Civics Initiative
Text Materials
The Civics initiative aims to foster a deeper understanding of civic life and social contracts through interdisciplinary education and dialogue.
LSP 275 Resource Google Sheet
Access the complete collection of teaching resources through this Google Sheet. You’ll find text materials, classroom activities, and practical tools to help you design and enrich your lectures. The list will continue to grow as new materials are developed and shared.
Civics Texts
Explore Illinois Civics Hub
A great resource hub for civics material that is targeted for implementation of civics curriculum within the state of Illinois
Educating for American Democracy
Resource hub for lesson plans and additional material
Consitutional Rights Foundation
This resource has lots of lesson plans
Center for Civic Education
The Center for Civic Education’s We the People program features two very lucid and basic lectures, by Peter Woodcock on Hobbes and Locke.
Lived Civics Texts
Let’s Go There: Making a Case for for Race, Ethnicity and a Lived Civics Approach to Civic Education
Detailed breakdown of the necessity to provide quality and tailored education for students of color and to create safe practices that ensure their lived experiences are not only heard but incorporated into the overall conversation and teachings of civics
Niagara’s Declaration of Principles
Resource hub for lesson plans and additional material
Declaration of Sentiments
Resource hub for lesson plans and additional material
A Letter to My Nephew
Resource hub for lesson plans and additional material
The Social Contract
The Social Contract is a political piece of writing that serves as a pylon for the democracies of today, as it theorizes the elements of a free state where people agree to coexist with each other under the rules of a common body that represents the general will.
The Racial Contract
Critique of racial dimensions of liberalism
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosphy
Good short to medium length summaries of soc contract, and Socrates’ Argument
We Are All Bound Up Together
In 1866, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s speech “We Are All Bound Up Together” powerfully highlighted equality and the social contract.
Teaching Content Text
iCivics
Free civic material site (requires registration), navigable website that provides easy access to civics material that are digestable for students and lesson plans for teachers to download
Facing History & Ourselves – Scope and Sequence Approach
Examines how human behaviors and beliefs shape choices to act, stand by, or stand up in times of injustice.
Bill of Rights Institute
Lots of great pedagogical resources, curated for instructors. Interactives with primary resources, videos, etc.
Facing History & Ourselves
Offers lesson plans connecting historical events to civic values, helping teachers with limited experience teach history effectively.
Teaching Skills Text
Claim Support Question
This routine reveals and encourages the process of reasoning by asking students to formulate an interpretation of
something and support it with evidence. By pushing students to ask questions about their interpretation, it helps
students see that reasoning is an ongoing process that is as valuable for raising questions as it is for providing answers.
Berkeley’s Greater Good
This has a WIDE array of resources — magazine, podcasts, videos, links to articles and research; based in science and social science findings. There is a quiz to see if you embrace diversity, etc.
Stop talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning and Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education
Alaskan Native approaches to teaching and dialogue, with reflections from the original book project.
3 2 1 Bridge
Encourages students to share initial ideas, then reflect on how their thinking evolves after learning more about the topic.
Social Contract Text