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Teenager volunteering at a polling location
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Service Learning

9 Dynamic, Hands-On Activities That Immerse Students in Civics

Civics takes on new life when students have real-world experiences like creating polls or ballots or touring a local government building.

April 19, 2024

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The founding fathers knew drafting and signing the Declaration of Independence would be viewed as a flagrant act of rebellion against the British Crown. 

Treason, punishable by death鈥攜et they did it anyway, for the greater good, for freedom. If tasked with an age-appropriate moral and ethical dilemma, would your students do the same? 

High school history teacher Nicholas Ferroni knows the answer to that question. 鈥淭hink of five things that benefit the majority of students to make things better for you guys,鈥 . 鈥淪chool policies, page 32, section 7b of the school handbook states: 鈥業n order to establish a fair and balanced school climate, students may suggest and even petition for new school policies with 10 percent of the size of an actual class.鈥欌澛

Kids got to work brainstorming topics to advocate for and wrote a petition to amend the school鈥檚 dress code to be more equitable, add career-based and life skills classes, and set a later school start time. Students got up one by one to sign the petition, and Ferroni delivered it to the principal.

Seemed easy enough, until Principal Lowery barged in mid-class鈥斆 la King George. 鈥淵ou sign that petition, you won鈥檛 graduate here, you will not walk, and you will not go to prom,鈥 he threatened. Students were confused, Ferroni appeared to be as well and offered students an opportunity to remove their signature. A few stood up, tempted and nervous. Their classmates tried to talk them out of it, and chaos ensued, but then Ferroni revealed that it was all a ruse鈥攄esigned to give the students some sense of what the founders went through.

Activities like this can bring civics to life, illustrating the importance of civic engagement and helping students identify their core values鈥攁s well as 鈥渉ow much they鈥檙e willing to sacrifice for what they believe in,鈥 Ferroni says. Being able to lobby support for a bill or to visit a courthouse and meet with a judge, for example, and really 鈥渟eeing how the government works firsthand鈥 is more impactful than 鈥渏ust listening to lectures,鈥 . Her students agree, noting that her class is full of 鈥渇un, exciting group activities that allow us to engage socially while efficiently learning.鈥 

Whether it be through internships or opportunities to speak with representatives, do community service, or propose new school policies, real-world civics activities make what students learn in social studies 鈥渕uch more tangible and meaningful,鈥 echoes Spencer Burrows, a secondary school equity and civic engagement coordinator. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping it leaves more of an indelible mark on the students and gives them the motivation to pursue these things,鈥 he told 麻豆传媒入口. 鈥淕ive them a couple options, and they鈥檒l find something that speaks to them, something they want to get involved in.鈥 

9 Real-World Civics Experiences 

1. Poll the Public: To better understand how the public views certain political issues or topics, you can have students create and disseminate a survey. They can poll their classmates or the wider student body, or even expand beyond the school walls. 

Burrows likes to keep in close contact with local lawmakers鈥 staff members, picking their brains on what projects they have going on or could use some help from students with. When State Senator Ben Allen was chair of the Senate Education Committee for California, Burrows says, his office was very willing to work with schools. 

鈥淗e would send us on missions like, 鈥楥an you go and poll on measure ABC?鈥欌 Burrows says, adding that these are things he wouldn鈥檛 have thought to do on his own. 鈥淢iddle schoolers had a great time jamming people up on the street corner. The lawmakers enjoy getting to involve the local youth, and it gives our kids something real to do.鈥

2. Prepare a Sample Ballot: To help familiarize students with the voting process before participating in a real election, high school government teacher Kendra Parker has them research and prepare a sample ballot. After walking the class through their state鈥檚 online voter registration process, students use the voter portal to identify which candidates and issues will appear on their ballot. In lieu of an active election, you can use a sample county ballot from a previous election.

鈥淚 model for them how I find information and explain some of my thought process for positions,鈥 Parker told 麻豆传媒入口, recommending to students resources such as , , and their local library鈥檚 online civic engagement offerings. Students next record their selections on a handout and complete reflection questions evaluating 鈥渉ow simple or complex they thought the system was and identifying their key factors in determining how to vote.鈥 The handout doubles as a tool they can bring with them to the polls.

Ballot
Courtesy of Kendra Parker
Educator Kendra Parker holds a copy of the handout she gives students to help them prepare to vote.

3. Create Space for Civil Conversations: Democracy is a 鈥渟ystem built upon civil discourse as the means to work out our differences peacefully,鈥 educational consultant Tom Driscoll and former educator Shawn McCusker write, but this sort of conversation seems increasingly hard to come by. 鈥淎ccording to , 45 percent of Americans report that they have stopped talking to someone as a result of their political views,鈥 the pair write.

To revive the spirit of civil discourse and help your students develop the skills they need to engage in it, having students plan what he calls a Lunchtime Open Forum. This event is an opportunity for 鈥渟tudents, teachers, admins, staff, and at least a few (by-invitation-only) members of the general public to come together once a month to civilly discuss an issue of contemporary significance.鈥 Paccone suggests checking out or the for potential issues to discuss鈥攕uch as or . 

4. Stop the Spread of Fake News: False information is all over the internet鈥攖hat鈥檚 nothing new鈥攂ut 鈥渘ow that anyone with access to a phone or computer can publish information online, it鈥檚 getting harder to tell,鈥 . 

Students can play a role in helping their family and friends think a bit more critically before believing everything they read online by creating a media literacy guide. After compiling resources from trusted sources鈥攖he College Board suggests using , , or 鈥攐n how to best approach new media outlets, kids can lay everything out using design tools like Canva, record short videos using Flip, or create PowerPoint presentations. 

5. Tour a Local Government Building: An in-person tour at a government building allows students to see how systems they鈥檝e learned about actually work in practice. Burrows likes to first understand 鈥渨here students came from鈥 and what they know, and then focus on 鈥渉ow you can build on that and extend it.鈥

For example, eighth-grade students had learned about the criminal justice system, so a field trip to the courthouse to meet a judge was particularly resonant. Students were 鈥渟uper interested,鈥 Burrows says. 鈥淎 judge came and told them all about some of the crazy cases he鈥檚 done. They were supportive of it being a real courtroom, the real judge, and hearing the stories and tying that back to the stuff they鈥檝e done in the classroom.鈥 

6. Exercise Your Rights: After completing a project about First Amendment rights and an in-depth examination of the origins of the Constitution, educator Stacy Saltz provides students with a choice of how they鈥檇 like to exercise their rights. Here are some options:

  • Attending a march or rally
  • Attending a religious service they have never attended before
  • Creating and administering petitions for change at school or in their community (homeowners association, city, etc.)
  • Writing a letter to a government official asking for change
  • Writing a letter to the editor of a news publication
  • Speaking at a school board; parent, teacher, student association; or city council meeting

Afterward, students reflect in writing about how this connects to their lives and what they鈥檝e learned about the Constitution. 鈥淚t allows them to see themselves as change makers,鈥 Saltz told 麻豆传媒入口.

High school civics teacher Hal Biehl does something similar, . They collect their observations in a report that they present to the class. 

7. Each One Teach One: 鈥淥ne of the best demonstrations of mastery of a specific skill is to teach that skill to someone else,鈥 writes high school English teacher Jason Abril. Students are often very proficient teachers, something Burrows uses to his advantage. 

He assigns students from each grade a different topic鈥攍ocal, county, state, and federal government, for example. 鈥淪tudents create a canned lesson about that, which they then present to each grade level,鈥 he says. This is a great way to encourage students to engage in civics-related conversations that sharpen key skills like research, oral presentation, and reflection. 

8. Inform the Public: having students create a citizen action campaign鈥攃reating a blog, flyer, or video public service announcement using YouTube or Flip 鈥渢o inform or persuade others.鈥 麻豆传媒入口 can range from environmental conservation to gun violence prevention鈥攁nything that motivates your students to take action. They can take things one step further and pound the pavement, spreading the message around the school, at the local library, or at other places where people congregate.

As students 鈥渂ecome experts on a topic and discover why something is an issue,鈥 you will see their enthusiasm and curiosity bloom, writes fifth-grade teacher Jessica Cambell.

9. Become a Global Citizen: Many students might learn about our own government and stop there, but Burrows likes to encourage his students to expand their horizons. Learning about the governments of other countries provides interesting cultural perspectives, helping students develop a broader understanding of political dynamics globally. 

Burrows set up a joint project where his students and students from another country could teach each other about their respective governments. The U.S. Embassy introduced him to a Croatian high school teacher who ended up being a perfect fit. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 hurt to ask,鈥 he says of contacting the embassy. 鈥淪end out your request and someone鈥檚 going to get back to you, or somebody knows somebody who knows somebody who might be interested.鈥

Because of the time difference, finding a slot for the two classes to talk in real time wasn鈥檛 possible, but students recorded and replied to each other鈥檚 videos using Flip. 鈥淎s we were going back and forth educating each other, our kids are watching these videos like, 鈥極h my God, these Croatian kids know a lot about American politics. We don鈥檛 know anything about Croatia,鈥欌 he said. 鈥淭he entire world does not revolve around America. As much as we think we鈥檙e important, and we obviously have influence in a lot of ways, everyone鈥檚 got their own issues, their own problems, and things they鈥檙e trying to work through.鈥

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Filed Under

  • Service Learning
  • Student Engagement
  • Student Voice
  • Teaching Strategies
  • Social Studies/History
  • 6-8 Middle School
  • 9-12 High School

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