Pathway 1
Introduction to the Massachusetts Student-led Civics Project
The Massachusetts student-led civics project offers young people a powerful opportunity for authentic civic participation. This workshop introduces you to the components and characteristics comprising a high-quality student-led civics project. You will explore sample projects and case studies from Massachusetts students and teachers, then consider how to shape the project to fit your context.
Intended audience: 8th grade and high school teachers and administrators who are new to facilitating the required Massachusetts student-led civics project
Introduction to the Student-led Civics Project
Student-led civics projects offer young people a powerful opportunity for authentic civic participation. This workshop introduces you to a framework for high-quality student-led civics projects. You will explore student projects and real-life case studies that illustrate the framework, then consider how to refine the framework to fit your context.
Intended audience: Teachers and administrators of grades 6-12 who are new to facilitating student-led civics projects
Supporting English Learners with the Massachusetts Student-led Civics Project
English learners bring unique assets and benefit from particular supports when completing the student-led civics project. Join us to learn and practice a process for using the 2020 WIDA framework to support meaningful engagement with the student-led civics project for English Learners.
Intended audience: Teachers who facilitate the student-led civics project in 8th grade or high school
Supporting English Learners with the Student-led Civics Project
English learners bring unique assets and benefit from particular supports when completing a student-led civics project. In this workshop, you will learn a planning process and concrete strategies that support meaningful engagement for English learners with a student-led civics project.
Intended audience: Teachers who facilitate the student-led civics project in 8th grade or high school
Supporting Students with Disabilities with the Student-led Civics Project
How can you leverage the assets that students with disabilities bring to a student-led civics project while also providing the particular supports a student might need? Join us to learn and practice a process for planning meaningful engagement with the student-led civics project for students with disabilities. The workshop includes pictures of practice from teachers who have facilitated student-led civics projects with students with disabilities.
Intended audience: Middle and high school teachers who facilitate student-led civics projects
Process-focused Assessment in the Student-led Civics Project
What does it mean for the student-led civics project to be “process focused” and how can teachers effectively assess process? Join us to deepen your understanding of using process-focused assessment to support high quality student-led civics projects for all your learners. You will reflect on the description of a process-focused project, explore usable tools for process-focused assessment of skills and learning, and practice adapting process-focused assessments for students with disabilities and English learners.
Intended audience: Teachers who facilitate the student-led civics project in 8th grade or high school
Strategies for Supporting Student-led Learning in the Civics Project
How can you support students in taking the lead in their civics projects? Join us to deepen your understanding of what “student-led learning” entails in the civics project and to explore tools to enhance student-led learning at three critical junctures in the project: choosing a topic. planning and taking action, and assessing progress toward goals.
Intended audience: Teachers who facilitate the student-led civics project in 8th grade or high school
Strategies for Facilitating Multiple Student Civics Projects Simultaneously
Allowing students to choose the topics for their civics projects can increase student engagement but also contribute to two common challenges for teachers: making student work time effective and efficient, and tracking the progress of multiple projects. Join us to explore strategies and usable tools that ease these common challenges. You will reflect on how to adapt the strategies to your context and your learners’ needs, leaving with tools that you can put to use right away.
Intended audience: Teachers who facilitate the student-led civics project in middle or high school
Pathway 2
Culturally Sustaining Practices for Civic Learning
Culturally sustaining learning environments, where students' identities and experiences are viewed as assets for academic achievement and sociopolitical awareness, are a critical foundation for civic learning and development. Join us to learn principles and strategies for making your instruction more culturally sustaining, drawing on the DESE Look Fors for Culturally Responsive Teaching, and to apply what you have learned to your particular context.
Intended audience: Middle and high school teachers and specialists
Linguistically Sustaining Practices for Civic Learning
Research shows that linguistically sustaining practices help create learning environments where multilingual students develop skills and interest in engaging civically in their communities. Join us to deepen your understanding of principles of linguistically-sustaining practice and to explore tools and strategies that you can begin using immediately to create a linguistically sustaining environment that fosters civic learning and development for all students, including English learners.
Intended audience: Middle and high school teachers and specialists
Managing Classroom Conversations about Difficult Topics
Engaging in conversations about difficult topics helps students develop important civic skills and dispositions, but such conversations require skillful facilitation by the teacher. This workshop presents a planning framework and usable tools and strategies to extend your skill at preparing for and facilitating discussions of difficult topics in your classroom.
Intended audience: Middle and high school teachers and specialists
Pathway 3
Introduction to Civic Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions in the Elementary Classroom
The Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework states that all students should demonstrate civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions (Practice Standard 1) Join us to explore what this looks like in grades K-5. In this workshop you will deepen your understanding of civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions and practice a process for identifying and teaching the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions in the content standards for your grade level.
Intended audience: K-5 teachers and specialists
Creating a Community that Welcomes Multiple Perspectives
Being a responsible community member at any level, from the classroom to the world, requires the ability and inclination to engage with perspectives other than our own. In this workshop, you will explore three important aspects of creating a classroom culture that values multiple perspectives: engaging in self-reflection, fostering students’ disposition to engage with different perspectives, and designing an inclusive physical space.
Intended audience: K-5 teachers and specialists
Culturally Sustaining Practices to Support Social Studies and Civics in the Elementary Classroom
Culturally sustaining learning environments, where students' identities and experiences are viewed as assets for academic achievement and sociopolitical awareness, are a critical foundation for civic learning and development. Join us to learn principles and strategies for making your instruction more culturally sustaining, drawing on the DESE Look Fors for Culturally Responsive Teaching, and to apply what you have learned to your particular context.
Intended audience: K-5 teachers and specialists
Teaching Elementary Students to Have Productive Discussions
Being able to engage productively in discussion is an important skill for community life and civic participation. In this workshop you will practice multiple strategies that you can use in your classroom right away to help students learn and internalize discussion skills and to increase participation and engagement in class discussion from all students.
Intended audience: K-5 teachers and specialists
Using Daily Routines to Support Civic Learning in Grades K - 5
Daily routines are an important part of elementary school life. They also present rich opportunities to foster young people’s civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Join us to learn how you can leverage the routines you already use, like morning meeting and class voting, to enhance your students’ civic learning and your classroom community.
Intended audience: K-5 teachers and specialists