CIRCLE Online Seminar - Resources

Have you ever avoided discussing controversial issues in the classroom? Teachers report often avoiding these types of discussions due to concerns about the unpredictability of student reactions, accusations of trying to push a political agenda, and insufficient knowledge or skills to work through complex issues. Debates, however, have been shown to have a direct and positive impact on students' critical thinking skills and democratic commitments. With some preparation and facilitation techniques, teachers' concerns can be addressed and open discussions of current events and social issues can become an extremely rewarding experience for both teachers and their students.

e Library's mission is to support the Congress in fulfilling its constitutional duties and to further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people. -- they have lesson plans and educational supports.

The National Constitution Center is the first and only nonprofit, nonpartisan institution devoted to the most powerful vision of freedom ever expressed: the U.S. Constitution. Located on Independence Mall in Historic Philadelphia, the birthplace of American freedom, the Center illuminates constitutional ideals and inspires active citizenship through a state-of-the-art museum experience, including hundreds of interactive exhibits, films and rare artifacts; must-see feature exhibitions; the internationally acclaimed, 360-degree theatrical production Freedom Rising; and the iconic Signers' Hall, where visitors can sign the Constitution alongside 42 life-size, bronze statues of the Founding Fathers. - they have lesson plans and educational supports

Facebook group for California statewide gorup.

All members of the public are invited to attend this free hearing. We are holding this meeting to receive feedback from you about the recommendations and to engage key local and regional stakeholders and opinion leaders in the conversation about access to quality civic learning in your area.

General info on CA collaboration with diverse communiities

The League of Women Voters of California Education Fund (LWVCEF) has received a grant from the Irvine Foundation for a project to develop a best practices manual for all of California's Official Voter Information Guides.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be hosting a number of demo dialogues to give potential customers a chance to try the application hands-on.

This group has a diversity of partners and collaborations working on a statewide effort to improve Civic Mission of schools.

Tim mentions the CIR as an innovation in public dialogue and deliberation related to decision making

Enter your address to find your polling place, build your ballot with our online voters' guide and much more! With our voters' guide you can see the races on your ballot, compare candidates' positions side-by-side, and print out a "ballot" indicating your preferences as a reminder and take it with you to the polls on Election Day. Check out our resources for military and overseas voters!

Has lesson lans and supports for those looking to engage youth. Our Mission | Board of Directors | Annual Report/Financial Statements | Executive Staff | Staff/Contact Us Our Mission Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) seeks to instill in our nation's youth a deeper understanding of citizenship through values expressed in our Constitution and its Bill of Rights and to educate young people to become active and responsible participants in our society. CRF is dedicated to assuring our country's future by investing in our youth today.

Mikva Challenge develops the next generation of civic leaders, activists and policy-makers. We do this by providing young people with opportunities to actively participate in the political process, because we believe that the best way to learn leadership and to learn democracy is to experience both.

The League position on the citizen's right to know

The Teaching with Primary Sources Program works with colleges and other educational organizations to deliver professional development programs that help teachers use the Library of Congress's rich reservoir of digitized primary source materials to design challenging, high-quality instruction.

n January 2014, the City of Boston will launch a groundbreaking participatory budgeting (PB) process which will engage Boston youth in directly deciding how to spend $1 million of the city's capital budget. Through participatory budgeting, young Bostonians will identify projects to improve their communities, vet those projects, consider trade-offs, and vote on how to spend the $1 million.

The Middle School Public Debate Program is designed to foster debate participation in class and in competition. Students who debate in class may use any number of debate formats to facilitate research, discussion, and deliberation on important issues and events as well as topics derived from the curriculum. Students who debate in competition use a unique debate format designed for middle school students. The MSPDP format is the only competitive debate format designed for students in the middle grades in cooperation with middle school teachers. The format draws from multiple popular debate formats and educational standards to combine rigorous practice and preparation with accessibility and fun. To learn more about the MSPDP debate format, click here , or go to the Curriculum Center .

good intro to participatory budgeting from Frontiers of Democracy conference in 2012

The Foundation seeks to foster the concept of peace not as a utopian dream but as an attainable goal to strive for, and to stimulate the creative development of tools for this effort. It supports development of collaboration and communication skills for resolving and transforming conflicts, and the development of the skills of compromise, all while accommodating different perspectives and interests.

Developed by Tufts University's Tisch College and Emerson University's Engagement Game Lab -- Where civic engagement meets social gaming. We believe learning becomes even more powerful when you have fun doing it. Civic Seed is an experimental gaming and teaching platform designed to do just that. By playing Civic Seed, you'll learn more about yourself and your peers, Tuft's host communities, how to build mutually beneficial relationships with them, and the philosophies behind meaningful and effective civic engagement. Best of all, you'll be certified by Tufts to engage with the vibrant host communities it partners with, and build your own Civic Resume as you play!