Lessons 1 through 7

These core lessons provide students with key content and skills they need to choose an issue and begin taking civic actions:

Lesson 1: Citizenship Brainstorm
Students are introduced to Civic Action Project (CAP) and create a profile of citizenship that reflects the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and actions that they believe are important for effective citizenship in their communities.

Lesson 2: What’s Your Issue?
Students choose their CAP issue, form civic action groups, and complete the CAP Proposal Planner.

Lesson 3: Exploring Causes & Effects
Narrowing the focus of their CAP project will help students choose and complete effective civic actions. Students will meet in their CAP groups to identify specific causes or effects of their CAP issues and complete the Thinking It Through Planner (I).

Lesson 4: Public Policy and Your Issue
Students work in small groups to learn what public policy is and how it relates to their civic action projects before completing of Thinking It Through (II).

Lesson 5: Evaluating Public Policy
Students are introduced to policy analysis by examining policy goals, pros, and cons, and people involved in real-world case studies.

Lesson 6: Taking Civic Action
Students brainstorm civic actions before learning about the Montgomery Bus Boycott as a case study on building a constituency. At the end of the lesson, CAP group will record their next steps by completing a Civic Action Planner.

Lesson 7: Reflect & Report
Students complete the Reflect & Report Planner to share what they learned about the importance of civic engagement and to explore options for sharing what they’ve learned with a larger audience.

Supplemental Lessons

These supplemental lessons provide additional skill-building and U.S. government content as students continue their projects.

Civic Action Survey provides students with an opportunity to discuss and examine the importance of surveys to measure public opinion about their CAP problem or issue. First, students will form pairs to take turns conducting and responding to a sample survey. Next students will learn about the types of questions that should be included in a survey. Finally students will convene in their civic action groups to brainstorm three different types of questions as the basis for their own civic action survey. 

Persuading introduces students to the art of persuasion. First, they read about and discuss the three types of persuasion: logos, ethos, and pathos. Then students prepare two-minute persuasive talks on why the issue that they have chosen to address in CAP is important. Finally, in pairs, students present and critique one another’s talks.

Building Constituencies introduces students to the importance of gaining support to impact public policies. First, students complete a brief reading about the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Next, they examine documents created during the boycott and identify the civic actions taken to help build constituencies. Finally, in small groups, students brainstorm how they can get support for their CAP issue.

Persuading Policymakers informs students that legislative and executive bodies often hold public hearing and how students can make effective presentations at these hearings. First, students read about public hearings and techniques for making presentations at these hearings. Then students role play a city council and people appearing before it attempting to persuade policymakers on hypothetical issues.

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Introduce Students to the Link Between Economics and Public Policy

In this lesson, students first discuss making decisions in terms of trade-offs and opportunity costs. Then, students read and discuss a short article on doing cost-benefit analyses, using the minimum wage as a case study. In small groups, students conduct their own cost-benefit analysis of policy proposals that addresses local issues. More. . .

Planners

The CAP Planner is a set of documents that guide students through the processes of choosing a problem, taking civic actions, and preparing a report on their CAP project. The CAP Planners are aligned to Common Core State Standards for writing in history/social studies. Students also keep track of sources they used throughout their CAP project. For each Planner page the students write and organize new information:

Proposal: Students prepare a proposal to persuade you that the problem/issue they want to work on is worthy of a long-term project.
Thinking it Through: Students analyze causes/effects and propose their first civic action for your approval.
Civic Action: Students report on their last civic action, track the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they gained, and propose their next civic action for your approval. (Most teachers assign at least four Civic Action Planners.)
Reflect & Report: Students discuss the civic actions they took and the impact they made on their selected problem/issue, reflect on their own learning.

Step 1: Citizenship Profile

Lesson 1: Citizenship Brainstorm (30 minutes)

Students are introduced to Civic Action Project (aka CAP) and create a citizenship profile reflecting the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and actions that they believe are important for effective citizenship in their communities.

Student Objectives

• Discuss and begin to answer questions about civics and citizenship that you will explore through their CAP experience.
• Identify traits of effective citizenship in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and actions.
• Explore issues you may want to work on for CAP by looking at former CAP students’ work, talking to others, and conducting a local media search.

Student Product: Citizenship Brainstorm chart

Teacher Checklist

• Lesson 1 PowerPoint
• "What’s Your Issue” Student Worksheet
• Citizenship Brainstorm activity
• Register yourself and your students at the CAP website
• Review and debrief an example of a completed CAP project

Step 2: Issue Analysis

Lesson 2: What’s Your Issue? (45 minutes)

Students choose their CAP issue, form civic-action groups, and complete the CAP Planner: Proposal.

Student Objectives

• Discuss various problems and issues that you think are important to address.
• Select a single problem or issue for your CAP project.
• Provide three claims as to why your issue/problem is important.

Student Product: CAP Planner: Proposal

Teacher Checklist

• Lesson 2 PowerPoint
• Assign and collect completed CAP Planner: Proposal

Lesson 3: Exploring Causes and Effects (35 minutes)

Narrowing the focus of their CAP projects will help students choose and complete effective civic actions. Students will meet in their CAP groups to identify specific causes or effects of their CAP issues and to complete the CAP Planner: Thinking It Through Part 1.

Student Objectives

• Identify various causes and effects of your CAP issue.
• Select a cause or an effect to help focus your CAP project.
• Develop an issue statement for your CAP project.

Student Product: CAP Planner: Thinking It Through Part 1

Teacher Checklist

• Lesson 3 PowerPoint
• Facilitate Cause and Effect exercise
• Assign and collect completed CAP Planner: Thinking It Through Part 1

Step 3: Public Policy Analysis

Lesson 4: Public Policy and Your Issue (50 minutes)

Students work in small groups to learn what public policy is and how it relates to their civic action projects before completing the CAP Planner: Thinking It Through Part 2.

Student Objectives

• Define public policy.
• Classify the ways that problems or issues connect to public policy.
• Evaluate the ways in which public policy affects your project using the CAP Planner: Thinking It Through Part 2.

Student Product: CAP Planner: Thinking It Through Part 2

Teacher Checklist

• Lesson 4 PowerPoint
• Assign and collect completed CAP Planner: Thinking It Through Part 2

Lesson 5: Evaluating Public Policy (45 minutes)

Students are introduced to policy analysis by examining policy goals, pros and cons, and people involved in real-world case studies.

Student Objectives

• Analyze a public policy’s goals and the arguments for and against the policy.
• Identify supporters and opponents of a public policy.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of a public policy to solve an issue.

Student Product: Case Study Analysis presentation

Teacher Checklist

• Lesson 5 PowerPoint
• Facilitate Case Study Analysis exercise

Step 4 - 6: Civic Action and Reflection

Lesson 6: Taking Civic Action (45 minutes)

Students brainstorm civic actions before learning about the Montgomery Bus Boycott as a case study on building a constituency. At the end of the lesson, each CAP group will choose their first civic actions.

Student Objectives

Identify three different types of actions people can take to impact a problem or issue.

Examine the importance of different civic actions involved in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Determine an appropriate civic action to begin your CAP project.

Student Product: CAP Planner: Civic Action

Note: Students should complete at least 3-5 civic actions as part of their CAP.

Teacher Checklist

• Lesson 6 PowerPoint
• Assign and collect completed CAP Planner: Civic Action
• Assign additional civic action CAP Planners on a weekly basis for desired duration of project

Lesson 7: Reflect and Report (45 minutes)

Students complete the CAP Planner: Reflect & Report to share what they learned about the importance of civic engagement and to explore options for sharing their experiences with a larger audience.

Student Objectives

• Share the civic dispositions you practiced and learned as a result of your civic actions.
• Reflect on your experience in CAP and communicate your conclusions in an organized report.
• Explore options for sharing your CAP projects to inform others about the importance of informed and effective civic engagement to create positive change.

Student Product: CAP Planner: Reflect & Report

Teacher Checklist

• Assign CAP Planner: Reflect & Report
• Collect completed CAP Planners
• Consider options for assessment and sharing student work