CIRCLE has released the final report of their evaluation of middle school civics in Illinois, which examines the state’s progress in implementing new mandates and requirements and makes key recommendations for classroom teachers, school administrators, and district leaders to better support civic learning in the state.

This report is the culmination of a major two-year mixed-methods study, and the latest effort in a longstanding collaboration between CIRCLE and educators in Illinois, particularly through Illinois Civics Hub. Some of the major findings include:

• Instruction on required content and service-learning has been widely implemented, with some room for improvement in quality and the use of particular pedagogies.
• Current and societal issue discussions are happening.
• Educators value the mandate to use “inquiry as a mode of learning” and see it as an opportunity to help students develop transferable skills.
• Civic learning is happening across and beyond the curriculum, including outside of social studies classes, and students report extracurricular activities provide an important pathway for developing civic skills and knowledge.
• High-quality civic learning experiences are correlating positively with civic outcomes like community engagement.
• A positive school climate and the strong development of student voice are among the strongest correlates with civic outcomes.
• Civic education in middle schools is improving students’ civic knowledge and civic dispositions—it is not leading them to frequently discuss politics outside of school or otherwise “politicizing” them.

To read more about the study's findings, including the challenges of teaching middle school civics, click HERE.

HB 1633 signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on August. 4, requires that schools teach about the contributions of Native Americans in government, arts, humanities, sciences, and economic, cultural, social and political development. The law also mandates that students learn about the experiences of contemporary Native Americans living in Illinois; and, for middle school and high school students, tribal sovereignty, discrimination against and the genocide of Native Americans, and the circumstances around their forced relocation. The legislation goes into effect in the 2024-25 school year.

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, in partnership with the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, October 17 from 4-5:30 PM for teachers of grades 3-12.

In Introduction to Indigenous Culture & History: Implementing Indigenous Culture in the Classroom, teachers will learn how to integrate Native perspectives into the larger narrative of American history, from Abraham Lincoln to the history of regalia. Participants will be given tools such as the proper terminology to use and appropriate activities and lesson plans to effectively teach this history in their classroom.  

Maria Garcia-DesJarlait (Arikara, Ojibwe), from the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, brings her experiences growing up on her reservation and as a teacher to tell engaging and captivating stories that share important messages of empathy.

This workshop is free and online via Zoom. Registration is required.

The Teaching for Democracy Alliance invites rural administrators and educational leaders in Illinois to participate in a three part webinar series to enhance their knowledge and leadership in promoting informed voting in their communities. Participants will learn about:

• The role of schools and educators in growing voters
• How to support educators in utilizing non-partisan resources
• Ways to engage stakeholders in understanding the importance of teaching about voting and elections in schools
• Educating for informed participation in our constitutional democracy during a politically polarized time.

Participants will earn a $300 stipend for participating in a three part webinar series from late October to December.

For more information, contact Naraya Price at TFDA

Street Law is now accepting applications for its 2024 Supreme Court Summer Institute for Teachers.

You could be one of 60 secondary social studies educators selected to strengthen and expand your instruction on the Court and its cases!

• Gain unrivaled access to a stellar lineup of SCOTUS experts and advocates 
• Learn innovative methods to teach about current and historical cases 
• Hear decisions announced in the courtroom and attend a special reception at the Court (Court schedule permitting) 
• Application deadline: March 1, 2024 

One of the benchmarks of civil discourse is being open to diverse points of view. In the Bill of Rights Institute's Point-Counterpoint Activities playlist, you can choose from 30 activities taken from BRI's Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness curriculum.

Each activity features two scholars who provide responses to questions from different points of view, and a graphic organizer to help students compare and analyze those arguments. The activity questions include whether the U.S. Constitution is a pro-slavery document and if the New Deal ended the Great Depression.

Take advantage of this playlist and help your students develop their critical thinking and debate skills!

Civics is all around us. There is a lot to know about the government and how “We the People” interact with the government and each other. Lou Frey Institute's Civics In Real Life helps classrooms expand civic literacy. Each one-pager, designed for use in middle and high schools, provides rich opportunities to explore constitutional democracy in real life. Recent CRLs include:

• The Docket 2023-24 Case Preview
• Conspiracy to Commit Privacy and the Rule of Law
• The Promise of Declaration

American Bar Association President Mary Smith is launching the ABA Presidential Speaker Series, featuring exclusive conversations with world leaders, thought leaders, businesspeople, philanthropists, entertainers, and other influential people.

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Under the theme "Lifting Our Voices, Charting the Future," these fireside chats will promote dialogue, civility, and exposure to diverse viewpoints, innovative ideas, and career insights. They will spotlight trailblazers shaping our collective future, inspiring thought, and fostering understanding of pressing global issues.

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New episodes will release on selected Thursdays at 2 p.m. CT. The first four sessions are free for ABA members and the public; afterward, it's free for members and chargeable for non-members.

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October 12, 2023: Hispanic Heritage Month

Dolores Huerta, American labor leader, civil rights activist and a co-founder of the United Farmworkers Association, will be interviewed by Reverend Miguel Bustos, the Episcopal Church’s Manager for Racial Reconciliation and Justice for the U.S. and Latin America. Co-sponsored by the Hispanic National Bar Association.

October 19, 2023

Martin Scorsese, director of Killers of the Flower Moon, and Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, Principal Chief of the Osage Nation, will be interviewed by ABA President Mary Smith and Jimmy K. Goodman, an attorney with Crowe & Dunlevy.

November 2, 2023

Native American Heritage Month program featuring Deb Haaland, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, and a panel of accomplished Native American women "firsts": Abby Abinanti, Kimberly TeeHee, and Stacy Leeds, will be interviewed by Makalika Naholowa'a, President of the National Native American Bar Association. Co-sponsored by the National Native American Bar Association.

Please visit ambar.org/PresidentialSeries for the current schedule.

Empower and equip your English (ELs) and multilingual learners (MLs) with the newly released Spanish version of Executive Command - Poder presidencial from iCivics. 

Updated in partnership with White House Historical Association, Executive Command is now available with the Spanish-language gameplay option and English-language (EL) supports. All students will be able to experience and understand the Executive Branch's structure, functions, and processes with English-language voiceover, glossary, and gameplay scaffolds. 



Executive Command places students in the seat of the President of the United States.

In this role, students will: 

• Propose an agenda to Congress.
• Sign bills into law.
• Delegate new laws to the appropriate federal agency.
• Handle international diplomacy.
• Command the military during times of war.

The Barat Foundation is excited to share that they are offering every Middle School free access to the online Our American Voice ® (OAV) Civics curriculum.

Please visit the site, register, and view the lessons. 

This OAV initiative is supported by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and a recent grant from the State of Illinois State Senate under the leadership of State Senator Don Harmon.

The OAV Civics Curriculum aligns with the Illinois middle school civics requirements and recommendations from numerous national organizations for effective civic education. The OAV Middle School Civics Curriculum builds the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions required for good citizenship of middle school students (grades 5-8). OAV also empowers teachers to develop those citizens of tomorrow.

The Museum of Tolerance (MOT) and Mobile Museum of Tolerance (MMOT) are offering a dynamic in-person workshop that engages students in critical thinking for decoding and rejecting online hate. This is an online safety curriculum aligned with Illinois Media Literacy standards.

During this workshop, students will apply the Center for Media Literacy’s 5 Key Questions to diverse, real-life examples compiled by the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Research Department. Students are challenged to interpret hateful messages and their impact. The workshop ends using an action planning worksheet, which all students take home for ongoing use. This workshop provides an opportunity to begin and maintain critical conversations between adults and students regarding online safety and speaking.

The workshop is approximately 50 minutes and is delivered by one of MOT's trained facilitators. 

To register your interest, click here!

The United States Courts of Appeals along with the United States District Courts in the Seventh and Eight Circuits are holding their 4th Annual Bill of Rights Day art & essay contest. The contest is now live and better than ever!

Students in grades 5-12 in the Seventh and Eighth circuits; Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, are encouraged to submit art and essays on the importance of the Bill of Rights. Students can win up to $500, and teachers can win prizes, too.

The contest deadline is October 29, 2023. For contest prompts, complete rules, and a link to the online submission form, please visit https://judiciallearningcenter.org/bill-of-rights-day/

Teachers, if you would like to submit entries on behalf of your entire class, please contact [email protected].

The Constitutional Democracy Project in partnership with the American Bar Association’s Division for Public Education would like to invite you to attend the 2023 Annual Professional Development Conference for Teachers in Civics, Law, and Government, which will be held on October 27, 2023 at the Conviser Law Center, 565 W. Adams Street in Chicago.

This year’s conference will focus on the theme of “Holding Our Democracy Accountable.” Democracy works best when the citizens of a nation hold their government accountable. But how do we, as citizens, ensure our government exercises its power responsibly and in the best interest of the people? How do we contribute to ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability in a democratic system?

To register click here.

The 2024 MyImpact Challenge is now open for submissions!  The Bill of Rights Institute launched their national civic engagement contest on September 11, the National Day of Service, to continue the legacy of 9/11/2001.

The My Impact Challenge website contains the contest guidelines and a six-lesson curriculum that helps students design a locally targeted service project. 

Students ages 13-19 can submit Community Service Projects for a Change to win up to $10,000. A complete submission contains a project report, a principles essay, and photo or video documentation.  

The contest submission deadline is May 20, 2024. 

With its historic passage in April of 2021, the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (T.E.A.A.C.H.) Act amended 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 click the links below to choose from the following webinar opportunities:

Teaching About the Asian American Experience: A Primer for Grades K-5

• October 16 from 4:30-6:30 p.m.(online)
• November 4 from 9:00-11:00 a.m.(online)
• December 4 from 4:30-6:30 p.m.(online)

Teaching About the Asian American Experience: A Primer for Grades 6-12

• October 22 from 9 to 11:00 a.m. (online)
• November 14 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. (online)

Be sure to visit the Asian Americans Advancing Justice site for more resources to implement the T.E.A.A.C.H. Act.

The Illinois Civics Hub has partnered with the Lou Frey Institute at the University of Central Florida to provide educators the opportunity to earn their microcredentials in the proven practices of civic education embedded in the middle and high school civics course requirements in Illinois. Courses include:

• Current and Controversial Issue Discussions—Learn from academic experts Dr. Diana Hess & Dr. Paula McAvoy as you explore the purpose, role, and function of discussion strategies as pedagogical tools to equip young people to be engaged citizens. This course will enhance the practice of educators with strategies and resources to create a classroom climate in which there are equitable opportunities for ALL students to engage in dialogue about essential questions across the curriculum.

• Simulations of Democratic Processes—Learn from academic experts Dr. Walter Parker & Dr. Jane Lo as you explore how democratic processes and procedures occur as part of the regular functioning of government, in each of the three branches of government, and at each level of government. This course will guide you through the purpose, planning, and implementation of three simulations: town hall meetings, legislative hearings, and moot courts.

• Informed Action through Service Learning—Learn from academic experts Dr. Joseph Kahne and Jessica Marshall as you explore the purpose, role, and function of informed action through service learning as a pedagogical tool to equip young people with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be active members of their community. In this course, you will interact with strategies and tools you can use in your classroom to support student-centered informed action through service learning.

• NEW: Constitutional Democracy as Content and Practice—Learn from academic experts Dr. Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Dr. Shawn P. Healy, and Dr. Bonnie Laughlin Schultz as you explore how the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap can help teach constitutional democracy as both content and practice across disciplines K-12.

Registration information is available on the Guardians of Democracy homepage. Those who successfully complete the 5-week online course will earn a Bronze Certified Guardian of Democracy Educator badge via Badgr and the University of Central Florida Center for Distributive Learning.

Participants can earn 15 PD hours through the DuPage Regional Office of Education for an additional fee.

There are three strands of courses for each proven practice of civics education. Graduate credit is available through the University of St. Francis for completing all three courses. For more information, please visit the Guardians of Democracy homepage.