Engaging Students in Civic Life
GOALS• Participants will come
away with:– An understanding of the
present state of civics education
– A complete unit of curriculum for the classroom.
– Strategies for effective integration of civics instruction
Goals
State of Civics TodayState of Civics Today
“The U.S. civics assessment evaluates students’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are critical to the responsibilities of citizenship in America’s constitutional democracy.”
- The Nation’s Report Card: Civics 2006
8th Grade
No significant progress
% of Students Proficient or AboveGrade Level 1998 2006
4th Grade 23 248th Grade 22 22
12th Grade 26 27
7000 Drops O
uts Per Day
Need statistics on Dropout v. Graduate in terms of civic
engagement
Corporation for National and Community Service and the National Conference onCitizenship. Civic Life in America: Key Findings on the Civic Health of the Nation, Washington, DC. 2010, September.
Key Findings
“Civic engagement is, in essence, the common thread of participation in and building of one’s community.”- National Conference on Citizenship, Civic Life in America
Categories of Civic Engagement
Serv
ice
Gro
up
Curre
nt E
vents
Soci
al C
onnect
edness
Politica
l Actio
n
Voting Rate World Comparison
Country Voter Rate
Australia 95%
Chile 93%
Germany 86%
Brazil 83%
Israel 80%
France 76%
Japan 71%
United States 54%
Poland 51%
Statistics from Mark N. Franklin's "Electoral Participation,”Controversies in Voting Behavior (2001).
Programming
Professional Development
Curriculum
Standards Aligned
Backwards Design
Assessment: PSA
Lesson 1: Intro to Responsible Citizenship
Lesson 1: Intro to Responsible Citizenship
Lesson 1: Intro to Responsible Citizenship
Lesson 1: Intro to Responsible Citizenship
Lesson 1: Intro to Responsible Citizenship
Lesson 1: What is a good citizen?
• You will become the person listed on your card.
• You will try to meet and speak with:– Different gender– Different profession– Different time period (150 years difference)
Lesson 1: Intro to Responsible Citizenship
• Write a paragraph that synthesizes the views you heard on citizenship. To be shared in 5 minutes.
Synthesis
Lesson 1: Intro to Responsible Citizenship
• How could you adapt this to work
in your classroom?
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