Action Civics and Experiential Learning

RATIONALE & RESEARCH

There is no better way to prepare young people for civic life than to support them in building skills for and practicing the behaviors of civic engagement while they’re still in school, in a place designed for instruction, observation, feedback, reflection, correction, and growth. Experiential learning opportunities - like engaging in Action Civics (where students learn about and take action on issues in their communities) or serving as poll workers, or participating in student governance or school- or district-based decision-making - offer students authentic ways to explore democracy and behave as civic actors, on Election Day and beyond.

Research tells us:

“Since 2003, there has been a consensus in the field of civic learning that “six promising practices” – later renamed “six proven practices” – are effective when done well.” Levine and Kawashima-Ginsberg expanded this list to 10 in 2017. Out of the full list, five recommended practices entail experiential learning: service-learning, student-led voluntary associations, student voice in schools, simulations of adult civic roles, and Action Civics. (“The Republic is (Still) at Risk – Civics is Part of the Solution”, 2017).
“Students who receive both traditional and interactive civics score highest on assessments and demonstrate high levels of twenty-first century skills such as critical thinking, news comprehension, and work ethic.” (“Guardian of Democracy: The Civic Mission of Schools”, 2011)

LESSON PLANS & RESOURCES

Action Civics Curricular Materials

Full Action Civics Curricula

Mikva Challenge offers a portfolio of Action Civics curricula (CCSS- and C3-standards aligned, and addressing SEL and equity) designed for educators and youth workers to use in developing youth voice and guiding youth to take informed action. Educators can pick and adapt lessons that best suit their context and the needs of their students and use these curricula in a variety of different contexts including integrating it into various subjects, in advisory, as an elective course, or in an after school club, and across a wide range of grade levels.
Curriculum

Digital Civics Toolkit

This Digital Civics Toolkit, prepared by the MacArthur Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics, is a collection of resources for educators to support youth to explore, recognize, and take seriously the civic potentials of digital life. It explores a range of civic opportunities and dilemmas via 5 modules focused on: Exploring Community Issues, Investigation, Dialogue, Voice, and Action. Each module includes guiding questions, activity ideas, and teacher resources.

Students, Engage!

Using this lesson plan from iCivics, students brainstorm a list of local problems and action steps that they might take to solve these problems. After analyzing the concept of problem/solution alignment, students select a problem of their own and create an action plan to solve the problem.
Lesson plan

From Reflection to Action:
A Choosing to Participate Toolkit

From Reflection to Action: A Choosing to Participate Toolkit includes a flexible collection of activities, readings, lessons, and strategies that teachers can use to develop a civic action experience that meets their classroom’s specific curriculum objectives, grade level, and available time.

Elections in Action

Mikva Challenge offers an abridged five-lesson collection (derived from their "Elections in Action" curriculum) that engages students in learning about campaigns and elections by having them explore their own ideologies, learn about the candidates and get involved in electoral politics through a variety of scaffolded actions including registering voters to campaigning for candidates. (For Mikva Challenge's full Elections in Action Curriculum, click here.)
Curriculum, Lesson Plans

Letters to the President

In this lesson from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, students will learn both to be informed and to be engaged as they learn about an issue that is important to them, and communicate their thoughts on the issue to the President of the United States.
Lesson Plan, Elem/MS/HS

Go Beyond the Ballot

Generation Citizen's Beyond the Ballot provides two lesson plans that empower students to make a change in their community. Students will work together to choose an issue in their community they feel needs to be solved, and then seek out a local elected official to address it. Access the full Beyond the Ballot website for additional resources for parents, policymakers, and community members.
Lesson Plans, MS/HS

Activate!

In this online game from iCivics, students will campaign for an issue of their choice, grow an organization of friends into a national movement, and engage their community and elected leaders to raise awareness and support for their cause.
Game

Electoral Activity Simulations

Organize a Mock Election

Holding Mock Elections

Political Debate Guide

Hosting a Presidential Debate

In this three-day simulation lesson from iCivics, students explain the steps taken from party formation to national election and act out the campaigning and voting process by simulating a real election in their own classroom.
Lesson Plan, Simulation

In this lesson, from the Texas AFT, students will do a simulated voting election in their classroom to learn the process of voting; why it's important to vote; their right to vote; and voting age.
Lesson Plan, Elem

Use this activity from iCivics to help your students view any political debate- local to national, historical to live broadcast. Preview candidates, issues, expectations, and details about the location and moderators; track what the candidates say and how they say it; then ask students to reflect on the debate experience.
Lesson Plan

In this lesson, by PBS NewsHour Extra, the class learns about techniques of persuasion, which are practiced using actual debate statements by presidents throughout history. Students then watch the We The Voters film “How to Master Debate,” which presents two Senators discussing global warming and committing constant logical errors, pausing to discuss each logical fallacy. Students then hold a debate of their own.
Lesson Plan, MS/HS

Tools & Tips

18 Ways Youth Can Participate in Elections

Just because young people under 18 years of age can't vote doesn't mean they can't be involved in election season. This post, by CIRCLE, offers 18 ideas for engaging youth under 18 in contributing to elections.
Reference

Reading List for Youth Change Makers

This book list, compiled by The Civics Center, shares a selection of graphic novels and books focused on the written word, each chronicling stories of civic leaders or issues of civic participation across an array of topics.
Reference, Student Guide

Data on Youth Voting & Community Conditions

"Youth Voting and Civic Engagement in America" is a new data tool from CIRCLE which features more than 40 unique indicators to help users explore the two-way relationship between the electoral and civic participation of young people in the U.S., and the political, socioeconomic, and community conditions in the places where youth live. The PDF, linked in the photo above, offers pedagogical ideas for helping young people utilize the tool themselves.
Reference, Lesson Ideas

Tips for Meeting with Elected Officials

If your students are practicing advocacy and setting up meetings with elected officials, check out these 10 best practices, via NCSS, for how your students can prepare for, show up, and follow up from meetings with politicians or their staff.
Reference

Professional Development & Partnerships

Kick Start Action Civics

Kickstart Action Civics is a six-module online course, by Generation Citizen, designed to prepare teachers to facilitate an Action Civics project in their classroom. The modules (which take about 3 hours to complete) cover the foundations and steps of Action Civics, offer a grounding in local political structures, and share ideas for deepening your practice beyond the project.
Teacher PD

PD for Action Civics and Youth Voice

Mikva Challenge provides a wide range of professional development workshops that can be brought to your school, organization or district and customized based on your specific needs - including a new portfolio of virtual professional development opportunities. Popular workshops include: Action Civics as a Tool for Equity, Building Democratic Classrooms, Taking Action: Community Problem Solving, Facilitating Courageous Conversations, and more. All workshops will address student engagement in an in person setting as well as remotely.
Teacher PD

Action Civics Programs and Curricula

Mikva Challenge partners with teachers to develop student skills essential to problem-solving and civic action, and their Action Civics curricula provides hands-on experiential lessons in: community problem solving (Issues to Action), youth leadership (Student Voice Committees), critical analyses of, and participation in, our electoral systems (Elections in Action), and thoughtful evaluation and creation of media (News, Voice, Power). Beyond civics curriculum, Mikva helps educators create democratic classrooms and schools.

Partnership for Action Civics

Generation Citizen's Action Civics Model inspires students to become civically involved through project-based classes. Take a look at how their model helps youth around the nation learn how to engage with local government and solve community issues.

STORIES

Encouraging Students to Take Action

In this video, from the Teaching Channel and CERG, see how a ninth grade teacher's students work in small groups to research and plan an action project focused on a contemporary problem.

Three High School Seniors are Hitting the Campaign Trail in Iowa

This CNN video follows three high school students from Mikva Challenge who traveled to Iowa to get personally involved in the 2020 election through campaigning, simulating a caucus, and more.

Virginia School District to Give Students One Day Off per Year for Civic Engagement

In the wake of recent student-led protests across the country, one school district in Virginia is testing a policy to offer students an excused absence for one day when students can protest, lobby, or practice other forms of civic participation beyond the school's walls.

Action Civics in School Districts

This report, from Generation Citizen, aggregates interviews from 14 individuals working at the district or county level in urban areas across the country to offer best practices for implementing Action Civics education throughout an entire district, as well as pain points and challenges that district leaders face in achieving scale and saturation.