Fostering Civic Imagination and Empowering Students to Shape the Future
Help students consider and pursue a better world, become empowered civic actors, and build connections using their imaginations.
![Students sitting around round table working on projects](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-04/Students%20sitting%20around%20round%20table%20working%20on%20projects%20%28FH2196858%29.jpg?h=1ed8eb50&itok=ijO4D_s5)
The Union As It Was
Students examine documents that shed light on life in the South under the policies of Presidential Reconstruction in 1865 and 1866.
![Photo shows a group of six African American men and women posed picking cotton in a field.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civil_Rights_Picking_Cotton_Savannah_1867_FH2177912.jpg?h=2b78d577&itok=DpnqiD0k)
Radical Reconstruction and the Birth of Civil Rights
Students learn about the responses to Johnson’s policies by Republicans in Congress and examine the fourteenth amendment that overturned Presidential Reconstruction.
![Photo of page 1 of the 14th amendment of the US Constitution](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civil_Rights_1868_14th_Amendment_of_the_United_States_Constitution_%20FH21203.jpg?h=4359e9ca&itok=4j99BHvV)
Expanding Democracy
Students reflect on the revolutionary changes that occurred because of the landmark legislation and amendments passed during the Reconstruction era.
![A studio portrait shows African American members of the General Assembly from 1887 to 1888](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civil_Rights_1887_Members_of_the_Virginia_GA_FH21416.jpg?h=4b21dcd5&itok=ZtAL-w-Y)
Free and Fair Elections: Why Do They Matter?
This mini-lesson uses our Free and Fair Elections explainer to help students reflect on the importance of elections, define the phrase “free and fair elections,” and learn about electoral systems in their region.
![Hand putting Jefferson County Colorado election ballot envelope into ballot drop box in early voting mail election](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/TIFreeFairElections_iStock-1209551764_fullres.jpg?h=62bc044e&itok=S4Nqqy5G)
Understanding and Assessing the UK’s Democracy
Use this lesson to deepen students’ understanding of the concept of democracy, provide a framework for assessing a democracy’s health, and explore the strengths and weaknesses of the UK’s parliamentary democracy.
![A birds eye view of London, United Kingdom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-09/paul-silvan-Nv1-l_xZnV4-unsplash_banner.jpg?h=79aa1f20&itok=EZyyAjHN)
Connecting to the Past
Students read personal essays that illuminate how the choices made by our families and previous generations influence who we are today.
![One student talks while others listen.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/SL_190523_0544.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=sAQTnjrF)
Finding Your Voice
Students reflect on what "American" means to them and are introduced to the idea that the United States is the product of many individual voices and stories.
![The “Flag of Faces” exhibit at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum features a mosaic of individual portraits.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Flag_of_Faces_Medium_res.jpg?h=7fb2964e&itok=NLw_pw22)
Identity and Choices
Students consider their own agency in creating their identities through choices made about who we are and how we present ourselves.
![Bayeté Ross Smith’s 2010 series "Our Kind of People" examines how clothing, ethnicity, and gender influence our ideas about identity, personality, and character.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2010_OurKindofPeoplecombined_FH2170284.jpg?h=52649bae&itok=_jsHfuii)
Identity and Labels
Students analyze a cartoon and a short video that prompt reflection on the ways we use labels, stereotypes, and assumptions to identify each other.
![A man and woman warm up for a run on an outdoor trail.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2022_WhatKindofAsianAreYou_FH2170285.jpg?h=ae1281eb&itok=Bd0IyTwf)
Identity and Names
Students begin to explore the concept of identity by considering how our names represent who we are and reflect our relationship to society.
![Students writing on a paper.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/SL_190523_0789.jpg?h=c11c9c1d&itok=u07iF1Je)