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MARCH 2020
In light of COVID-19, this month’s newsletter adapts Children’s Defense Fund – Texas’ DIY Democracy Guide and other online resources to support educators and caregivers teaching civics online and/or at home. Keep scrolling to see free instructional materials including ideas for at-home action civics, curriculum for media literacy, and options for no-tech or low-tech learning. You will also find resources for mental and emotional support. Scholarship opportunities with upcoming deadlines for high school students are shared on the left.
In this time of uncertainty, civic skills and civic education remain as important as ever. We hope this guide is useful both personally and professionally. If you have additional materials to share or need help finding specific resources, please reach out to Maggie Stern at mstern@childrensdefense.org. We encourage you to be innovative, be flexible, and most of all be patient with young people and with yourselves.
Click here to add someone to or unsubscribe from our mailing list. Please also reach out with announcements you’d like to see in next month’s newsletter. Stay safe and healthy, and thanks for all the work you do!
Lesson Planning
- The Civics Renewal Network offers 1,300 resources that can be filtered by grade level, branch of government, issue area, and type of activity.
- Khan Academy’s political participation series includes quizzes and a unit test.
- Awarded “Top Pick for Learning” by Common Sense Education in 2018, the Digital Civics Toolkit helps facilitate student research and action civics.
No Tech or Low Tech
- iCivics provides civic games that can be predownloaded on devices and played without Internet access. Games are available in English and Spanish.
- Poems, rap, stories and more can be creative outlets to practice civic skills. Teaching Tolerance suggests 34 “Do Something” tasks that can be adapted for students of all ages at home. Try creating a collage of issues, writing letters to elected officials, or writing original stories and poems.
Voter Education
- Catch up on the Be A Texas Voter curriculum – a series of voter education videos presented by League of Women Voters of Texas.
- Find out how Texas Educators Vote can help educators, administrators, and parents create a culture of voting by encouraging civic engagement and sharing resources with students.
- Learn more about voting in Texas with the information and activities at Project V.O.T.E., shared by the Texas Secretary of State.
At-Home Action Civics
- Mikva Challenge will be releasing a virtual Action Civics assignment each school day on Facebook with teacher notes & student materials.
- Check out Generation Citizen’s Action Civics lesson plan, Beyond the Ballot. The first lesson focuses on local governments and services, while the second guides students to address an issue in their community.
- Find ways to practice and model civic behavior in the midst of this crisis. Some suggestions:
- Fill out your 2020 census online (and encourage others to do so too!)
- Research upcoming elections with vote411.org.
- Please note the upcoming primary runoff has been POSTPONED until July 14, with early voting beginning on July 6.
- Call, text, and virtually check-in with your friends, family, and neighbors.
Extra Credit Reading, Watching, & Listening
- Learn more about hip-hop pedagogy from Ithaca College & connect civics to the creative, culturally sustaining elements of hip-hop
- Listen to 60-Second Civics, a project by the Center for Civic Education, for a daily podcast & nearly 4,000 archived episodes
- Review the Texas Civic Health Index to see how civic participation compares in Texas with other states.
COVID-19: Current Events and Media Literacy
- Use this Media Literacy Booster Pack from the Civics Renewal Network to help students recognize biases and identify reliable news sources.
- Online education platform Newsela is offering free access to its news articles and historical texts, rewritten for different reading levels. Articles are aligned to state social studies standards and are updated daily.
- Teaching Tolerance has collected resources for educators responding to the pandemic based on requests from teachers around the U.S. Topics include adapting lessons for take-home or online learning, sharing resources with families, and addressing issues of equity related to COVID-19.
- The award-winning program also offers a digital literacy toolkit with lesson plans for all ages.
COVID-19: Social-Emotional Learning & Wellness
- Share this guide from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network with tips for responding to children’s needs at different ages. The guide is available in English, Spanish, and Mandarin.
- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has released a fact sheet on stress and coping with information for parents/caregivers, and resources in the case of a mental health emergency or domestic violence. Available in English and Spanish.
- Read recommendations from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, shared by Teaching Tolerance, for more tips and resources on mental well-being for children and their caregivers.
Recess: Just for Fun
- Take a free virtual museum tour.
- Audible is offering free children’s audiobooks available in six languages. Check out more options from your local public library
- Find recommendations for teenagers, by teenagers for books, movies, activities & more. Read the comments and add suggestions.
Other Resources
Other databases for online or at-home civic education resources & data include: