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Month: July 2025

Student Choice, Real Decisions: Why I Use Brief the Chief

Posted on by Sophie Gordon

There’s something powerful about putting students in the driver’s seat of history. When students play iCivics’ Brief the Chief, they get to help real presidents make real decisions that shaped our nation.

In this game, students take on the role of presidential advisors, guiding Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Lyndon Johnson through high-stakes moments in American history. Unlike a worksheet, choosing the right “answer” isn’t the point here. This learning game focuses on asking good questions, thinking critically, and making tough calls under pressure.

For example, if a student chooses Abraham Lincoln, they might need to decide whether or not to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. They can interview his Secretary of State, a military leader, or other advisors to figure out the risks and rewards. With Jefferson, students might dig into trade policy with Haiti or the importance of securing the Port of New Orleans. And if they pick LBJ, they’ll confront civil rights issues or help him decide whether to run for re-election.

What I love most is how into it the students get. The game helps them take notes, but I like to encourage students to keep their own notebook to organize their thoughts and lock in the learning. I love when students share their experiences and their decision-making strategies with their classmates. Sometimes they’ll debate what was the best move in each scenario. Even the quiet kids come alive and explain their learning as I wander the classroom and get down on their level to check in.

And because students get so much choice, the game is different each time they play. Students choose which president to advise, which challenge to tackle, and how they spend their time. The gaming is fun and the learning is rich. They’re doing history, but also practicing evidence-based reasoning, decision making, and critical thinking.

For teachers considering Brief the Chief, give your students some background knowledge before they play. It helps slow them down and take the reading seriously. Encourage note-taking and make sure they interview everyone. Definitely use the Extension Pack which includes lesson plans, slides, and handouts. (What a time-saver!) And don’t skip the post-game reflection! That’s where some of the best connections happen.

If you’re looking for a way to bring energy and real-world thinking into your civics or history class, Brief the Chief is a win. It’s interactive, meaningful, and gives students a chance to lead. And honestly, students deserve a chance to shape history as they’re learning it!

Written by Christian Wrabley

Christian Wrabley is an award-winning civics and American history educator with over a decade of classroom experience. He is a member of the iCivics Educator Network and contributed to some fun work with the Design Squad. As a National Constitution Center Constitutional Fellow and a PBS Digital Innovator All-Star, he blends innovative teaching with real-world civic engagement. Christian has created national resources for PBS, WQED, and Junior Scholastic, and is a founding member of Pennsylvania’s Democracy Bowl. His work inspires students to lead, think critically, and participate in democracy long before they’re old enough to vote. Christian lives in Johnstown, PA, with his wife and three kids.

Incorporating iCivics in Back-to-School Prep

Posted on by Sophie Gordon

It’s that time of the year again, and no matter what help you need prepping for the school year, iCivics is here to help.

Are you an experienced teacher who has used iCivics for years? Or maybe a veteran teacher who is teaching civics for the first time? Or even a brand new teacher with no idea where to start? No matter where you’re at, iCivics has your back.

First things first, figure out what it is you need.

If you don’t know how you want to progress throughout your course (either because you have no starting point or want to change things up), check out the Scope and Sequence for your grade band. It can be overwhelming at first glance, so if you’re just getting started, avoid getting bogged down with all the topics in the units until you’ve built up a good frame. You can go back and place the topics, lessons, and games they have listed into whichever units you think they fit best with.

If you’ve already got a solid course outline and just want to tweak how you present a unit or add new related topics, check out the curriculum units. iCivics constantly adds new materials to these units. These materials come out so quickly that sometimes there is a delay between when they are released and when they are listed on the scope and sequence documents.

If you’re looking to simplify how you track student work and access iCivics resources, play around with their integration tools and set up your classes to find the most efficient ways to bring and manage iCivics to your classroom. It definitely beats repeatedly explaining to students how to take a screenshot of their game progress screens or dealing with a frustrated student who lost all their game progress because they weren’t signed in. You can still keep a nice blend of paper and digital assignments with these integrations, and they’re incredibly helpful for supporting absent students, multi-language learners, and facilitating a variety of accommodations and modifications to assignments.

If your focus is providing greater support for different groups of students or providing more variety in the instructional approaches you’re using, search the materials by resource type and pedagogical tags to find a variety of materials and supports to increase student engagement and differentiation. I know I’m going to be digging into their simulations and document-based questions this year as I’m looking to increase student engagement and primary source analysis skills.

If you’re looking for how to incorporate media literacy skills into your curriculum that hasn’t had the chance to catch up with rapidly changing technology, check out iCivics’ Media and Influence unit that can be applied across disciplines and is great for the start of the year to prepare students for more reflective analysis throughout the school year.

Lastly, if you’re looking for ways to make civic learning more accessible for other teachers and students’ families, check out iCivics’ information pages that provide detailed resources on how they can support teacher professional growth throughout the school year and help keep families connected and informed about what civics looks like and why it matters that their students engage deeply and meaningfully in their learning.

I hope that no matter where you’re starting, you know iCivics has your back with high-quality, nonpartisan resources to bring civics alive for your students this school year!

Written by Shae Parks

Shae Parks is starting her seventh year teaching 10th-grade U.S. Government & Economics and A.P. U.S. Government and Politics at her alma mater, Milford High School in Milford, Delaware. She is an iCivics Educator Network member, the 2023 James Madison Fellow for Delaware, recipient of the 2025 Delaware Civics Educator Award, and will be presenting at the 2025 National Social Studies Conference on her passion: bringing democracy to our kids in the classroom, school building, and beyond.

Kwesi Jackson

Posted on by Sophie Gordon

For 16 years, a dedicated 7th-grade social studies teacher at a Title I school in Huntsville, Alabama, has faced challenges many educators know all too well: large class sizes, diverse learning needs, and a growing population of students who struggle with literacy and attention.

But everything shifted when Kwesi Jackson discovered iCivics.

“It was a game changer,” he said. “I’m working with children whose literacy rates are so low. So you’re trying to teach at one level, but some of the students aren’t going to get there.”

That’s where iCivics made a difference: our platform’s visually engaging resources, built-in reading supports, and interactive games helped him meet students exactly where they were.

“The vocabulary is bold and highlighted, with definitions embedded. Just the fact that it’s chunked is helpful—it’s one of the literacy strategies that we’re told to use. It’s already where it needs to be.”

For this veteran teacher, one of the biggest advantages was how quickly he could implement iCivics lessons without sacrificing quality. “If a new teacher comes into the building today and they’re lost and they need a lesson, what do they do? I tell them: Go to iCivics. I think you’ve laid it all out for us. I really do.”

He’s seen the impact firsthand. Students who once hesitated to participate are now raising their hands. Those who struggled to comprehend traditional texts are thriving with the scaffolded, student-friendly resources. iCivics isn’t just a resource—it’s a bridge to engagement and understanding for students who need it most.

“Every now and then, there’s a bright light in my class. I listen to their conversations, and I’m like ‘We’re going to be okay,’ you know? I hope to see the students start to do the work and support what they believe. If you believe it, just as they say, ‘stand on it.’”

About Kwesi

Teaching experience: 15 years teaching; 20+ years in education

School/Organization: Huntsville Junior High

How I Plan My Year with iCivics

Posted on by Sophie Gordon

As a teacher, one of the most important things I do at the start of each school year is map out my curriculum—and iCivics makes that process not only manageable but genuinely exciting.

On the iCivics website, in the Educational Resources section, teachers can browse materials by grade level or resource type. But my go-to move? I scan all the way to the right and click on the unassuming “Scope and Sequence.” (Personally, I think there should be arrows and sparkles surrounding this hyperlink because this is where the magic begins.)

Each year, I download the Scope and Sequence document directly to my desktop so I always have it on hand. iCivics offers versions for elementary, middle, and high school, and they’ve even included Spanish-language resources for middle and high school. These Spanish-language documents are incredibly user-friendly—every lesson plan, game, and infographic is hyperlinked, making it easy for teachers to access exactly what they need with just a click.

Since I teach high school, I use the High School Scope and Sequence. It’s organized into clearly defined units, each with a suggested sequence that helps me see the big picture. Every resource is labeled by type—WebQuest, DBQuest, lesson plan, video, mini-lesson, or infographic—so I can quickly identify what will work best for my students. I never worry about missing a resource—even if it fits into multiple categories, iCivics has it linked everywhere it’s relevant.

When I first made the move from elementary to middle school civics, I would browse resources by grade or type. Usually, I would start with the curriculum units. These were a lifesaver! They were laid out in a logical, chronological order and came with detailed lesson plans and student activities that helped me build confidence and structure in my classroom.

Now, as a more (ahem) experienced teacher, I’ve grown more comfortable adapting the materials. Now, using the Scope and Sequence as my foundation, I pick and choose the resources that best fit the needs, interests, and learning styles of my students. Whether I’m diving into a DBQuest to build document analysis skills or using a mini-lesson to introduce a new concept, iCivics gives me the flexibility to teach civics in a way that’s both rigorous and engaging.

Planning my year with iCivics isn’t just about staying organized—it’s about empowering my students to become informed, active citizens. And with tools this thoughtfully designed, that goal feels more achievable every day.

Written by Anne Walker

Anne Walker brings a wide perspective to iCivics, having taught Kindergarten through Dual Enrollment American History and Government over her 20+ years in education. A proud Madison Fellow, she holds master’s degrees in both Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, as well as American History and Government. A member of iCivics’ Steering Committee, she is also proud to have a seat on the National Constitution Center Teacher Advisory Council and RetroReport Teacher Ambassadors. She currently serves on the National Council of Social Studies Board of Directors.

Through the iCivics Educator Network, the perspectives of teachers across the country contribute to the public conversation about civic education in the United States. Each contributor represents their own opinion. We welcome this diversity of perspectives.

2 iCivics Games are GEE! Award Finalists

Posted on by Sophie Gordon

Two iCivics Games are finalists in the 2025 GEE! Learning Game Awards. Uncovering Loyalties and the yet-to-be-released game, Investigation Declaration, have both been recognized as finalists in the Formal Learning category. 

“We are honored to be a finalist in the GEE! Awards again,” said game creator and iCivics’ Senior Director of Digital Learning Carrie Ray-Hill. “This organization really champions educational video games, and we are grateful to be among such innovative competitors.”

Uncovering Loyalties helps young learners in grades 3–5 understand the tensions of pre-revolutionary Williamsburg and encourages them to learn how people from different backgrounds brought unique perspectives to American history.

Investigation Declaration challenges middle and high school students to track how Enlightenment ideas and themes from the Declaration of Independence influenced rights and freedoms for a century. Investigation Declaration will be released in August! 

“It’s exciting to see our two newest games get recognized for excellence in game design,” Ray-Hill said. “We always put students at the forefront of our designs, and we challenged ourselves to find new, engaging ways to immerse them in the games.”

The GEE! Awards recognize excellence in educational game design. Finalists showcase their games during the Play Make Learn conference, which “is a place for collaboration and discovery in the design, research and practice of playful learning, games for learning and positive social impact, making and makerspaces, STEAM education, and arts in education.”

Both games are also in the running for the People’s Choice Award, which recognizes the game people are most excited about. Voting is open now and ends at midnight on August 21.

GEE! winners will be announced live at Play Make Learn on August 21.

Jennifer Jewell

Posted on by icivics

 Jennifer joined iCivics as Chief Financial Officer in June 2025, bringing more than 20 years of nonprofit financial leadership to the organization. In this role, she is responsible for providing strategic oversight of iCivics’ finance and operations functions. Jennifer collaborates closely with the CEO, Executive Leadership Team, Board of Directors, and senior staff to drive the organization’s financial growth and operational excellence.

Prior to joining iCivics, Jennifer served as Chief Financial Officer at JVS Boston, a prominent workforce development organization. During her nine-year tenure, she played a pivotal role in driving the organization’s financial growth and diversifying its funding model, which contributed to a doubling of its annual budget to $30 million.

Jennifer’s experience spans several national nonprofit organizations. As Managing Director of Finance and Operations at the National Center on Time and Learning, she led financial and operational functions across four related education reform organizations. Additionally, Jennifer served as Senior Director of Finance and Regional Operations at KIPP Massachusetts, where she supported the growth of the network from one to five schools. Earlier in her career, Jennifer held the position of Director of Accounting Operations at City Year, Inc., where she designed scalable systems to support the expansion of multiple sites nationwide.

Jennifer holds a B.A. in Business Administration – Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Master of Public Administration, with a concentration in Nonprofit Administration, from San Francisco State University. She is also an alumna of the 2010 Lead Boston cohort.

Outside of her professional work, Jennifer is deeply committed to community service. She resides north of Boston with her husband and son and actively volunteers with several organizations. 

Posted in Bio