Transcript Slide 1

Resources for Teaching
Civics and Economics in
Elementary Grades
NJ Center for Civic Education
Rutgers, The State University
Lucy Stone Hall B208-216
Piscataway, NJ 08854
848-445-3413
[email protected]
http://civiced.rutgers.edu
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Profile of an Ideal Democratic
Citizen
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• We the People: the Citizen and the
Constitution
• Project Citizen
• Foundations of Democracy
• icivics
• New Jersey civics lessons
• Conflict Resolution and U.S. History
• Interdisciplinary Lessons
• Economics and Financial Literacy
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We the People: The Citizen
and the Constitution
• Largest nationwide civic education programs – funded
by Congress
• Upper elementary, middle and high school materials
developed by the Center for Civic Education
• Program materials integrate easily with U.S. History
courses and civics/government courses and correlate
with Representative Democracy in America; Project
Citizen; Conflict Resolution in U.S. History
• Program culminates with Simulated Legislative
Hearings
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We the People: The Citizen
and the Constitution
• Students using We the People “significantly
outperformed comparison students” on civics tests,
displayed greater political tolerance and were more
likely to vote
• Classroom sets of 30 textbooks plus teacher’s edition
available for at low cost
• Summer Institute July 10-14, 2011
• Professional Development workshop in December 2011
• More information available at
http://new.civiced.org/programs/wtp and
http://civiced.rutgers.edu/WTP/overview.shtml
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We the People: The Citizen
and the Constitution Upper
Elementary Curriculum
Unit 1: What basic ideas about government
did the Founders have?
Unit 2: How did the Framers write our
Constitution?
Unit 3: How does the Constitution organize
our government?
Unit 4: How does the Constitution protect
our basic rights?
Unit 5: What are the responsibilities of
citizens?
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Upper Elementary Unit Five Hearing
Questions
● What
responsibilities go along with the rights of
citizens?
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Do you think every citizen should be required to
participate in his/her government? How?
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How does a responsible citizen promote the
common good?
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Why do so many young people not fulfill their
responsibilities to vote?
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As citizens of a democracy, do we have
responsibilities to other nations of the world?
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Directions for Simulated Legislative
Hearings
Preparation
• Form teams
• Teams are “expert witnesses” on the application of
the U.S. Constitution
• Review materials in book and prepare 4-minute
responses to the questions for each unit
Simulated Hearing (10 minutes per question)
• Four-minute prepared answer (notes can be used)
• Six minutes to respond to teacher’s (judges’) followup questions -- no notes allowed
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Teams for Simulated Legislative
Hearings
• Select teams of 3-5 students for each of the six units.
Each team prepares answers to all the questions for the unit.
• The teacher selects 3-4 people (other teachers, administrators,
or members from the community) to serve as judges for the
hearing. To complete the hearing in a timely fashion, it is often
helpful to have 2- 3 sets of judges so that different teams can
be competing simultaneously.
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Rubrics for Simulated Legislative
Hearings
For each unit, students are judged on:
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Understanding
Constitutional Application
Reasoning
Supporting Evidence
Responsiveness
Participation from each team
member
Group Total
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is a public-policy, process-based
program to help your students learn
about the political process and to
develop a commitment to active
citizenship.
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Project Citizen
Provides the knowledge and skills required
for effective citizenship participation.
Provides practical experience designed to
foster a sense of competence and efficacy.
Involves students in learning about and
improving their communities.
Develops an understanding of the
importance of citizenship participation.
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Developing a Portfolio
Step 1: Identifying public policy problems
in your community
Step 2: Selecting a problem for class
study
Step 3: Gathering information on the
problem
Step 4: Developing a class portfolio
Step 5: Presenting your portfolio
Step 6: Reflecting on your learning
experience
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Developing a class portfolio
1. Identify and develop possible alternative solutions
2. Select the best solution
3. Develop an action plan
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Reflecting on the Learning
Experience
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What did I personally learn about public policy from working with my
classmates?
What did we learn as a class about public policy by developing our portfolio?
What skills did I learn or improve upon by working on this project?
What skills did the class learn or improve upon by working on this project?
What are the advantages of working as a team?
What are the disadvantages of working as a team?
What contributions did I make as part of the team?
What did the team do well?
How can I improve my skills in collaboration, problem-solving, research, writing
and public speaking?
How can the class improve its skills in collaboration, problem-solving, research,
writing and public speaking?
What would we want to do differently if we were to develop another project
aimed at influencing public policy?
What would we want to do differently if we were to develop another Project
Citizen portfolio?
How did working on this project change my attitudes about personal
responsibility for my community?
How did working together on this project change my attitudes about what a
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citizen or group of citizens can do /to improve their community?
• Students who participated in Project Citizen
developed a greater understanding of the complexity
of public policy, a commitment to active citizenship,
and learned important communication skills.
• Classroom sets of 30 textbooks plus teacher’s edition
available for at low cost
• Summer Institute July 22-28, 2011
• Professional development workshop in December
2011
• More information available at
http://new.civiced.org/programs/project-citizen and
http://civiced.rutgers.edu/PROJECT_CITIZEN/overview.shtml16
Foundations of Democracy
The Foundations of
Democracy Series consists of
curricular materials for
students from kindergarten
through twelfth grade on four
concepts fundamental to an
understanding of politics and
government: Authority,
Privacy, Responsibility, and
Justice. This multidisciplinary
curriculum draws upon such
fields as political philosophy,
political science, law, history,
literature, and environmental
studies.
http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=foundations_of_democracy_series
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icivics
• Spearheaded by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, iCivics is a webbased education project designed to reinvigorate civics teaching
and learning.
• The website includes games and lessons about the Supreme
Courts, the judiciary and how the three branches of government
work together, including:
– Executive Command
– Do I have a right?
– Supreme Decision
– LawCraft
– Citizenship and Participation
– Separation ofPowers
– Constitution and Bill of Rights
• Go to http://www.icivics.org
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Conflict Resolution and
United States History
Volume One: The Colonial Period through Reconstruction
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Overview, Conflict Resolution Skills and Tips for Teachers
Native Americans and European Colonists
Could the American Revolution have been Avoided?
Slavery and the Constitutional Convention
Cherokee Indian Removal
The War between Mexico and the United States
The Compromise of 1850
Women’s Rights in the 19th Century
Post-Civil War Reconstruction
Volume Two: The Gilded Age through the Twentieth Century
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Overview, Conflict Resolution Skills and Tips for Teachers
Labor Relations during the Industrial Era
Imperialism, Insurrection and Intervention in 1898
U.S. Entry into World War I
Immigration Restrictions and the National Origins Act of 1924
Rosie the Riveter vs. G.I. Joe
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The U.S. and the War in Vietnam
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots
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Conflict Resolution and
United States History
Go to
http://civiced.rutgers.edu/CONFLICT/overview.shtml
for:
• A short video showing 7th and 9th grade students using
the materials and approach
• A detailed description of the Curriculum Package
• Information about Workshops and Institutes
• The Program Evaluation
• An Order Form to order a copy of Conflict Resolution
and United States History.
• A segment about the Conflict Resolution and U.S.
History curriculum on National Public Radio's website.
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Legislators Back to School Program
www.ncsl.org/backtoschool
Bring your legislators into your classroom to
engage with students in discussions about the
political process
– Students ask questions about the job, offer
their concerns and hear about the concerns of
other constituents
– Students offer suggestions to their
representatives and hear their ideas
– Students learn about debate, negotiation and
compromise necessary to enact legislation
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Interdisciplinary lessons
At http://civiced.rutgers.edu/INTERDISCIPLINARY/overview.shtml:
For grades 1-5 (authority, conflict resolution, discrimination, geography and responsibility):
– Yertle the Turtle
– Two Years Before the Mast
– The Butter Battle Book
– The Sneeches
– In the Year of the Board and Jackie Robinson
– Treasure Island
– Number the Stars
– The Lorax
For grades 6-8 (authority, civil disobedience, conflict resolution, discrimination, geography, history,
perspectives and responsibility)
– I Hadn’t Meant to tell you This
– Robin Hood
– Orestes
– Romeo and Juliet
– The Butter Battle Book
– The Sneeches
– In the Year f the Board and Jackie Robinson
– Farewell to Manzanar
– In the Time of the Butterflies
– Number the Stars
– Brother can you spare a Dime
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“The Prisoners,”
– Legends of King Arthur
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– Macbeth
New Jersey Civics Lessons
Go to
http://civiced.rutgers.edu/NJ/lessons.shtml
for NJ civics lessons
Upper Elementary Lessons:
– What Makes a Good Rule? Understanding rules and
laws
– Who Represents You in State Government? The
New Jersey Legislature
– Why is New Jersey's Governor so Powerful?
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Economic and Financial Literacy
• Go to: http://www.councilforeconed.org/resources/
• Teaching Economics Using Children’s Literature (2006)
• Focus: Grades 3-5 Economics (National Council on
Economic Education 2005)
• The Classroom Mini-Economy (Indiana Dept. of
Education, 2006)
• Energy, Economics and the Environment (Indiana Dept.
of Education, 2006)
• The Wide World of Trade (National Council on
Economic Education, 2003)
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Links for online materials
• We the People http://civiced.rutgers.edu/WTP/overview.shtml
• Project Citizen
http://civiced.rutgers.edu/PROJECT_CITIZEN/overview.shtml
• Conflict Resolution and U.S. History
http://civiced.rutgers.edu/CONFLICT/overview.shtml
• Legislators Back to School program
http://www.ncsl.org/backtoschool
• icivics at http://www.icivics.org
• Foundations of Democracy
http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=foundations_of_democracy
_series
• New Jersey civics lessons
http://civiced.rutgers.edu/NJ/lessons.shtml
• Interdisciplinary lessons
http://civiced.rutgers.edu/INTERDISCIPLINARY/overview.shtml
• National Council for Economic Education
http://www.councilforeconed.org/resources/
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