As a middle school civics teacher, not only do I need to teach the importance of voting like my high school colleagues, but I have to do it four or more years before the students will even be eligible to register. This makes holding their interest more difficult. I have also found that while students understand the importance of making informed decisions, they do not know how to find information about the candidates in order to make those decisions. The solution? I have students take part in the actual research, comparison, and election processes through an in-depth mock election project that kicks off with the iCivics game, Cast Your Vote.
Cast Your Vote is one of the more challenging games offered as part of the We the People program because of the amount of analysis required of students regarding candidates, including their stances on issues and voting history. Students must also identify red flags related to misinformation or bias.
In the game, the player has four simulated weeks to attend town halls, research candidates through digital news sources and campaign literature, and decide their own personal stance on issues to find the candidate who best matches. At the end of the game, students not only get a score based on voting for a candidate who best matches their decided-upon stance on issues but also on the amount of facts and red flags identified.
Once we’ve played the game in class, students are ready to try out the same skills with the real upcoming elections. I assign one race to each period, and each student gets a graphic organizer that documents the candidates’ stances or plans for at least five issues affecting our government.
After a few days of at-home research and a quick grade based on completed research, students are then put in pairs or small groups to choose one of the issues and create an informational poster contrasting the candidates on that issue. Our hallway quickly fills with research-based, unbiased comparisons using the candidates’ own stances and comments. The staff and visiting adults in the building love to comment about how helpful this research is for their own voting preparation.
Finally, it’s time for our mock election. After students have had a few days to look over other classmates’ work and see a sample ballot, I publish their mock election ballot taken from screenshots of the real sample ballots from my local election office. Students are warned to follow the directions of the ballot just like at a real polling location and, during a period, are given privacy in booths to take their ballot and vote. I have even begun buying stickers for the students who choose to participate, which is almost 100%.
During the project, the students comment that the amount of work often surprises them, and they now not only understand the importance of voting more but feel like they are better prepared than many of the adults in their households with whom they talk about the project a lot.
Written by Erin Merrill
Erin Merrill is an award-winning educator in her 19th year of teaching middle school social studies and her 10th year as Department Chair and Middle School lead at Pennington Traditional School in Prince William County, VA. She is passionate about making her students aware and engaged in the current events around them, and thankfully, Civics provides the perfect platform for this.
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.
On July 17, 2024, we were filled with excitement and anticipation to bring together 60 K–12 educators for our first iCivics Educator Convening held in Sacramento, California. This event was hosted in partnership with California’s Power of Democracy Civic Learning Initiative, sponsored by Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero to bring equity to civic learning across the state of California by connecting courts with educators.
The majority of the participants consisted of 44 educators representing 19 counties from across California, who were thrilled to connect with the educators who traveled from 14 other states: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
Teachers came to the convening with a vast range of personal goals, from learning how to “utilize strong resources in helping students understand our government and their role within it,” to “meeting with enthusiastic civics teachers, get[ting] inspired and energized.”
The agenda for the day was packed with learning opportunities, including a student panel discussion, two sets of breakout sessions exploring a variety of topics and resources, and a conversation about building relationships with the judicial branch. The two Californian students from the iCivics youth fellowship kicked off the day with a conversation around the importance of engaging youth in politics and sparking conversations that show how civics can be relevant in students’ daily lives and future career paths.
New and current iCivics educators got great insight into iCivics curriculum resources and how to implement them in the classroom. Sessions helped participants understand how to amplify their voice to advocate for civic education, teach the 2024 election using the iCivics Election Headquarters, engage students in civics projects using our step-by-step approach, bring U.S. Supreme Court cases from iCivics’ Landmark Library and games like Brief the Chief into civics classrooms, and integrate inquiry into classroom instruction.
After the interactive sessions, educators reconvened for a plenary session featuring Justice Judith McConnell, who presides over the state’s Fourth District Court of Appeal, and Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Julia Alloggiamento. Together they presented why and how courts support educators in classrooms starting in elementary school. Teachers were invited to connect with the Power of Democracy’s Judges in the Classroom program, modeled after similar efforts in the state of Washington. Many put in their requests on the spot for visits this September, Constitution Month.
We worked hard to make sure that our iCivics Educator Convening felt unique. We were intentional about designing an experience for our educators that not only focused on the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of civic learning, but also modeled best practices for the classroom. Educators were given space to connect with peers, collaborate, and process the information they were exploring in sessions to help the learning stick a little bit stronger. And we were delighted this was reflected in participating educators’ feedback!
“I was SO impressed by the convening. I am used to being disappointed by professional developments... This experience was a full 180 for me. The civic project curriculum was DIVINE. ... [It] has SO much more than I have learned yet, and is perfectly and expertly laid out for students. I was also deeply heartened to be in a room full of teachers like me—that kind of solidarity is so precious and rare in K–12 education. ... You all inspired me to keep pushing for civics education—which presently does not exist at all for 6th graders in my district. I am going to be told that there ‘is no time’ to teach the election, and I feel much stronger and prepared to defend my stance now.”
“I felt very seen as an educator. I enjoyed getting to know people from around the country and making new friends. This has also sparked an excitement in me when I've been feeling burnt out and a bit hopeless… so thank you for re-lighting my spark!!”
“The tools and resources provided through today's convening illustrate how important civics education at the elementary school level needs to be implemented statewide. This education directly impacts the trust and understanding of our civic responsibilities and our democratic process; it shouldn't be a mystery or a ‘figure it out’ mindset.”
Our first iCivics Educator Convening in California concluded with a sense of optimism and determination among educators to elevate civic education as a priority. We hope to make this an annual event to bring together educators to re-energize, build community, and leave with a deeper understanding of the amazing resources available for their classrooms.
Our great thanks to the Koret and Stuart Foundations for making this event possible as part of their commitment to supporting iCivics’ robust professional learning for CA civics educators.
Written by Natacha Scott
As the Director of Educator Engagement at iCivics, Natacha focuses on growing the engagement of educators in-person and virtually through professional development sessions, curriculum, and other experiences. Prior to joining iCivics, Natacha was an educator at Boston Public Schools for 14 years, serving in various roles from elementary classroom teacher to the district K-12 Director for History and Social Studies. She is passionate about place-based learning and engaging educators in meaningful learning experiences that can immediately translate into the classroom.
Kickstart the school year with iCivics! As you prepare to welcome students back into the classroom, we have your back with engaging civics and election-related resources for all ages.
Join us for one of three free webinars that explore engaging election resources, civic lessons, and other exciting updates to help you inspire the next generation. Additionally, participants will get a tour of the new iCivics Education website, designed to provide a more user-friendly experience and launch just days before the webinar.
Natacha Scott, iCivics Director of Educator Engagement, will share previews of yet-to-be-released resources for your classroom and an overview of our elections-related resources and support.
For High School and Middle School Educators
Back-to-School (in an Election Year)
August 21, 2024, from 7–8 p.m. ET
For Elementary Educators
Back to School Elementary Webinar
August 22, 2024, from 7–8 p.m. ET
For Administrators
Bringing iCivics to Your District in an Election Year
August 22, 2024, from 1–2 p.m. ET
Whether you are new to iCivics or just need a refresher on our resources, this webinar is a great place to start planning your school year.
“My aunt always said that knowing more than one language was a superpower.” Shareen Marisol Meraji, keynote speaker kicked off the WIDA 2023 Conference by talking about the importance of “Giving children a strong foundation in their heritage language so that children could be proud of where they come from.”
Being multilingual is a superpower indeed. Knowing another language boosts your memory, gives you a greater ability to multitask, and improves social skills since you draw experiences from different cultures and look at issues from multiple perspectives. One of the important aspects of teaching multilingual learners is to focus on the assets they bring into the classroom.
I attended this year’s WIDA conference because, as part of our mission, iCivics aims to empower and equip ELs and MLs by making our games and resources accessible to all. We are continuously working to improve our ELL materials. In the field of civics and social studies, it’s particularly important to make sure that students see themselves reflected in the stories we tell and we want to make sure that the content has the support and scaffolding that ELs and MLs need in order to be successful. I was able to connect with several leaders in the field and get their thoughts.
One of these leaders was Dr. Luciana de Oliviera, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Graduate Studies and Professor of the Department of Teaching and Learning at Virginia Commonwealth University. She said, “The WIDA 2023 conference was my first and I absolutely loved everything!! The fact that this conference is for K-12 teachers by teachers was prevalent throughout the program. What I loved the most was to see the value and interest in a functional approach to language development. For those of us doing research and practicing this for over 20 years, it is incredible to notice the changes in the field impacted by the inclusion of this approach in WIDA 2020.!”
Many of the sessions focused on the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards Framework which is centered on equity and fosters the assets, contributions, and potential of multilingual learners. It focuses on a functional approach to language development and one of the big ideas is the integration of content and language. WIDA’s Key Language Uses—narrate, argue, inform, and explain—are core to communicating ideas and content in social studies and civics.
Another leader (former WIDA researcher and one of the authors of the WIDA ELD Standards), I spoke to was Dr. Ruslana Westerlund, an educational consultant at the Cooperative Educational Service Agency 2 serving Wisconsin school districts and Associate Adjunct Faculty in the Graduate School of Education at Bethel University. She was one of the authors of the WIDA ELD Standards who worked hard to represent disciplinary genres such as explanations and arguments through the Key Language Uses. To illustrate the synergy between C3 and WIDA, she wrote Scaffolding ML Access to Social Studies Inquiry Through the WIDA ELD Standards. When asked about this year’s conference, she said, “This year’s WIDA Conference exemplified the strength of what happens when we do transdisciplinary work. We are seeing math (such as Dr. Karen Terrel) and science (like Dr. David Crowther) and social studies (like iCivics)… CONTENT people come to language conferences! Now we, language people have work to do and go to science and math and social studies conferences. We have so much to learn from each other. We are stronger together. Our students will only benefit when adults start working together, walk across the hallway and humbly ask for help.”
Our students are learning content and language at the same time. We are integrating content and language instruction in our materials in many different ways through instructional strategies, language objectives, scaffolding, vocabulary integration, visuals, video viewing, and more. This is the very approach iCivics is using to develop its core curriculum for U.S. History, which will be published in summer of 2024. ELs/MLs can soar higher when their skills and superpowers are supported by high-quality instructional materials and celebrated.
Kristen Chapron is Senior Editor of Digital Learning and ELL at iCivics. She has worked on all of the EL and bilingual resources and looks forward to creating even more materials for English and multilingual learners.
April is the Month of the Military Child. To honor our service members and their children, the iCivics: Civics, Service, and Leadership Program hosted an educator immersion day on MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL in partnership with Blue Star Families and Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS).
MacDill Air Force Base is home to over 6,000 people, with an additional 20,000 coming to work on the base each day. The base is a world unto its own, but most military children attend school in the community through HCPS. Next week, MacDill will deploy about 200 service members, one of the largest deployments in recent years. This means a number of students will show up for school coping with that reality. The immersion day was an opportunity for iCSL educators to learn about the unique strengths and challenges our military-connected students and families face, so they might better support them in school.
Teachers started the day with a panel discussion between military parents and school district staff. One parent shared that by the time her son was ready to graduate high school, they had moved 9 times. These transitions are one of the biggest challenges military-connected students face. Moving schools means integrating into a new school culture. It means that different state standards and requirements may delay academic progress. It means, as one parent shared, that key pieces to a child’s education–like learning the branches of government–can fall through the cracks. A parent’s deployment is equally challenging. Another panelist shared, “Deployment affects the whole family.” “Our children are deploying as well.”
After the panel, our educators met Colonel Bingham, the base commander. They met Champa Boom, the base mascot. They toured the base. They talked with a young pilot and her crew. They walked the flight line and climbed into the cockpit of a KC-137. They learned that our military community, and the base itself, is a place full of opportunities for service members, civilians, and students. They gathered new resources and ideas for how to support military students when they return back to their school communities. We all learned that our military families, including the little ones, know and embody civic values and civic responsibility.
The goal of the day was to foster awareness across our military and school communities. Everyone left empowered and excited to keep building connections and opportunities on behalf of our students and civics education. It was a mission well accomplished!
Written by Frank Anderson
Frank Anderson is the director of special projects at iCivics and the program director for the Civics, Service, and Leadership program. Frank works with educators from across the country to connect them to civics education resources and to help students build a service mindset and leadership skills within the classroom. Before iCivics, Frank taught in alternative education in Baltimore and managed education programming for students involved with the juvenile justice system.
The Civics, Service, and Leadership (iCSL) program aims to prepare students exploring careers in military and public service with high-quality civic learning experiences that build critical thinking, media literacy, civility, civic knowledge and participation, and service. iCSL is sponsored by DoDSTEM, the National Defense Education Program.
“I love iCivics! My kids love to play Win the White House!”
“Awesome! Have you ever used any of the other resources from iCivics? They go great with the games!”
“No, tell me more!”
I had this conversation multiple times with educators I met last fall at the annual National Council for the Social Studies Conference while I was helping out in the Exhibit Hall at the iCivics booth. I teach at Maranacook Community High School in Readfield, Maine, a rural community next to Maranacook Lake just outside the Maine State Capitol. I use iCivics in a variety of ways in AP U.S. History and non-level U.S. History. This Spring, I have a student intern working with me from the University of Maine at Farmington named Tom Tubman. In an effort to promote iCivics beyond the games, I thought it would be interesting to document our use of an iCivics DBQuest in our classes titled “Woman Suffrage and World War I.”
As I said earlier, it seems many educators are familiar with the amazing learning games on the iCivics website, with Win the White House often being the one everyone knows. What seems to be lesser known are the lesson plans and activities iCivics also offers. These resources include connections to state standards and how they can fit into scope and sequence. They also show how they connect to the games iCivics hosts on their site.
I selected this DBQuest because it fits well within the curriculum for content in US History and includes other important aspects such as multiple viewpoints, primary source analysis, argument analysis, sourcing, and inquiry. Most of my students currently in my U.S. history classes have played the iCivics game Cast Your Vote, and so this DBQuest connects well to this game in getting students reflecting on a time when some of them would not have been able to cast their ballots.
My student teacher, Tom, and I took a team-teaching approach to this, each leading a different part of the lesson. Tom led the discussion using the timeline and I facilitated the document analysis. We closed the lesson with an extension video that added context and gave them a sense of how suffrage came to pass.
Our first class was at the end of the day on a Friday! We started with a question to engage students and get their brains working, “What is suffrage?” A brief discussion revealed that most students had heard of this term in conjunction with voting and had a sense of its meaning. As this is a U.S. History course, students had learned previously about the early days of the women’s rights movement, including the work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others at Seneca Falls in drafting the “Declaration of Sentiments” and Susan B. Anthony. This historical context is important in getting the most out of this DBQuest to help students draw conclusions about the timeline and the accompanying Primary Source documents. Upon reflection, Tom concluded that historical context was important to this activity. Information about the early days of the push for women’s rights and women’s suffrage going back to Seneca Falls would greatly help students understand that women were fighting for a voice long before the First World War. Ensuring students have this context is important in having a deeper understanding of the agency of women in bringing about Suffrage.
Students received the student handout on paper and went to work highlighting in different colors, events that helped women’s suffrage make progress, and events that worked against Women’s Suffrage. The ensuing discussion elicited several insights from students, such as events may in fact be well-intended and essentially good even if, from the perspective of the Women’s Suffrage movement, the event worked against their progress.
Students worked individually to complete the “Math Moment” and “Reflection,” placing the events from the First World War, and we then had a class discussion around their thoughts about why it took so long for women’s suffrage to pass. This activity revealed many interesting insights including the quotes below.
“The major shifts of WWI, including women proving themselves capable of fully taking charge of duties left behind by men… “
“… because misogyny had been a part of western culture for a long time…”
“… (post-Civil War/Reconstruction) Civil Rights proved more of a pressing issue and women were seemingly unimportant to the government…”
“Because the society of most nations and cultures of the time were built around strict gender roles…”
“The fight for Black suffrage was also occurring at the time and that may have caused more focus on that rather than woman’s suffrage.”
“I think a lot of people in power, men, didn’t see it as an issue and didn’t care…”
The next part of the lesson required students to examine three different types of primary source documents from the era. In the first class, we had students in small groups of 3-4 analyze all 3 documents and draw conclusions. We made a modification in the second class that turned this into more of a jigsaw activity where we had students in 3 groups to start and together they analyzed one document. Then we mixed them into groups so at least 1 student from each of those 3 groups was in the new groupings. Then they took turns sharing out their document and their analysis. We found this produced more discussion between the students and likely gave them more confidence in completing the final section of the handout titled “Argument On!” In this section, students document their analysis and conclusions about the documents. They locate key arguments quoted from the documents and identify where they came from and whether the argument was intended to “inform,” “persuade,” or “inflame”. At the end of this, they discussed the 2 questions at the end: Which wartime argument to promote suffrage appeals to you more? Why? And: Does the way in which the message is communicated affect your decision? (Ex: picket vs. political cartoon vs. leaflet). This was followed by a class discussion on these questions. Students have some interesting responses, some examples are included below.
“The leaflet argument for war… this played on democratic/freedom built pride for America”
“Cartoons are eye-catching and quick to look at, but they can also be thought provoking to the reader.”
“Leaflet… it also has the best view on how women are important to society…”
“…the Article was just informing while the Leaflet was trying to start something…”
“The most convincing argument for me was the rational approaches of the statements that if women can serve the country they should be able to vote in the country’s politics.”
We finally turned to the video we selected to close out the lesson. The video, produced by the History Channel is titled “The 19th Amendment.” We gave students the following questions for discussion that went with the short video.
What were the two approaches taken to get Women’s Suffrage passed?
What happened at the Women’s Suffrage Parade before Wilson’s inauguration in 1913?
What happened to Alice Paul?
What was Wilson’s argument for Women’s Suffrage?
We didn’t have a lot of time for discussion after the video, but we did briefly talk about the different strategies, how Alice Paul and other women suffered, and how the 19th Amendment came down to needing Tennessee’s vote to pass—and how it seemed doomed to failure by one vote until Harry T. Byrne changed his vote at the last minute thanks to a letter from his Mother! Many students expressed amazement and these “Hollywood-like” details!
In the end, we found this DBQuest to be engaging and thought-provoking! It promoted historical thinking skills such as primary source analysis, cause and effect, and change and continuity over time. Additionally, it connected well to civics by getting students to reflect on the importance of voting and the lengths people will go to in order to secure their rights, as well as the various modes available to persuade, inform, or inflame others about one’s cause. Students came away with an understanding of civil rights, discrimination, and changing attitudes around these issues. We thoroughly enjoy the iCivics games and the lessons they support, but it’s awesome that they also have supplemental lessons like this DBQuest! Give it a try!
Shane Gower is passionate about ideas! He considers himself fortunate to have a career as a teacher that allows him to explore his passion as he has done for the past 25 years. He was the 2016 Gilder-Lehrman Maine State History Teacher of the Year and currently teaches AP US History, AP Psychology, Ethics, and History through Film. These courses are all dual enrollment through the nearby Thomas College. In addition to the classroom, he is also Past-President of the Maine Council for the Social Studies and a Retro Report Teacher Ambassador.
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.
One hundred percent of my students responded that the new iCivics’ Supreme Decision simulation strengthened their understanding of how the U.S. Supreme Court works. In full transparency, there were thirty students who responded to the survey. (At the time of this writing, five students did not respond due to absence at the time the survey was given.) And, if I’m being honest, it’s challenging to have one hundred percent of my Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics (AP GOV) students agree on anything. They often mirror the American electorate—divided on a variety of issues. But not on this. Not today.
iCivics rolled out Supreme Decision in early January. When I saw their promotion of the simulation on social media sites, I decided to dig in a little to see what value add this might bring to my current curriculum. I watched the seven-minute preview video and decided that I wanted to lean in further.
Admittedly, I am a self-labeled Supreme Court nerd. I follow scholars and experts on social media, wake up early in June on opinion days, and have had the good fortune of being in the Court a few times. I have been incorporating moot courts and a March Madness-style case showdown into my AP Gov course for many years. Students have offered feedback that some of these activities created core memories as they’ve reflected on their high school experience. It was only natural that I would want to look into this simulation to see whether I could implement it into my current practice.
I should also share: sometimes I get nervous trying new things. It’s not that I won’t try new strategies, materials, activities, games, etc… but I’m a bit of a type A control freak, and I like to feel like I have some sense of management over what’s happening in my classroom. As an educator, I can’t control much, so I try to grasp on to what I can. So hear me when I say, if this is you, this simulation works well. As the teacher, you control the advancement of the slides on the student screens, the videos (and if you want to replay them), and the addition of enrichment/ supplemental activities.
iCivics is known for its professional development around resources, so it shouldn’t have surprised me that they offered a webinar on how to use the simulation. And talk about timing. I was able to attend the training the day before I launched the simulation. The team from iCivics walked attendees through the simulation experience, offering suggestions, support, and reflective prompts so we could think through the application in our settings. I printed out the simulation directives and took some additional notes so I would be ready for the next day.
And then I launched it.
Supreme Decision is a purely digital simulation. The teacher sets it up and creates a classroom. The simulation kicks back a login PIN, very similar to some of the quiz-like gaming sites that many classroom teachers use. When students log in, they create a username (good news: if it’s inappropriate, a teacher can boot the student until an appropriate name change occurs) and are assigned a profile: respondent, petitioner, or justice. Students are given the background of a fictional case, inspired by an actual Supreme Court case. Students also learn what their roles are, and justices are given one of three lenses: “looking back,” “looking closely,” or “looking ahead.” Once students read through their role and better understand the case, they work through the background of the case (how the case arrived at the court) and the facts of the case. Students work in role-alike teams to examine precedent and constitutional application. Students are also given time and a digital resource to take notes on their screens. Justices are given space on their screens to write questions. The simulation allows for the students representing the petitioners to only see the notes of the petitioner. The same applies to the respondents and the justices. After note-taking and discussion, students craft and present oral arguments. Justices ask questions of the petitioner and respondent and then deliberate. Finally, justices cast a vote to determine which argument they see as having more merit. As justices rule, students can see the voting process. Teachers can freeze screens if they don’t want students to see live voting.
After our justices ruled, the students engaged in a content-rich discussion around the topic and it became clear to me that my students truly understood not only the process but the content application, as well. One student shared, “I enjoyed actually feeling like I was taking part in a Supreme Court decision. For me, learning has to be done firsthand, and with this simulation, I really got a grasp and got my needed firsthand experience to fully understand how the court works.” Another shared, “I learned how the Supreme Court works through a case, how petitioners and respondents present their arguments, and how the judges work through the arguments and ask questions to make their decision.” One student expressed how this gave them a better sense of what the Court looks like. “It is more of a conversation than anything. You are just talking to each other trying to understand every side.” Another student shared that they always thought that the Supreme Court Justices debated one another. They did not realize that this was a discussion.
Overall, our class invested a total of two class periods (about 80 minutes) working through the simulation. The timing worked well, and I am glad I decided to launch this new learning experience. In our post-case survey, I asked my students how many of them liked learning from simulations. A resounding 96% of students expressed that they either favored this approach or considered it on par with traditional delivery methods, like reading or lecture. My initial apprehensions about introducing something new were met with enthusiastic engagement and high levels of student satisfaction. I am now confident incorporating more iCivics simulations given the evident enjoyment and educational value my students gain from these experiences.
Written by Shari Conditt
Shari Conditt is in her 24th year of teaching secondary social studies. She currently teaches AP US History, AP American Government and Politics, and serves as the building instructional coach at Woodland High School in Woodland, Washington. Shari is also an adjunct professor at two local colleges- teaching survey level social studies courses and Methods for Teaching Social Studies. Shari is passionate about student leadership and serves as the school’s ASB Director where she actively supports student voice in school policy decision making. In 2015, Shari was selected as a finalist for State Teacher of the Year and in 2016 she was selected as Washington’s Gilder Lehrman History Teacher of the Year.
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.
iCivics has partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to release a new online game that introduces students to the skills needed to engage responsibly in their local communities.
Neighborhood Good is a classroom game that invites players to learn about the issues impacting a fictional community and engage with community members in order to address those challenges.
While playing Neighborhood Good, students select a challenge facing their fictional community, such as access to fresh food deserts, resourcing of schools, limited access to healthcare providers, or food waste removal. The game directs players through the process of talking with other community members to understand the problems, identify possible solutions, and figure out what resources are available. Through these conversations, students develop a plan to address the issue and see if and how it works. Neighborhood Good allows students to build the muscle and capacity for civic engagement through making choices, receiving immediate feedback, and revising their community plans.
Designed primarily for middle and upper elementary school students, the game and accompanying educator resources are available for free at iCivics.org. Neighborhood Good has support for English and multilingual learners, as well as a full Spanish-language version.
“Neighborhood Good helps students build the skills and muscles needed to work together with their neighbors and fellow residents to fix everyday problems in a safe, nonpolitical environment,” said iCivics Chief Education Officer Emma Humphries. “We are grateful to our partners at the Department of Defense for their insight into the power of local involvement.”
iCivics developed the game in partnership with DoD STEM, the Department of Defense’s education and employment initiative to inspire, cultivate, and develop talent for the modern workforce. The game was funded as part of a through grant from the DoD to the iCivics’ Civics, Service, and Leadership (iCSL) program for students exploring careers in the military and public service.
Through iCSL, iCivics is developing new resources, such as Neighborhood Good, and is working with teachers and students to approach civic education as an opportunity for building leadership skills and a service mindset. iCSL’s goal is to teach how the U.S. government works, and how to use that knowledge for the betterment of individuals and communities. The program also offers access to curriculum, a network of peers and master teachers, and professional development for educators.
The Department of Defense, through its National Defense Education Program (NDEP), has invested in civic education because it sees the lack of civic knowledge evident in the most recent NAEP Civics as a matter of national security, both internally and externally. It sees community involvement and volunteerism as key tools to combat these challenges.
iCivics launched Supreme Decision, a new simulation tool that equips teachers to guide their classrooms through a collaborative experience in which students explore different perspectives and work together to navigate landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases in U.S. history.
Supreme Decision simulations—iCivics’ first multiplayer offering—help educators turn their classroom into the Supreme Court as students are assigned the role of Petitioner, Respondent, or Supreme Court Justice. Students are guided through a web-based in-person experience where they learn about judicial lenses, are introduced to facts of the case, prepare for and present arguments, deliberate and rule, and finally discuss the results and reflect on the experience. The simulation is designed to bring the workings of the Supreme Court to life while giving students a first-person, active role in debating and deciding cases about topics that are relevant to their own lives: Student free speech and due process.
The two cases are based on real-life cases that were central to the legacy of iCivics’ Founder, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Tinker v. Des Moines and Goss v. Lopez.
Each module includes videos that provide context and primary sources to help students understand their assigned roles as they work through these two cases.
In Supreme Decision: Student Free Speech, students debate the fictional case of Ben Brewer, a high school student who was suspended for violating the school dress code. Students examine the First Amendment right to free speech and apply the precedent of Tinker v. Des Moines to answer the question: Does the U.S. Constitution protect Ben’s right to wear a band T-shirt to school?
InSupreme Decision:Due Process, students examine thefictionalcase of Jamie Johnson, a high school student who was suspended after a student protest. By applying the precedent of Goss v. Lopez and the right to due process, students will answer the question: Does the U.S. Constitution protect Jamie’s right to due process before a suspension from school?
These simulations use technology to facilitate, not replace, student interaction and engagement and create a controlled environment to have debates in a manner that allows a full range of opinions to be heard safely.
While many professional learning communities exist, the iCivics Educator Network is unique. This group of energetic civics, history, government, and social studies teachers serve as champions and ambassadors for high-quality equitable civic education.
As a member of the Educator Network, you’ll be connected to fellow educators with whom to collaborate and learn from and gain access to the tools and resources you need to effectively engage your students.
“I love iCivics Educator Network because it creates a place for civics educators to gather and learn from one another… Because of these meetings, I feel empowered to use the materials and resources with authority and experience.”
~ Shari C., AP Government Teacher and iCivics Educator Network member
Join the cohort of Kindergarten to post-secondary educators from every state in the nation and learn from the broad range of experiences, diverse opinions, and valuable perspectives.
Benefits of joining the iCivics Educator Network:
Monthly virtual Educator Network meetings where you’ll connect with other members and discuss pedagogy and teaching ideas
Monthly email newsletter packed full of learning opportunities and resources
First access to behind-the-scenes sneak peeks at new iCivics resources, special events, pilots, and other opportunities
Collaboration with other teachers as part of a vibrant and supportive community
Opportunities to share your teaching experiences with national and local media
Being a member of the Educator Network gives me added insight into best practices and helps me to troubleshoot as my students are engaging with the resources. It also introduced me to so many amazing teachers and gave us time to meet and talk about what we are doing, and why we do it. They inspire me to try new things!
~ Jennifer C., Teacher and iCivics Educator Network member
