FOR DISTANCE LEARNING

Dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented challenge for our education system and our democracy. Members of the Teaching for Democracy Alliance are working to create and elevate resources which may be useful to students and teachers in these new circumstances, as aggregated in the lists of upcoming events and resource offerings below.
  • The American Federation of Teachers has compiled information for those working in schools and highlighted materials from their Share My Lesson database which may be used for remote learning.
    • ​Model Pop-Up Democracy invites students to consider they would respond, as elected officials in the United States, to the crisis.
    • Teaching What Unites Us asks students to reflect on the value of democracy before and after watching a video of the same name.
 
  • Bites Media is offering a promo code (REMOTE3) for three months of free use of their Teacher Portal, a resource for distance learning which allows teachers or parents to assign articles, grade student comprehension tests, and view students engagement data broken down by time spent in each multi-media asset. They also offer a one-month free trial of the platform, without the promo code.
 
  • CIRCLE (the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, a part of Tisch College at Tufts University) recently launched a new data tool, Youth Voting and Civic Engagement in America, which offers a unique way to explore the relationships between voting and other forms of civic participation, and some of the (political, socioeconomic, and community) conditions that shape such engagement. Educators can explore the tool as well as this teaching resource which offers lesson ideas for social studies, math, art, journalism, or ELA teachers interested in having students investigate the resource on their own. 
 
  • Close Up is using their decades of expertise in student engagement to host a series of exciting virtual programs this fall, including:
    • IMPACT 2020: Developed with the National Network of Schools in Partnership, this program will help students develop the skills, action plans, and leadership network needed to create real change in their home communities.
    • Student Voices: Election 2020: With the November election fast approaching, Close Up will lead students in discussions of key election issues while offering teachers professional development training and ready-to-use resources for continued discussions in class.
    • Empowering Female Voices: Developed in partnership with Hockaday’s Institute for Social Impact, this program will bring together girls nationwide for a series of civic engagement workshops to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment.
   
  • Generation Citizen is creating free virtual lesson plans - "Democracy Doesn't Pause" - for teachers, students, families and caregivers working to sustain high quality Action Civics education during distance learning. They've also launched a new online PD tool, "Kick Start Action Civics," designed for teachers to work through on their own time to learn the basics of facilitating Action Civics for their own students. 
 
  • iCivics has created a Remote Learning Toolkit which centralizes access to iCivics' (free) online games and lesson plans (which are based on readings and activities and are not tech-dependent) for teachers as well as for parents teaching at home. A new Game Odyssey turns free iCivics games into an exciting adventure specially designed for remote learning play - students advance through a series of games each week and claim badges, share their successes, and learn important civics lessons on their journey. The Toolkit also points parents toward a series of weekly civic learning plans or grab-and-go ideas for the whole family, including a downloadable BINGO card and for younger learners (7-10 years old).

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  • Mikva Challenge has multiple online opportunities geared toward teachers, parents, and students:
    • They used their Elections in Action curriculum to create five clusters of student-facing virtual lessons designed to engage youth in different aspects of the 2020 election season from home: My Political Voice, Researching Candidates, Media Literacy, How Campaigns and Elections Work, and Voting. Each cluster includes four lessons designed to help students explore their role and power within the electoral process + one toolkit to help students organize their own virtual event! All lessons and event toolkits also connect students with opportunities to compete in Mikva’s Great Electoral Race. Educators can sign up to receive a link to the virtual lessons.
    • Mikva is also offering timely professional development workshops for teachers. These free, virtual workshops model different strategies to engage students in the election by having them explore their own ideologies, learn about the candidates, unpack media messages, examine the role of money in elections, and build confidence in their own civic abilities. Emphasis will be placed on remote learning and lessons are included. Register for one of the FREE* Professional Development workshops with the discount code VOTE2020.
    • ​This Labor Day through Election Day, youth age 13-24 are invited to participate in Mikva’s Great Electoral Race – a digital scavenger hunt made up of 51 Challenges designed to help youth make their voices heard in the 2020 election (and empower their communities to do the same). Each Challenge is named after a US state (and is worth as many points as that state has Electoral College votes). Youth complete Challenges using their Instagram accounts and track their progress to 270 at greatelectoralrace.com (coming soon) to earn points and win prizes. Preview the Challenges.
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TFDA is coordinated by CIRCLE, a part of the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University.