Resources for Civic Education in California

This collection includes: 

• Resources aligned with California's History–Social Science standards for Grade 8 US History
• Resources aligned with California's History–Social Science standards for Grade 10 World History
• Resources aligned with California's History–Social Science standards for Grade 11 US History
• Resources aligned with California's History–Social Science standards for Grade 12 Principles of American Democracy (Government)

1. Video: Race: The Power of an Illusion (episode 2)
   Traces the race concept to the European conquest of the Americas, including the development of the first slave system, where all enslaved people shared a physical trait: dark skin.
2. Reading: Race and Belonging in Colonial America: The Story of Anthony Johnson
   Documents the story of Anthony Johnson, a Black indentured servant in 1622 Virginia.
3. Book: Race and Membership in American History: The Eugenics Movement (chapters 2–4)
   Focuses on how people used eugenics to justify their prejudices and advocate for programs aimed at solving problems by ridding society of “inferior racial traits.”

1. Lesson: Defining Democracy
   Examines different definitions of democracy and considers democracy’s relationship to communities and cultures.
2. Lesson: Citizen Power Makes Democracy Work
   Explores citizenship, power, and responsibility using the work of civic entrepreneur Eric Liu.
3. Collection: What Makes Democracy Work?
   Explores definitions of democracy, citizenship, and civic participation through new lessons, readings, audio interviews and more.

1. Collection The Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of Democracy
   Examines the pivotal era when a nation divided by slavery and war was challenged to rebuild.

1. Book: Race and Membership in American History: The Eugenics Movement (chapter 4)
   Focuses on how people used eugenics to justify their prejudices and advocate for programs aimed at solving problems by ridding society of “inferior racial traits.”
2. Unit: Teaching the Nanjing Atrocities (lessons 2 and 3)
   Examines the war crimes perpetrated by Japanese troops in the Chinese city of Nanjing during World War II.

1. Collection: Holocaust and Human Behavior (chapter 3)
   Focuses on how WWI shaped and was shaped by ideas of “we” and “they,” and highlights aspects of the war that influenced the history of Nazi Germany.

1. Book: Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior (lesson 7)
   Explores the brutal realities of World War I and the impact of the armistice and the Treaty of Versailles.
2. Book: Crimes Against Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the Armenians
   Provides background on the Armenian Genocide and invites students to explore the important questions it raises about how the global community defines, responds to, and can prevent genocide.
3. Unit: Teaching the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide: For California Educators
   Guides students through a study of the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide that focuses on choices and human behavior.

1. Unit: Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior (lesson 9)
   Examines how choices made by individuals and groups contributed to the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1920s and 1930s.

1. Unit: Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior (lesson 18)
   Examines the Nazi ideology of “race and space” and the role it played in Germany’s aggression toward other nations, groups, and individuals.
2. Unit: Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior (lesson 21)
   Grapples with the meaning of justice and the purpose of trials as they learn how the Allies responded to the atrocities of Nazi Germany.
3. Unit: Teaching the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide: For California EducatorsGuides students through a study of the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide that focuses on choices and human behavior.

1. Book: Fundamental Freedoms: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
   Traces Eleanor Roosevelt's development into a renowned human rights leader and her pivotal role in creating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with this resource.

1. Book: Race and Membership in American History: The Eugenics Movement (chapters 2–4)
   Focuses on how people used eugenics to justify their prejudices and advocate for programs aimed at solving problems by ridding society of “inferior racial traits.”

1. Book: Race and Membership in American History: The Eugenics Movement (chapters 4–6)
   Focuses on how people used eugenics to justify their prejudices and advocate for programs aimed at solving problems by ridding society of “inferior racial traits.”

1. Unit: Americans and the Holocaust: The Refugee Crisis
   Explores the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism and the humanitarian refugee crisis it provoked during the 1930s and 1940s.
2. Book: Teaching Farewell to Manzanar
   Supports the teaching of Jeanne Wakatsuki’s memoir about the forced relocation of Japanese Americans.

1. Video: Human Rights, Civil Rights, and the Cold War
   Dr. Carol Anderson discusses human rights discussions during World War II and links between the Cold War, the creation of the UDHR, and politics of race in the US.
2. Video: The Lavender Scare: Gay and Lesbian Life in post-WWII America
   Examines the attempts to purge the US military and federal government of gay and lesbian employees during the Cold War and decades later.
3. Video: Race: The Power of an Illusion (episode 3)
   Focuses on individual behaviors and attitudes and how our institutions shape and create race, giving different groups vastly unequal life chances.
4. Guide: Twilight: Los Angeles
   Investigates the trial of the Los Angeles police officers indicted for the beating of Rodney King using the documentary film Twilight.

1. Mini-Lesson: Voting Rights in the United States
   Focuses on the expansion and constriction of voting rights throughout US history.
2. Guide: Eyes on The Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement 1954–1985
   Explores important lessons about the power of ordinary citizens to shape democracy. Includes 14-part series, study guide, and lessons.
3. Lesson: Three Visions for Achieving Equal Rights
   Examines the strategies of three key civil rights leaders, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael.
4. Guide: Civil Rights Historical Investigations
   Traces the development of the US civil rights movement from the 1950s to the 1970s through three of the movement's major events.
5. Mini-Unit: Latinx Rights in 1960s California
   Explores two pivotal moments in the Latinx rights movement in California: the East LA school walkouts and the first year of the Delano grape strike.

1. Unit: Facing Ferguson: News Literacy in a Digital Age
   Lessons feature video interviews with journalists and scholars and analysis of news coverage and social media.
2. Explainer: White Nationalism
   Examines key characteristics of white nationalist ideology and clarifies related key-terms, such as “alt-right” and white power.”
3. Lesson: 10 Questions for the Present: Parkland Student Activism
   Identifies strategies and tools that Parkland students used to influence Americans to take action to reduce gun violence.
4. Collection: Standing Up to Hatred and Intolerance
   Engages students as civic actors, thinkers, and problem solvers addressing global challenges of membership and belonging that include contemporary antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia.
5. Guide: Twilight: Los Angeles
   Investigates the trial of the Los Angeles police officers indicted for the beating of Rodney King using the documentary film Twilight.
6. Guide: Teaching Enrique’s Journey
   Explores activities and discussion questions for leading your students through a six-week reading of Enrique's Journey that explores themes of identity, belonging, and choices.

1. Lesson: Defining Democracy
   Examines different definitions of democracy and considers democracy’s relationship to communities and cultures.
2. Collection: The Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of Democracy
   Examines the pivotal era when a nation divided by slavery and war was challenged to rebuild.

1. Lesson: Citizen Power Makes Democracy Work
   Explores citizenship, power, and responsibility using the work of civic entrepreneur Eric Liu.
2. Guide: Becoming American: The Chinese Experience
   Examines themes of identity and belonging in the context of the ways the first arrivals from China in the 1840s, their descendants, and recent immigrants have “become American.”

1. Video: The Road to Brown
   Explores the legal case against segregation that launched the Civil Rights Movement.

1. Unit: Facing Ferguson: News Literacy in a Digital Age
   Lessons feature video interviews with journalists and scholars and analysis of news coverage and social media.
2. Collection: Choices in the Little Rock (part 3, lesson 3)
   Investigates the choices made by the Little Rock Nine and others in the community during efforts to desegregate Central High School in 1957.

1. Mini-Lesson: Assessing the Strength of Democracy
   Provides students with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of democracy and a framework for making meaning of news stories about the tensions and conflicts in democracies today.