Participate Civics in Action
Civics in Action includes exemplars of the curriculum in and out of the classroom.
MS Civics: Planning a Meeting with a Representative
Members of community organizations need a variety of skills, from planning to collaborating to raising funds and more. Unit 3 Exploration of the Middle School curriculum focuses on planning a meeting. While this exploration is a simulation, students will be able to employ these skills in planning for an authentic action project.
Students will know key steps in planning a meeting and general guidelines for facilitating a meeting. Students will then be able to plan a meeting.
Disney Magnet’s Civics Class met with Representative Elizabeth Thompson last school year.
View Michael Feinberg’s Sample Lesson Plan, along with the agenda, meeting questions, and student reflection here.
HS Civics: The Power of Policy & City Government
In 2018, CPS and the Office of the City Clerk teamed up to develop a unique experiential learning opportunity for Participate Civics students. Today, every year over 300 students work with their peers across the city to develop policy through a simulation of City Council. Then, at the end of the year student representatives from each school participate in Next Gen City Council - an event that brings students together to develop and pass a resolution to be brought to City Council.
This partnership provides an unprecedented opportunity for CPS students to experience city politics and government as part of their Participate Civics course experience. The learning opportunities and associated field trips advance students’ exploration of the Participate Civics Unit 3 Essential Questions:
- What is the power of public policy?
- Who has power to influence, make and create public policy?
- How will I participate in creating and changing public policy?
Visit the timestamp where the Clerk raises the resolution at the May 26th City Council meeting here.
The SY21 partnership focused on policies designed to address systemic issues that have been further elevated or surfaced by the COVID-19 pandemic. See this year’s winning ordinance idea and an associative policy comparison between the students’ idea and other legislation that has recently passed.