1 / 25

Resources for Teaching Civics and Economics in Elementary Grades

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 agardner@njclre.rutgers.edu http://civiced.rutgers.edu. Profile of an Ideal Democratic Citizen.

hayes
Download Presentation

Resources for Teaching Civics and Economics in Elementary Grades

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  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 agardner@njclre.rutgers.edu http://civiced.rutgers.edu

  2. Profile of an Ideal Democratic Citizen

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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?

  7. Upper Elementary Unit Five Hearing Questions ● What responsibilities go along with the rights of citizens? ● Do you think every citizen should be required to participate in his/her government? How? ● How does a responsible citizen promote the common good? ● Why do so many young people not fulfill their responsibilities to vote? ● As citizens of a democracy, do we have responsibilities to other nations of the world?

  8. 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’) follow-up questions -- no notes allowed

  9. 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.

  10. Rubrics for Simulated Legislative Hearings For each unit, students are judged on: 1. Understanding 2. Constitutional Application • Reasoning • Supporting Evidence • Responsiveness • Participation from each team member Group Total

  11. is a public-policy, process-based program to help your students learn about the political process and to develop a commitment to active citizenship.

  12. 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.

  13. 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

  14. Developing a class portfolio1. Identify and develop possible alternative solutions2. Select the best solution3. Develop an action plan

  15. Reflecting on the Learning Experience • 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 citizen or group of citizens can do /to improve their community?

  16. 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.shtml

  17. 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

  18. icivics • Spearheaded by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, iCivics is a web-based 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

  19. Conflict Resolution and United States History Volume One: The Colonial Period through Reconstruction • 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 • 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

  20. 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.

  21. Legislators Back to School Programwww.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

  22. 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 • “The Prisoners,” • Legends of King Arthur • Macbeth

  23. 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?

  24. 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)

  25. 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/

More Related