The Center for Civic Education and Gibbs Smith Education have joined forces to distribute the Center’s nationally recognized We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution and Project Citizen curricular materials for K-12 classrooms.
Level 1: Elementary School
We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution
We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution teaches upper elementary students about civics, government, and active citizenship. Students explore the history and principles of American constitutional democracy through critical thinking and cooperative learning. The program culminates with a unique and engaging activity: the simulated congressional hearing.
The fourth edition of We the People explores the history and principles of constitutional democracy in the United States. The text features updated content and full-color graphics, including a new section on the United States as a democratic republic.
Level 2: Middle School
We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution
We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution helps middle school students examine the philosophical foundation of American democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. We the People demonstrates how students can participate in and influence civic affairs and is aligned with state standards.
Now in its third edition, We the People focuses on civics, government, and active citizenship. The textbook, composed of six units and 30 lessons, uses critical-thinking exercises and cooperative learning. The course culminates in a simulated congressional hearing to teach the history and principles of constitutional democracy.
Level 3: High School
We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution
The fourth edition of We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution features updated text, full-color images, exercises, and Supreme Court cases to ensure that the next generation of Americans has the intellectual tools they need to become informed and engaged citizens.
We the People contains six units and 39 lessons, giving high school students a firm understanding of government and citizenship. Students explore the history and principles of constitutional democracy through critical-thinking exercises and cooperative learning. At the end of the course, students participate in a simulated congressional hearing.
Grades 3–5
We the People: The Citizen & Democracy
The elementary school years are the best time to help students gain a beginning understanding of the foundational ideas essential to preserving our free society.
The Center's elementary We the People: The Citizen & Democracy text for Grades 3–5 can be used to increase their commitment to our nation's founding principles. Full color and richly illustrated, the student book contains two units with 11 lessons.
Level 1: Middle School
Project Citizen: Community Engagement in Public Policy
Project Citizen engages middle school students in proposing public policy solutions to real-world problems in their communities. Using 10 clearly defined action steps, students learn the skills and knowledge they need to be active, responsible, and impactful citizens.
Students select a real problem or issue in their community, work together to come up with possible solutions, develop an action plan, and share their chosen solution in order to make real change that promotes the common good. Students also learn what public policy is, its role in our government and society, and how they can help influence what policies get enacted.
Level 2: High School
Project Citizen: Community Engagement in Public Policy
Project Citizen: Community Engagement in Public Policy is designed to showcase the importance of being involved in one’s local community, state, and nation. It is a powerful tool that will help you learn the skills and knowledge you need to be an active, responsible, and impactful member of society.
In this updated edition of Project Citizen are new integrated opportunities, resources, and lessons for you to learn and practice the skills of media literacy throughout the Project Citizen process. Understanding how to find sources, evaluate evidence, assess media credibility, and identify biases and misinformation are essential skills for everyone, especially those who are engaged in this project.
The Level 2 textbook is suggested for both secondary students and adults.
American Legacy: The United States Constitution and Other Essential Documents of American Democracy
American Legacy: The United States Constitution and Other Essential Documents of American Democracy is much more than a pocket Constitution. This portable resource for any student of American government contains a selection of documents important for understanding the core and evolving principles of American democracy that undergird the United States of America.
The documents illuminate who we are, what we believe, what rights we have, and how we govern ourselves. New to this edition is “I Have a Story” by Maya Angelou, an essay written by the author in 2012 especially for the Center for Civic Education.
Nivel 1: Escuela intermedia
Proyecto Ciudadano: participación de la comunidad en las políticas públicas
Proyecto Ciudadano involucra a estudiantes de secundaria en la propuesta de soluciones de políticas públicas a problemas del mundo real en sus comunidades. Utilizando diez pasos de acción claramente definidos, los estudiantes aprenden las habilidades y conocimientos que necesitan para ser ciudadanos activos, responsables e impactantes.
Los estudiantes seleccionan un problema o asunto real en su comunidad, trabajan juntos para encontrar posibles soluciones, desarrollan un plan de acción y comparten la solución elegida para lograr un cambio real que promueva el bien común. Los estudiantes también aprenden qué son las políticas públicas, su papel en nuestro gobierno y sociedad, y cómo pueden ayudar a influir en las políticas que se promulgan.
Nivel 2: Escuela intermedia
Nosotros, el pueblo: el ciudadano y la Constitución
Nosotros, el pueblo: el ciudadano y la Constitución ayuda a los estudiantes de secundaria a examinar la base filosófica de la ciudadanía. Nosotros, el pueblo muestra cómo los estudiantes pueden participar e influir en los asuntos cívicos y está alineado con los estándares estatales.
Ahora en su tercera edición, Nosotros, el pueblo se centra en la educación cívica, el gobierno y la ciudadanía activa. El libro de texto, compuesto por seis unidades y 30 lecciones, utiliza ejercicios de pensamiento crítico y aprendizaje cooperativo. El curso culmina con una audiencia simulada del Congreso para enseñar la historia y los principios de la democracia constitucional.
From Gibbs Smith Education
A New Nation: US Beginnings and Civic Foundations
With an engaging narrative that weaves geography, economics, culture, and history together with an extended discussion of the country's civic foundations, A New Nation is a comprehensive study of the development of government and democracy in the United States. Artfully curated content and a teacher- and student-supporting curriculum guide students through the interconnected and diverse events and circumstances that formed the country's governing structure.