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Arizona Civics Podcast
Welcome to the Arizona Civics Podcast. This podcast aims to share our journey of sustaining Arizona’s interests in reforms to civic education by working with civic educators in our state. This work is being done by the Center for American Civics at Arizona State University. I am your host, Liz Evans, Civic Education and Outreach Program Director at ASU, and I will interview Arizona teachers, content experts, and leaders in civic education. We hope you enjoy our journey to make Arizona a national civics model!
Arizona Civics Podcast
Democracy Begins in the Classroom: A Teacher-Created Curriculum
Four experienced teachers from diverse grade levels share how they collaborated to create a comprehensive civic literacy curriculum that equips students with essential knowledge and skills for democratic participation. Their teacher-created lessons span from kindergarten through high school, providing developmentally appropriate activities that make civic education accessible and engaging for all learners.
• Civic studies often get "put on the back burner" despite its critical importance for developing engaged citizens
• The curriculum provides standalone lessons that don't need to be awkwardly incorporated into existing frameworks
• Materials are differentiated for various age bands, and some are available in Spanish to support language diversity
• Lessons incorporate primary source documents, discussion questions, and hands-on activities
• The curriculum helps students develop critical thinking skills and practice civil discourse across polarized viewpoints
• Teachers emphasize that civic literacy creates a "ripple effect" when students bring discussions home
• Materials also include adult learner resources that can assist those studying for citizenship tests
• Democracy requires ongoing work to maintain, and civic education prepares students for that responsibility
Check out the free Civic Literacy Curriculum created by teachers for teachers.
The Arizona Constitution Project
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Welcome back to the podcast, everyone. I am so lucky. First of I got to work with such diverse educators and I learned so much myself. So I am going to have my wonderful guest introduce themselves. And actually, josie, I will start with you.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone. My name is Josie McLean and I am a second grade teacher in rural Arizona. I'm originally from Michigan, so I traded the snow for the sun and I have been teaching since 2016. I usually say how many years I've been teaching, but it just depends when you're listening to this.
Speaker 3:So I have been teaching since 2016. Hi everyone, my name is Rachel DeChristina. I teach at a Title I school in a very populated area of Arizona. I have been teaching for over 20 years. Currently I'm teaching kindergarten, but I have lots of other years of experience. But I have to say that, of all the grades I've taught.
Speaker 4:kindergarten is my very favorite. Hi everyone, my name is Belinda Cambry. I am currently teaching at a high school in Baton Rouge, louisiana. This is my 25th year of teaching, but I have started in kindergarten, made my way up to the big kids and currently teach AP government in US history to sophomores and juniors.
Speaker 5:Hello, my name is America Rainey and I am a teacher here in ULIS, texas. I currently teach sixth grade world cultures and I've been teaching for 14 years and I started in third grade and have moved up all the way to sixth grade. But I think that's as far as I want to go. I just want to stick with the middle school kids Awesome, thank you.
Speaker 1:So in this episode we're going to highlight the importance of civic literacy and kind of explore how the civic literacy curriculum that all of these teachers worked on equips students with knowledge and skills needed for participation in democracy, critical analysis of information and meaning civic engagement. So our first question for our wonderful teachers here why is civic literacy essential for preparing students to participate in democracy and how does the curriculum that we made, the civic literacy curriculum kind of help support this goal? And, josie, I will start with you.
Speaker 2:Thank you. I think that there's so much talk around the literacy crisis in America in general and I think that usually civics and social studies in general gets kind of put on the back burner or they try to seamless seamlessly I'm putting air quotes fitted into the curriculums we have for English language arts because they don't want to take away time from other subjects. But the beauty of this literacy curriculum is that it's a designated curriculum, that you don't have to use bits and pieces that are input into a curriculum designed for English language arts and it will, for sure, touch on the skills and the information our students need to know to become incredible, informed participants in our society and the democratic process.
Speaker 3:Piggybacking off of what Josie said, I'm going to agree. Civics is so set to the side and there's so many things that take over in our educational world and I teach kindergarten and this civics literacy curriculum is just beautiful and so easy to use within our classrooms and really I made it easy to add it within my day, where I didn't have to extra think a step. The lessons were just so easily created by us as educators and my students have really enjoyed them. They ask for them because it's they're they're just all different and and and it's allowed them to have a better understanding of how our, our America works.
Speaker 4:I'm going to add to what both Josie and Rachel mentioned, since I have high school kids. I have kids who are about to formally enter practicing the project, you know, registering to vote, becoming voting citizens and so I think one of the biggest things that we find is that people need to understand how government works and what is their role in this process, and having students see the efficacy of that, or the ability for them to see that they can make a difference and they really, I think, engaged kids to get them excited about participating in the whole process of civics and life.
Speaker 5:What I want to add to what everyone else said is also, while creating the lessons and also teaching at the same time, I was noticing how easily I could incorporate the diversity of perspectives that my sixth graders have, as we all do, and being able to teach them that there is some sort of respect for the diversity and being able to have a discussion and maybe just being respectful of the dialogue, how to have constructive conversations, and it helped me as a teacher to also lead these, you know. You know constructed conversations so that they could all get what they had to get out, and then, at the end, you know how to learn how to be respectful of everybody's perspectives.
Speaker 1:And I do want to point out to America created lessons that are also in Spanish. So if you look at the civic literacy curriculum, it will say Spanish lessons available, and I think that that is so important to acknowledge the diversity and to acknowledge that there are students who I mean I'm in Arizona there are students whose first language is Spanish and they're going to get more out of that lesson reading it in their first language. So I do want to call that out America, because I think that can be such a very powerful thing for, you know, citizens of our nation. So just thank you very much and for all of our listeners. They are marked in our civic literacy curriculum as Spanish lessons available. So thank you so much, america. You're amazing and all of you are amazing. You know they're talking about this curriculum, but I do want to say it's because they are the ones that created it.
Speaker 1:The lessons that were created are by teachers who are practicing, who are doing these things with their students. I have not been in the classroom in five years. I have two decades of experience. I don't want to negate that, but I think that the best lessons always come from people who are in the classroom, who are with kids.
Speaker 1:So, as these teachers talk about these lessons, I do want to point that out, because for me, to review them and to look at them and put them up on our website was so. It just filled me with so much hope and so much joy, because this is what's going out to teachers and to students and it genuinely I mean and I will probably say it for the rest of my career, but this was probably one of the most satisfying projects because of that. So I do want to put that out there. So our next question is if I'm an educator so whether I am a veteran educator or maybe a brand new teacher how can I effectively use the civic literacy curriculum to engage students in meaningful discussions about government and citizenship? And, rachel, I'm going to start with you you have the kindergartner, so what does that look like for you?
Speaker 3:So the civic literacy curriculum that we created is different age bands and so mine's like the K, through two age band and back when we were voting on president there. I didn't want to get into all that with five-year-olds and they hear enough at home from their parents. There was a lesson that was created in our band about voting and it was a story and then they had to vote on what they thought it was and we had so much meaningful conversation from that that they could take home and then talk about with their families. But later on, like six weeks later, we voted in our cafeteria over the new food that would get introduced and my five-year-olds were able to take that lesson that we'd done six weeks before, relate it to that, talk about how their vote mattered, and it was just really a really engaging, cool experience, Because at five we forget things very easily and they didn't. So I hope that teachers use this resource because it's been really good for my kids.
Speaker 4:And adding to that, so I have the other end of the spectrum, the high school kids, and so for some of them they are you want to say that they come to school wanting to learn every single day and so happy about it.
Speaker 4:But we just went through the whole March Madness time in basketball, and so some of these lessons that we've created are kind of similar to that, using those same ideas. So I think what and you know to the point of the whole project of having classroom teachers create this is we have tried to tap into how students learn, what are the best ways to engage them and to get them to get to that meaningful thinking and even to trick them even into thinking and participating and such, and so I think these lessons really do reflect that. And on a side note, another way I personally use the curriculum. I had a colleague who was studying for the citizenship test, and so we use the questions and some of the lessons and activities, and so I think you know that, aside from participating with this, that really was one of the most meaningful things I've ever done, because I helped another adult get her citizenship and so finally, like, overcome that hurdle, and so that to me kind of reinvigorated everything that I've been doing too. So just another aside it also works with adults.
Speaker 5:I wanted to tell Belinda that that sounded amazing. We often have parents that ask that question of us as teachers, like how can we get you know, how can we get practice or how can you help us, and so I really like that we can use these lessons to give to our parents as well. But, as an educator, to effectively use this curriculum, I found that in my curriculum agenda, whenever I come up with a topic, I can just go to the curriculum, look and see what's available on the website and what's been created for whatever grade band. So if we're talking about Europe or the Cold War, there's like a lesson there with all the steps that you can use to engage a discussion, to get hands on student centered activities started and then even have a very good discussion at the end, and so it's all laid out there for you. I think that it is a very easy thing, a very easy resource to access and to use, and I think that it's incredible that it's available and that you were able to work this and have it available for everybody.
Speaker 2:What everyone said was just incredible and really drives the point home. What I wanted to end this question with is kids are interested in these topics as young as five years old, and a lot of the things go with current events and the news that they may have questions about and want to have a safe, confident discussion with their classmates and teacher. And teachers like us don't have to scramble looking for something. We don't need to come up with something on our own and these lessons have all been vetted. So I just encourage every educator to use these, even if I am teaching a second grade class but I'm using a kindergarten lesson Like well, that's the same grade band, it is designed for K-2 and you modify it to your students' needs.
Speaker 2:But maybe I'm teaching a fifth grade class and need to start with a K-2 band lesson to really get back to the basics. And we've looked at each other's lessons. We didn't just look at our own and forget about it. And so I see the quality of the lessons from kindergarten on the same topic all the way to 12th grade, and they do hit the citizenship test questions and standards that are required and important for us to teach.
Speaker 1:My face hurts because I'm smiling so hard. So there are adult lessons on this, because one of the things that we noticed is so I am Gen X, I didn't really get a lot of civic education in school because there was such a focus on STEM, and so what we're noticing is a lot of civic education in school because there was such a focus on STEM, and so what we're noticing is a lot of students are bringing these lessons home to their parents and we do have people who want to take the citizenship test, and if those people want to take the test, I want them to have everything available for free, right? It is hard enough to go through that process and if you are teaching, or even if you're just interested, I know that for me, I always like to have a little bit of background knowledge, because I'm afraid that the kids are going to ask a question I don't know. Our faculty has created a background and it's short. It's a couple paragraphs just to kind of get you in that mind frame and you can utilize it in class or you can just use it for yourself.
Speaker 1:Belinda, I love that you brought that up, because when we talk about K-12 curriculum, sometimes I think people don't think it's for adults. We have adult learner lessons. So even if you see something you know on the news and you're like I wonder, I wonder what that is, there is a lesson, there's discussion questions. What that is, there is a lesson, there's discussion questions. We tried to make it as broad as we possibly could. So my next question is really looking at what role does civic literacy play in helping students critically analyze information and engage in civil discourse, and how can curriculum design support these skills? And all of you have just driven the point home that it doesn't matter if they're the kindergartners, it doesn't matter if they're the high schoolers. This is something that all kids should be looking at and should be doing. So, belinda, I'm gonna start with you on this one.
Speaker 4:And that's the big question, right Is, how do we do all of this? As an AP government teacher, I can't write the script any easier with what's going on every day. I mean, even the most obscure constitutional facts and pieces are coming up in the news, and we've really done a lot more with current events in class. But, like you said, the big piece here is civil discourse. How do we really do it so that kids are knowledgeable, they're respectful, they understand, and I think one of the things we have seen is that in our politics it's either black or white. We have so many people who are either for or against. We've lost that middle ground.
Speaker 4:So also trying to get kids to even stop and listen, what is the other side saying? What is it that the other side values or wants? And so some of that really begins from civic literacy. How do we teach kids just, you know what is the skill? If it's critical thinking, if it is that value of just being able to identify what the other side is thinking or wanting or believes, and then how do we negotiate from that point?
Speaker 4:And so I think it is one of those things that I'm so grateful that actually our kindergarten friends and all of this is really beginning at a younger age, that I'm so grateful that actually our kindergarten friends and all of this is really beginning at a younger age, because I'm hopeful that by the time those kids get to me in high school we can have so much deeper and greater discussions, because they are familiar and they've seen that a lot, and that's what I think the joy of this curriculum is too, if people are using it at younger grades and my state just revamped our standards to do that, to make our, you know, social studies is getting real for elementary now, and so if that is the case, by the time they get to me we should be able to have a great discourse in class.
Speaker 5:What I want to add to this question and it's mostly on the part of the curriculum is that there are a lot of primary source documents that are included in when you're learning anything in history, especially in world cultures. We want to look at developing countries and wars and things that have happened, but there are primary documents that are included. I know that sometimes they're difficult to read, you know, depending on the grade level or grade band that you're teaching. I found that the primary source documents can be taken. You can adapt it to the grade level that you teach, and so I just love that they're available and that we could use those in order to teach our students to be able to analyze something, read it, have a discussion about it, and it's okay.
Speaker 5:If you don't agree, it's okay. It's just a way to resolve a conflict. It's happened before. Is it happening today? What happened in the past? How did we use the knowledge or the documents that we have available in order to? How can we apply it? And so I just I just built a student that is able to critically think and can be appreciative of what you can go through in order to come to a resolution on something.
Speaker 2:I keep thinking of the quote that's like those who don't understand the past are doomed to repeat it, and so much of civics and government.
Speaker 2:And these lessons and standards and questions go back in history and they are history lessons, and every single person in our country makes our country what it is and amazing. And to start young and build that foundation so that when they get to 12th grade, like Belinda said, they are confident and they have a well-rounded background. And the beauty of this curriculum is that the lessons are created at developmentally appropriate levels that don't go too deep or too shallow and really drive the point home of the specific question that the lesson was written for, and so I think everyone had amazing answers once again so far. I think everyone had amazing answers once again so far. And not only are we teaching critical thinkers, which goes and seeps into all the other areas of math and reading and science and social studies and their social, emotional health, and we're also trying to encourage and teach students to be active listeners too, and then you can have a solid and respectful conversation about big topics that are not black and white. They are more gray white, they are more gray.
Speaker 3:I think all my colleagues did a really good job of summing it up, and what I would like to add is I see a lot of hope for our future because I do teach the little, so I'm excited. I would love to see my kids end up in Belinda's 12th grade AP class and have that really meaningful, engaging conversation where we can all get along and disagree, because we are missing that in the world right now, and so I think that the curriculum we've created opens those opportunities for teachers, opens those opportunities for teachers. We have a lot of meaningful questions that you can ask and ways that you can go about it and activities and using it in my room. This year it's really helped my social emotional learning, so I'm excited.
Speaker 1:I and this is obviously going to be audio, but I wish everybody could see.
Speaker 1:Every time somebody's talking, we're all shaking our heads and we're smiling, it's just it is.
Speaker 1:This is the stuff that gives me hope, no matter, and I think that, regardless of the administration, there's always things that sometimes feel hopeless, but doing this kind of work it it fills me with so much hope and like genuine joy, because I like look at you guys and I'm like all of these kids are so lucky to have you as teachers, and I would you're right, rachel Like I would love if my daughter had all of you as teachers and I just I can't words are just failing me right now because I'm just so proud of everything that you've all done. So our last question how can schools and communities and I think that the term community, too, means something different to everyone, and it means something different within, like different states or different towns, but it also means something different in elementary school versus a middle school versus a high school so how can schools and communities work together to implement and strengthen civic literacy for long-term impact and America? I'm going to start with you on this one.
Speaker 5:Thank you.
Speaker 5:I just want to say that schools and communities I mean if they get to work together, I mean, isn't that what democracy is about?
Speaker 5:Having really good, informed citizens, engaged citizens, responsible to vote I think that we need to use the curriculum to, you know, activate this knowledge in our students so that they can bring their families in. And I just, I just we don't have a student council in our, in our, in our campus right now. We're we're an elementary school with a sixth grade middle school inside of the elementary school, and so I just see so many big things happening for our sixth grade students right now, like PT student council, having our community leaders come in and having them go go visit a local town, meeting Like there's a lot of things going on in our neighborhood. I just think that there's so much of a thing that we can do in order to get us together. And so I'm really hopeful and I'm thankful that I have the curriculum and and that I was engaged in this opportunity, because now I feel like I've got the little energy that I can, I can use to get something going for our campus.
Speaker 2:A strong civics curriculum makes a strong community, because it's kind of not the trickle down effect, it's almost the trickle up effect as the kids are growing older and older and I heard a quote once by a speaker that you know you did well as a teacher if that lesson makes it home to the dinner table.
Speaker 2:And earlier in the conversation we were talking about engaging the families and adults using these lessons and kids bringing them home. But these lessons can have very fun components to them that the kids will remember that it's not just textbooks or reading, reading, reading, reading. They're hands-on and they are varied and that will make it home to the dinner table and it will have that effect that ripples out into the community. And I think a big way that it can be successful is if the school and the community have buy-in and we just make the school and the community aware and share out about this resource that's available and free and accessible, so that maybe it will spread to surrounding schools and other communities and word of mouth and families telling other families, because I do have many families that would benefit from this. Everyone benefits from it. But to be able to talk about it at the dinner table, then we know we did well, and then it's going out into the community.
Speaker 3:To kind of piggyback off what Josie said, if just we do the lessons, then the next grade and the next grade isn't going to be able to continue that. So personally I next year I'm going to teach my staff, hopefully, about this and we're going to get the buy in my principal's already bought in and so our school and our community are going to try to start using these, because we have so many new teachers at our school that just don't have the time to do these kind of things and so it's going to be right there at their fingertips and then they can easily use them. So that's one way, personally, that I'm going to, and then I'm part of a larger community national board teacher, so I've been talking about it, sharing it. So those are my two goals to try to get it out and get more people seeing it and using it.
Speaker 4:Okay, josie, you made me feel good, because that's the one response I always get from parents is that their kids want to talk politics at dinner.
Speaker 4:So maybe I might be doing something right.
Speaker 4:And the big thing and also kind of going off of what Rachel said too I think the biggest thing for us, especially during this time, this time that we're living in, is people are afraid.
Speaker 4:They're afraid of what inquiry is, they're afraid of what this deeper they're afraid of what this deeper understanding and discussion and civil discourse about civics is, and so I think if the more we can kind of share that information with our communities to see it's not scary, it's not anything. We're just teaching them how government works and we're teaching them in a way that shows democracy is hard, you have to work at it, to keep it, and so that's all that's really. You know, that we're trying to accomplish is to get people to understand how government works, what citizenship is and what it looks like, so that we can keep it going, so that we can have it in the future, so that those kindergartners can still be able to participate by the time they turn 18 and such, and so I think some of it is just getting the word out so that people see that it's not so scary. It is actually quite enjoyable and you know there's lots, lots of work to do, but this is a great place to kind of start.
Speaker 1:It reminds me of the Benjamin Franklin quote after you know, they came out and she said well, what kind of government do we have? And he said a republic. If you can keep it, rachel Josie, america, belinda, this genuinely has been the high point of my day, of my week. The ability to work with you has again. It's just such an honor and I thank you so much for what you do for students, for what you do for other teachers and for what you do for civics. So thank you so much for your time today.
