This June, TFDA will embark on Growing Voters in the 2024 Election Campaign. This collaborative effort, aimed at teachers and administrators, seeks to increase their awareness of and capacity to promote high-quality, nonpartisan teaching about elections and voting.

TFDA firmly believes the key to success lies in our collective partnership and shared thinking with students, teacher practitioners (you!), and civic learning organizations to advance research-informed practices.

Therefore, TFDA is working to develop a cohort of students and teachers:

• This cohort will run between July and September.
• Cohort members will contribute 8 hours/month to co-creating these work products with TFDA. 
• For their time, teachers will receive a stipend of $850, and students will receive a stipend of $650. 

If you’re interested, fill out this short survey so TFDA leadership can find a time to meet with you and your student to discuss the opportunity in further detail. 



The ABA is excited to partner with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to host the Judge John F. Grady Virtual Summer Teachers Institute and Court Field Trips, sponsored by the Honorable John F. Grady Endowment. The endowment is named for the late Judge Grady, who passed away in December 2019 after 39 years of distinguished service as a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The 2024 Grady Institute will be at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago. Meals and materials are included. Participants will be reimbursed for parking and train or bus fare.

Date: July 11, 2024

Location: Dirksen Federal Building, Chicago, IL

For more information, visit https://ambar.org/au06ntwe

As the school year winds down, don't forget to nominate fellow civics teachers who make a difference in their classroom and in the lives of their students. 

Submit a nominee now for Bill of Rights Institute's National Civics Teacher of the Year award.

Nominations will be accepted through June 30, 2024.

Visit the BRI website for more information and to submit your nominee!

The Barat Education Foundation (BEF) is pleased to announce the introduction of the Family Life is Civic Life Edition of the online Our American Voice® (OAV) Civics Curriculum for Middle School (Grades 5-8) which is available FREE for teachers and other educators.

This new edition adds Family Life is Civic Life components to lessons in the OAV Civics Curriculum. These components provide material that a student can take home to engage and learn with their family members and return to the classroom to share what they discussed.

The OAV Civics Curriculum is tested and proven. It is derived from the OAV civic learning and engagement program established by BEF in Illinois in 2009. It is comprised of ten inquiry-based lessons featuring Library of Congress primary sources and can be implemented flexibly over the course of a school year.

This Family Life is Civic Life Edition of the OAV Civics Curriculum has been developed with grant support from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program.

For more information on the curriculum, click here.



With its historic passage in April of 2021, the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (T.E.A.A.C.H.) Act amended the Illinois School Code, ensuring every public elementary and high school student in Illinois learns about the contributions of Asian Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States.

The Illinois Civics Hub is partnering with Asian Americans Advancing Justice to offer FREE PD hours to K–12 educators looking to deepen their own understanding of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) history, and to gain classroom resources to support cross-cultural education for all students in Illinois, aligned with the revised social science standards.

Educators can choose from the following webinar opportunities:

For Elementary Level

• August 20, 2024: 4:30-6:30 p.m. via Zoom
• October 9, 2024: 4:30-6:30 p.m. via Zoom

For Secondary Level

• June 11, 2024, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
• September 12, 2024: 4:30-6:30 p.m. via Zoom

Be sure to visit the Asian Americans Advancing Justice site for more resources to implement the T.E.A.A.C.H. Act and celebrate AAPI month this May and beyond.



In the cacophony of modern discourse, where social posts and sound bites often drown out thoughtful reflection, the art of engaging in thoughtful, deliberative discussions presents an opportunity for change. 

Unfortunately, handling these important conversations in the classroom is filled with challenges that understandably deter some educators. The fear of controversy and stepping on ideological landmines can paralyze even the most dedicated teacher.

Street Law recognizes this struggle and provides a lifeline—a toolbox of proven curricular materials designed to structure and ignite meaningful conversations.

Learn more about Street Law's resources for discussing current and contested public issues here.



What role does housing play in access to upward mobility and the American Dream? In the 15-minute Retro Report video, A New Housing Program to Fight Poverty Has an Unexpected Outcome, you will meet the Morris family—a black mother with three daughters. They reveal the impact that moving from urban Chicago to its mostly white suburbs had on their lives.

There are new resources for this video.

• If you are a Civics/Government or Economics teacher: Examining Housing Policy is a lesson that has students explore how housing has been addressed by local, state and federal policy over time. The activity helps students understand the concepts of federalism and priorities within the federal budget.  
• If you are a U.S. History, World History, or Geography teacher: The Geography of Racism: Housing Policy is a lesson with a comparative approach, asking students to evaluate housing segregation in the United States and in South Africa. Students will examine similarities and differences between Jim Crow-era housing policies in the United States and conditions faced by Black South Africans under apartheid. Activity included.

Explore New Resources

iCivics recently debuted Brief the Chief, their newest game created in partnership with The White House Historical Association. Your students take on the role of the ultimate presidential advisor as they navigate iconic moments that define American history.

• Strategize with President Thomas Jefferson on securing the vital Port of New Orleans during the Louisiana Purchase or navigating the trade relationship with the newly independent Haiti.
• Brief President Abraham Lincoln as he crafts the Emancipation Proclamation or addresses the situation in Fort Sumter.
• Advise President Lyndon B. Johnson as he considers the complexities of a potential 1968 reelection run or how to strengthen voting rights amid marches in Alabama in 1965. 

With a focus on listening and contextualizing, Brief the Chief introduces students to the variety of voices that influence the president. Throughout the game, students practice interview-based decision making and evidence-based reasoning without being responsible for outcomes. 

Along with providing pre- and post-activities and a teacher guide, the Brief the Chief Extension Pack will support you in deepening learning with a one-pager on each scenario and bios on each person.

Explore Brief the Chief

The Civics Hive is a NEW podcast that takes you on a journey through the intersection of civics and technology, preparing students for active civic engagement in the 21st century.

In each episode, hosts MJ Warden and Mary Ellen Daneels will explore essential questions with expert guests including leading educators, tech innovators, and passionate advocates, all sharing their wisdom and experiences to empower you with the knowledge you need to make a difference.

This month's episode features Joel Breakstone from the Digital Inquiry Group (formerly Stanford History Education Group or SHEG) to address the essential question, "How can students practice civic online reasoning?"

If you missed our past episodes, it's not too late to catch up on our thought-provoking discussions with:

• Award-winning author and EdTech Teacher Shawn McCusker who discusses the essential question, "Is AI good for Democracy?"
• Dr. Joseph Kahne from the Civic Engagement Research Group to discuss the question, "What does it mean to educate for a diverse democracy?"

Follow the Illinois Civics Hub on Facebook and Twitter/X for future episodes that feature:

• Dr. Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg from the Center on Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement
• Dr. Leah Bueso from the University of Illinois-Springfield

All high school teachers in U.S. history, civics, and government classes are invited to participate in a special PD program offered by the Case Method Institute for Education & Democracy and Harvard Professor David Moss on Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (We also offer a fully asynchronous version of the PD to start at your convenience).

The Institute has partnered with more than 3,000 teachers to bring the case method—the pedagogy used nationwide at leading professional schools to strengthen critical thinking—to more than 200,000 high school students across the U.S., along with original cases from Professor Moss's acclaimed Harvard course, "History of American Democracy." Each case presents students with a historically rich narrative, leading up to a key decision point and posing the perennial question: "What would you do?"

Led by a teacher's use of carefully designed questions, students engage in rigorous, evidence-based discussion and debate to draw out key concepts from the case. Teachers have described the case method as a "game-changer," a "transformational experience," and a "laboratory for citizenship."

The Institute invites high school teachers to learn more and to apply (to confirm eligibility) at this link for either the June 26th workshop or our fully self-paced, asynchronous program.

Join the Illinois Social Studies Leaders Association (ISSLA) and shape the future of social studies education in our state! As an aspiring affiliate of NSSLA and ICSS, ISSLA offers a platform to connect, collaborate, and advocate for excellence. Enjoy networking, targeted PD, resource sharing, and championing social studies.

Complete our interest form today and be part of this transformative organization!