October 2018 Newsletter

News from the Center for Civic Education

Learn.civiced.org Is Live!, Resources to Teach the Midterms, and More in This Month's Newsletter.

Learn.civiced.org Offers Free Resources for Educators and Lifelong Learners

A new platform is now available for learning about American constitutional government at learn.civiced.org! Watch scholars in the open course, participate in discussion forums, and explore a variety of learning resources for free.

Read more.

Teach the Midterm Elections with Citizens, Not Spectators

How are you teaching the midterm elections? Get your students primed to participate with these free lessons from Citizens, Not Spectators for elementary, middle, and high schools. A new lesson on the 2018 midterm elections is also available. Citizens, Not Spectators demystifies the voting process by teaching students how to cast a vote, how the voting process works, how to become an informed voter, and why it is important to cast an informed vote. The goal of the curriculum is to instill a deep and informed commitment to voting and increase future participation.

We the People Alumna Asks Wedding Guests to Donate to We the People

At her September wedding, We the People alumna Monica Lee asked for donations to the We the People program. "Now more than ever, I think the We the People Program is worth people's time and resources, since it provides at such an important juncture of kids' education insight into our democracy, which is important regardless of the field of work you go into," said Lee.

Quick Quiz! The election of Abraham Lincoln as president prompted eleven Southern states to

A. call for his impeachment.
B. obstruct every law he attempted to pass.
C. accuse him of treasonous behavior and sedition.
D. secede from the Union.

Read on to learn the answer!

Teachers Advocate for Creation of National Civics Award

Social studies teachers Michael Martirone and Jenifer Hitchcock are working to elevate social studies and civics in the academic world, and build recognition for the achievements of high school students in civics.

Researcher Studies We the People Program and Its Effect on Knowledge Gains

Georgetown University researcher Diana Owen is looking to answer this question: How effective are the pedagogies teachers employ in the classroom in promoting high-need students' acquisition of civic knowledge? Owen focused on the extent to which the We the People program and curriculum are effective in promoting student civics knowledge gains. (The short answer: it is!)

Beacon Hill We the People Team Hosts Michigan Senate Candidates

On September 17, two Michigan Senate candidates from Grand Rapids convened at an event at Beacon Hill, a senior living community. They engaged in a public discussion hosted by the Beacon Hill We the People team, who also timed and critiqued the talk.

"It is an amazing testament of how important We the People can be as a conduit of civic knowledge and life-long engagement," says Ellen Zwarensteyn, the executive director of the Michigan Center for Civic Education.

The Center to Conduct Presidential and Congressional Academies

The Center for Civic Education has received a grant of $2.8 million from the U.S. Department of Education for a five-year series of Presidential Academies for teachers and Congressional Academies for students. Participants will be immersed in the study of constitutional history and principles following the intellectual framework of the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum.

Support the Center for Civic Education with Facebook Fundraisers

When you raise money through a Facebook fundraiser, one hundred percent of the funds go to the charity of your choice. This is why so many of our followers have chosen to support the Center for Civic Education for their birthdays this year, but did you know that you can make a Facebook fundraiser on any day of the year?

Quiz Answer!

D. secede from the Union.

For more quizzes and learning opportunities, check out the 60-Second Civics podcast and daily civics quiz!

Shop to Support the Center for Civic Education

Shopping on Amazon? Use this link to benefit We the People and the Center's other civic education programs. 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.