Hello, my name is Patrick Boulger and I teach at Drury High School in North Adams Mass. As a 8th grade Civics teacher my excitement in interest to utilize the resources discussed is significant. I have engaged in multiple service learning projects in my career however this particular one presents some different but exciting challenges. As working with 8th graders I want to instill a sense of ownership and accomplishment in the students about the project. However I want to ensure that the projects has meaning for both the community and the students, which can be a slippery slope when you are talking about 13-14 year children. Engagement in interest needs to be a cornerstone of what we are trying to have them accomplish I believe for this to be a positive experience for all and for future students. Resources that I have researched and used in some ways through past projects and currently in class are below. 

Resources: 

• Dosomething.org https://www.dosomething.org/us A site for young people to become engaged in a global movement for social change, Do Something features activist campaigns, blogs, and scholarships to help young people connect with social issues and get motivated to do something.
• generationOn http://www.generationon.org/ A Points of Light's youth service enterprise, generationOn inspires, equips and mobilizes youth to take action through generationOn service clubs, schools, youth organizations, campaigns and youth leadership initiatives. They also provide tools and resources to kids, teens, families, educators and organizations to help kids change the world and themselves through service.
• Hands On Network http://www.handsonnetwork.org/ An online community that equips and mobilizes people to take action in their communities. Contains an online library of resources and tools, online learning courses, training programs, and networking opportunities.
• Inspired to Service, An Online Toolkit for Youth-Led Interfaith Action http://www.inspiredtoserve.org/ Tools, resources, ideas, and support for building positive relationships across faiths, generations, cultures, sectors, and the community through youth-led service-learning.
• Oregon Volunteers! Service Project Toolkit http://www.oregonvolunteers.org/media/uploads/ServiceProjectToolkit.pdf Resources and tools for developing community service projects, building partnerships, managing volunteers, budgeting and fundraising, and working with the media Resource Directory 22
• You for Youth, U.S. Department of Education https://y4y.ed.gov/ An online community for youth-focused professionals with tools, trainings, and resources related to creating engaging afterschool programing. Includes topics like project-based learning, civic engagement, strengthening partnerships, and parent engagement.
• Youth Service America http://ysa.org/ Resources for participating in large- scale youth service campaigns, funding and grants opportunities, training resources, and award recognition Community Building Resources
• Community Tool Box http://ctb.ku.edu/en The Community Tool Box is a free, online resource for those working to build healthier communities and bring about social change. It offers materials for learning and tools for implementation for community assessments, planning, interventions, evaluation, advocacy and more.
• Innovation Center for Community & Youth Development and National 4-H Council Publication, Building Community: A Tool Kit for Youth & Adults in Charting Assets and Creating Change. http://www.theinnovationcenter.org/files/BuildingCommunity_ToolKit.pdf Activities, tools, and resources for building youth-adult partnerships, charting community assets, and project visioning, planning, and sustainability.
• United We Serve, Corporation for National and Community Service http://www.serve.gov/ Resources, toolkits and initiatives for uniting citizens in service to positively change communities. Resources for Civic Engagement, Philanthropy, and Social Justice
• Learning to Give http://www.learningtogive.org/ A resource of 1,700 K-12 lesson plans to inspire student philanthropy and giving.
• Social Justice Toolbox http://www.socialjusticetoolbox.com/ An online resource of activities and facilitation guides for social justice and diversity trainings.
• Teaching Tolerance, Southern Poverty Law Center http://www.tolerance.org K-12 Classroom lessons, activities, and support for learning about diversity, equity, cultural awareness and social justice
• Playspent.org www.playspent.org Play Spent is an online simulation and social media game that challenges players to “live” for 1 month without breaking the bank. This simulation requires players to think about and make difficult decisions that are often faced by those who live in poverty. 

Hi all!

My name is Ashley Puls and I teach at East Longmeadow High School in East Longmeadow, MA. I teach US I, Modern World and this year I am taking on the AP US Government class. AP and CollegeBoard require a civics project after the students take their final exams and with the Mass state standards changing to require civics education, I think this PD is a great opportunity.

I am excited to take part in this professional development to help me gain more insight to the Civics standards and to help my government students to really get involved in community projects. 

I do not have many sources but the ones I do have include:

https://www.dosomething.org/us  

https://youth.gov/youth-topics/civic-engagement-and-volunteering 

https://crfcap.org 

Hello everyone, I’m Carolyn Ritter, a social studies teacher at East Longmeadow High School. Currently, I teach 9th grade World History and am in the process of reviving our AP European History and Civics and Issues courses (both open to grades 11 and 12). Our district is currently reviewing our scope and sequence to better accommodate a grade-wide civics engagement project with the possibility of making civics a required high school course. My department has made civics education a priority and as the teacher of a hybrid American Government and current events class I’m excited about bringing more civics engagement into my course. Our biggest challenge is logistical in nature. With a limited number of teachers, how do we ensure every student takes a civics class while still meeting the state-mandated US History requirement and offering electives (World History, African-American studies, Psychology, etc.) that reflect, support, and encourage cultural diversity in our community? I'm really looking forward to learning more about what everyone else is doing in their classrooms!

I love using some of the curricula from The Choices Program from Brown University for tackling issues like US foreign policy, immigration, and the civil rights movement. I have purchased a few programs (and love them) but they also provide lots of free resources; I have linked my current favorites below.

The State of the Union Address

Seeking Asylum in the United States

Free short videos with leading scholars, journalists, practitioners, artists, activists, policymakers, and others

I'm Catherine Glennon and I teach at Mohawk Trail Regional School. I'm new this year, and have a new baby at home, so I think those are my biggest challenges. I have lovely coworkers who will also be joining us and am excited to work with my former colleague and friend Ashley Puls again!

I'm excited and a bit overwhelmed by the civics projects. I like the idea in a lot of ways, but I have some of the same concerns Patrick expressed about projects being meaningful. We also have talked at length as a department about what Carolyn discussed - fitting this in appropriately with requirements and electives and a small department. 

So many resources have been shared, but I found this one from iCivics, one of my go to sources for just about everything else. https://www.icivics.org/teachers/ma They have a site just for the Civics Projects. I will fully admit to not actually having looked at it yet... #DoAsISayNotAsIDo

If anyone is interested in becoming more proficient at teaching civics with primary sources from the Library, the Barat Education Foundation invites you to become part of the 2020 TPS Civics Educator Micro-credential program. The program is multidisciplinary and appropriate for teachers of any subject and grade. To learn more and apply, click here.

Barat Education Foundation also runs a civic engagement program: Our American Voice (OAV for short). To learn more about what they students learn and do, check out the OAV Facebook page. In particular, click the video section to see the project videos students have created over the years.

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