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Civic Education

Our civic education approach develops the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for students to become engaged and ethical participants in democracy.

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Want to learn how Facing History can help you integrate civic education in your classrooms and schools? Download our 3-page Approach to Civic Education guide for free.

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Facing History’s civic education resources and professional learning opportunities support teachers to cultivate a strong sense of civic responsibility and engagement in their students.

Our civic education curriculum teaches students to discern facts from misinformation, connect history with the world around them, engage with others who differ from them and collaboratively explore solutions to complex civic problems.

Our Approach to Civic Education

Drawing on Facing History’s learning journey, our approach to civic education includes opportunities where students explore, learn, and participate and, ultimately, develop informed civic responsibility.

Explore: Facing History centers students’ identities, voices, and lived experiences as they develop civic agency and responsibility.

Learn: Facing History builds students’ civic knowledge and understanding by engaging them in inquiry and analysis of the complexities of history, human experience, and societal issues.

Participate: Facing History creates opportunities for students to learn how to share their perspectives, exercise their voice, and raise awareness in informed and ethical ways using a variety of formats and media.

Collection

Use these resources on voting, media literacy, polarization, and bias to talk about US elections with your high school and middle school students.

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Guide

The ideas and tools in this guide will help you prepare students to engage in reflective conversations on topics that matter.

Collection

Explore this collection of lesson plans that cover a wide range of themes related to democracy, including citizen power and civic participation, the rule of law, the role of a free press, and more.

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Unit

This unit uses the 10 Questions Framework to explore two examples of youth activism: the 1963 Chicago schools boycott and the present-day movement against gun violence launched by Parkland students.

Facing History & Ourselves Bullying Summit September 29th 2012 in Los Angeles CA

Unit

Teach students about media literacy, helping them develop as critical consumers and creators of information, in order to support their well-being, their relationships and our democracy.

Toolkit

This toolkit provides lessons and strategies for helping your students make sense of issues in the news related to democracy.

Aligned Civic Education Professional Development

Facing History offers a wide variety of professional development experiences that support the implementation of our civic education curriculum. These offerings also develop educator competencies that are foundational to our approach, including: nurturing student-centered classrooms; promoting inquiry-based learning and deliberative skills; and fostering empathy and ethical reflection.

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See Upcoming & On-Demand Professional Development for Teachers

Join upcoming live webinars, courses, and workshops to gain new skills and learn in community with other civically-minded educators. Or browse on-demand webinars, courses, and workshops to learn at your own pace.

Explore Professional Development Opportunities

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Bring Facing History Professional Development to Your Whole School or District

Get information on how you can bring our industry-leading professional development to all the educators in your school or district.

Explore School & District Programs

Facing History & Ourselves’ approach to civic learning helps educators and school districts in California meet California History–Social Science Framework standards.

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Learn how Facing History's resources meet the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework.

Learn how Facing History's resources are used in New York City Public Schools' Civics for All curriculum, and find resources to support schools implementing the State Seal of Civic Readiness.

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Our most important measures of success are meaningful civic and academic outcomes for students. In studies conducted over the past 20 years, students report the following as a result of their experiences with Facing History:

86% of Facing History alumni registered to vote in the last presidential election and were more civically engaged than their peers.
93% of Facing History students said Facing History's presence in their school has increased their capacity to understand and feel for people who are different from them.
81% of Facing History students said Facing History's presence in their school has increased their capacity to think about the impact of their choices.