Sr. High School. It was facilitated by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist for the Illinois Civics Hub. The presenters provided an examination of the various factors that contribute to the success of classroom simulations. The first of these factors is the creation of a safe and respectful space for this kind of activity. As students are often venturing a bit out of their comfort zone with simulations, having this kind of environment in p...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist Facilitating opportunities for student to student discussions can be challenging in the best of circumstances. During the pandemic, teachers have had to reimagine protocols to facilitate current and societal issue discussions in remote, hybrid, and socially-distanced classrooms. Many Learning Management Systems (LMS) provide discussion boards as a means to facilitate asynchronous dialogue. Like any good lesson plan, great discussion boards rarely “just happen.” They take planning and intention to work. If your discussion boards in the past “fell flat,” here are tips to help you revisit this tool. If your discussion board game is strong, perhaps there is an idea or two to enhance your current practice. Engage Student Voice in Creating Discussion Board Norms Many students regularly engage in online dialogue, but your expectations for academic discussion will most likely be different than norms employed on TikTok and Instagram. Y...

By Sue Khalaieff, Democracy School Network Manager (Linked resources, courtesy of Ken C. Garcia-Gonzales and Sarah Shields) The third session of the Civics Across the Curriculum webinar series was held on Thursday, January 21, 2021. This year’s theme builds on the theme from the originally scheduled Democracy Schools Network Spring 2020 convening, “Every Teacher is a Civics Teacher: Best Practices for Civic Learning and Organizational Supports.” The program facilitated by Ken Garcia-Gonzales, Program Associate, and Sarah Shields, Senior Program Associate, from Facing History and Ourselves. The presenters spoke about Facing History’s pedagogical approach to civics , shared resources for classroom use, and gave participants an opportunity to reflect on a lesson analyzing levers of power . Using Facing History’s “Choosing to Participate” Toolkit, From Reflection to Action , participants explored several important themes: the importance of identity in civic life, the role of power a...