February 2016 Newsletter

Celebrate Presidents' Day with free lessons from the Center, American Governance packet provides supplemental material for We the People, a new offering from ConSource, and more in this month's newsletter.

Happy Birthday, Abraham Lincoln!

Celebrate Abraham Lincoln's birthday this year with a free, downloadable We the People lesson plan from the Center for Civic Education. For Presidents' Day the Center also offers lessons on the executive branch and on George Washington, James Madison, and Ronald Reagan. Learn more.

Lessons Plans for Black History Month

February is Black History Month, and the Center offers free lessons for grades 6-12 that focus on the civil rights movement and the power of nonviolence. Teachers can choose from lessons on the Children's March of 1963, the costs and benefits of nonviolence, philosophical and tactical nonviolence, and Rosa Parks and the Fourteenth Amendment. Learn more.

American Governance Packet Explores Key Concepts of We the People

Big news for We the People students and teachers! Cengage Learning has generously shared a special series of articles that explore key concepts behind each of the six units of the We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution high school text. The articles were written and edited by top scholars, including editor-in-chief Stephen Schechter and associate editors Thomas Vontz, Thomas Birkland, Mark Graber, and John Patrick. The packet is organized to parallel the six units of We the People. It provides deep insight into the intellectual background of key We the People concepts, such as federalism, separation of powers, judicial review, Congress, the Bill of Rights, and citizenship, among many others. Download the free packet today!

ConSource Offers We the People Primary Source Correlations and U.S. Constitution for Kids

Looking for a quick and easy way to read the primary sources mentioned in the We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution textbook? ConSource has created correlations linking lessons of the We the People text (Level 2 and Level 3) with the primary sources available at ConSource.org. ConSource has also made the United States Constitution for Kids available for download on the Center's website. Learn more.

Celebrate Women's History Month

The Center offers a variety of free, downloadable lessons for Women's History Month, which is celebrated in March. Check out these two teacher-submitted lessons: Women's History Month Word Clouds, by Jim Bentley, invites students to create word clouds using primary-source documents. Women's History Wax Museum, by Daphne Greene, engages each student in researching the life of a person who took part in the woman suffrage movement and then asks the student to play the role of the activist in a simulated wax museum. Learn more.

Citizens, Not Spectators Students Travel to New Hampshire to Learn about State's Primaries

Natalie O'Brien's students from North Smithfield High School in Rhode Island traveled to Manchester, New Hampshire, in November to learn about the electoral process and how primaries are conducted in the state as part of their participation in Citizens, Not Spectators. The former We the People students campaigned for either Senator Bernie Sanders or Senator Marco Rubio, knocking on doors to speak with potential voters about their preferred candidate. Citizens, Not Spectators is a voter education program run by the Center for Civic Education and funded by the Arsalyn Program of the Ludwick Family Foundation. Rhode Island Representative Brian C. Newberry helped the students make contact with the two campaigns, and Citizens, not Spectators funded the trip. To learn how to get your class involved in Citizens, Not Spectators, visit the program's website.

Project Citizen Chile

More than 500 seventh grade students in Santiago, Chile, developed policy-based solutions to local issues in a Project Citizen program with support from the U.S. Embassy. The students presented their policy proposals to educators, local and national authorities, and embassy officials at a Project Citizen showcase in December 2015. Learn more.

Shop Amazon to Support the Center for Civic Education

Did you know that you can shop on Amazon and benefit civic education at the same time? Use this link and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the Center for Civic Education. You pay the same price for your purchases, but you have the satisfaction of knowing you've helped students receive the high-quality civic education they deserve. Bookmark the link and keep giving all year with every purchase. AmazonSmile.

This newsletter is a brief bulletin designed to keep you informed about some of the Center for Civic Education's news and events. Information presented includes news from around the country, news from other countries in the Center's Civitas International network, grant and award opportunities, and program updates and clarifications. If you have pertinent material that you would like to include in future newsletters, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..