Social Studies
Civics
Civics is the study of the theoretical and practical aspects of citizenship, its rights and duties; the duties of citizens to each other as members of a political body and to the government. It includes the study of civil law and civil code, and the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government. In the United States, Civics classes [typically] start in 7th grade. (Source: Wikipedia)
Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids: Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids is brought to the World Wide Web as a service of the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). Ben’s Guide serves as the educational component ofGPO Access, GPO’s service to provide the official online version of legislative and regulatory information.
This site provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. These resources will teach how our government works, the use of the primary source materials of GPO Access, and how one can use GPO Accessto carry out their civic responsibilities. And, just as GPO Access provides locator services to U.S. Government sites, Ben’s Guide provides a similar service to U.S. Government Web sites developed for kids.
Go to: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/
iCivics: iCivics prepares young Americans to become knowledgeable, engaged 21st century citizens by creating free and innovative educational materials.
In 2009, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor founded iCivics to reverse Americans’ declining civic knowledge and participation. Securing our democracy, she realized, requires teaching the next generation to understand and respect our system of governance. Today iCivics comprises not just our board and staff, but also a national leadership team of state supreme court justices, secretaries of state, and educational leaders and a network of committed volunteers. Together, we are committed to passing along our legacy of democracy to the next generation.
In just two years, iCivics has produced 16 educational video games as well as vibrant teaching materials that have been used in classrooms in all 50 states. Today we offer the nation’s most comprehensive, standards-aligned civics curriculum that is available freely on the Web.
Go to: http://www.icivics.org/
The Anneberg Classroom: “This website connects our award-winning, comprehensive curriculum on the Constitution and its amendments to daily civics news and student discussion.
And when we say “connects,” we really mean it. Twice daily, our nonpartisan writers sift through national and local news and select current events expressly for social studies classrooms. And twice weekly, they write an article on a portion of this news with links to our multimedia curriculum. You can use these articles—we call them “Speak Outs”—in your class or right here online. When your students “Speak Out” at AnnenbergClassroom.org, they participate in a moderated, national dialogue of their peers.
We publish up to 10 news stories a day, many media resources each year, and at least two Speak Outs each week during the school year.
Whether you’re here for civics news, student discussion, outstanding multimedia on the Constitution — or the engaging connection among all three — welcome!”