Make CIVICS Accessible to ELLs With This Site!

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was the founder of this site.  Her goal was to provide children and adults with the tools to educate themselves on how our government works.  The goal is a noteworthy one since many students and some adults truly don't fully understand how our government operates.  

This site is free, but you need to register.  As a teacher, once you register, you can access not only their many free resources (including complete curriculum units), but also create classes on the site for your students to use.  The more time schools spend on teaching civics in school, the more informed our next generation will be in carrying out their civic duties, voting, volunteering, etc.  For a democracy to work, it must have educated citizens to run it.  

With COMMON CORE STANDARDS being rolled out in every state but four, this site would enable our ELLs to fully grasp how our government functions.  Even the games found here reinforce the concepts taught in the curriculum units.  

CIVICS  --  register here.

CIVICS FOR TEACHERS  -- find complete curriculum units by state.

Denise:)

EXPLORE THE U.S. CONSTITUTION--All Grade Levels:)

To keep a democracy alive, students need to understand what the constitution is and how it affects their lives. This needs to be addressed in the early grades through high school in civics classes geared to their grade levels. To preserve the constitution and what it stands for, a democracy needs informed citizens.

Here is where the internet provides the classroom teacher with creative instructional tools to enhance any lesson on this subject. If students enjoy what they are doing, they tend to remember what they have been taught:) U.S. CONSTITUTION FOR KIDS offers a printable copy of the document, lots of interactive links, and more. One link for kids covers an interactive on the Bill of Rights in a smart simple layout that offers an easy to follow layout on what the document means today. When the student selects the right answer from the 3 given, he will see the section in the Bill of Rights which supports the answer pop up along with bells and whistles! Students will love this:) If you are studying the growth of this democracy, try this link TIMELINE . Would your students like to know what documents led to ours? Go to DOCUMENTS LEADING UP TO US CONSTITUTION where students will see copies of the Magna Carta, The Mayflower Compact, and all the others.

Add this link to your bookmarks/favorites to inspire students to appreciate the power of this document!

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS