Collection
Materials for From Reflection to Action
Access all the teaching strategies and additional resources referenced throughout the guide From Reflection to Action: A Choosing to Participate Toolkit.
At a Glance
Language
English — USSubject
- Civics & Citizenship
- History
- Social Studies
Grade
6–12- Democracy & Civic Engagement
Overview
About This Collection
This page is designed for educators using From Reflection to Action: A Choosing to Participate Toolkit. It contains all of the digital resources referenced throughout the book.
Inside this Collection
Annotating and Paraphrasing Sources
Teach students to carefully read material by having them underline key words, write margin notes, and summarize main ideas.
Big Paper: Building a Silent Conversation
Students have a written conversation with peers and use silence as a tool to explore a topic in depth.
Chunking
Chunking helps students approach challenging texts by breaking down content into manageable pieces.
Concentric Circles
This kinesthetic discussion activity invites students to be active listeners and speakers and to interact with a wide range of classmates.
Gallery Walk
A gallery walk activity gets students moving as they explore a range of documents, images, or student work displayed around the classroom.
Journals in a Facing History Classroom
Educators will create a practice of student journaling to help their students critically examine their surroundings and make informed judgments.
Learn to Listen, Listen to Learn
Educators will structure a discussion that uses journaling and group work to strengthen students’ listening skills.
Save the Last Word for Me
This discussion strategy helps students practice being both active speakers and active listeners in a group conversation.
10 Questions for Young Changemakers
This unit uses the 10 Questions Framework to explore two examples of youth activism: the 1963 Chicago schools boycott and the present-day movement against gun violence launched by Parkland students.
Choosing to Participate
Students use the “levers of power” framework to identify ways they can bring about positive change in their communities.
Youth Taking Charge! Placing Student Activism in Historical Context
Use this mini-lesson to explore the rich history of youth activism from the 1960s to present day.
Exploring Identity and Community: 18-week Curriculum Outline
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Recommended for 6th grade, this outline provides an instructional pathway for middle school educators to teach an 18-week curriculum exploring identity, family legacy, group membership and choices.
Action Project Planning Tool
Design your Choosing to Participate civic action project using this planning tool.
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Voting Rights in the United States
In this mini-lesson, students learn about the history of voting rights in the United States and consider how current voting laws in different states impact voters today.
Confronting Apartheid
Explore South Africa’s tumultuous history from the early interactions between white European settlers and native African tribes to the implementation of apartheid and the long struggle for democracy.
How to Read the News Like a Fact Checker
Reading “laterally” is a key media literacy strategy that helps students determine the quality of online sources. This mini-lesson trains students to use this technique to evaluate the credibility of the news they encounter on social media feeds or elsewhere online.
The Equal Rights Amendment: A 97-Year Struggle
This mini-lesson provides an overview of the ERA and a look at the history behind the struggle to ratify the amendment that would formally guarantee women equal rights to men under the US Constitution.
The Hope and Fragility of Democracy in the United States
In this mini-lesson, students learn about the history of democratic and anti-democratic efforts in the United States and examine sources that illuminate this tension from Reconstruction through today.
What Happened During the Insurrection at the US Capitol and Why?
This mini-lesson guides students to use an iceberg diagram to synthesize the events of January 6, 2021, and outline the complex array of causes at work.
Reflecting on George Floyd’s Death and Police Violence Towards Black Americans
This mini-lesson is a guide for teachers to begin conversations with their students about George Floyd’s death and the events that surround it.
Responding to The Tree of Life Shooting in Pittsburgh
The mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue capped off a week of hate crimes and political violence in the United States. This mini-lesson help teachers and students process the events and reflect on what they mean for them and their communities.
Responding to the Insurrection at the US Capitol
This mini-lesson is designed to help guide an initial classroom reflection on the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol.
Teaching Resources for the US Elections
Use these resources on voting, media literacy, polarization, and bias to talk about US elections with your high school and middle school students.
Current Events Toolkit
This toolkit provides flexible and adaptable tools and strategies for integrating current events into your teaching.
Unlimited Access to Learning. More Added Every Month.
Facing History & Ourselves is designed for educators who want to help students explore identity, think critically, grow emotionally, act ethically, and participate in civic life. It’s hard work, so we’ve developed some go-to professional learning opportunities to help you along the way.
Exploring ELA Text Selection with Julia Torres
On-Demand
Virtual
Listen to #DisruptTexts founder Julia Torres about taking a critical lens to text selection in ELA classrooms.
Working for Justice, Equity and Civic Agency in Our Schools: A Conversation with Clint Smith
On-Demand
Virtual
Issues of equity and education have long existed in our country and continue to manifest today. How can writing and the power of one's voice help us respond to these disparities? Listen to writer and educator, Dr. Clint Smith, where we hear his poetry and reflections on working for justice, equity, and civic agency in our schools.
Centering Student Voices to Build Community and Agency
On-Demand
Virtual
Explore approaches to centering student voice, building authentic relationships and cultivating community with Molly Josephs, the creator of This Teenage Life, a youth-driven, story-sharing podcast that started as a school club.
Using the strategies from Facing History is almost like an awakening.
—
Claudia Bautista, Santa Monica, Calif
