print | email

What is CIVICS?
Curriculum
Resources
Special Projects
Volunteer Training
Meeting State Requirements
Bring CIVICS to Your School

 
What is CIVICS?

CIVICS helps 5th-8th grade teachers in the classroom by bringing Harvard undergraduates to work with school children to better understand the U.S. government and to critically think about their rights and responsibilities as citizens. We show students that they can and should play an active role in government because it directly affects their lives.

CIVICS is staffed, organized, and run by Harvard undergraduates. Volunteers work in teams of two or three to present the curriculum through a combination of discussions and hands-on activities. Each undergraduate team typically teaches one class per week for seven weeks each semester. Most classes last 45 minutes to 1 hour.

CIVICS is currently in ten schools across the Cambridge and Boston area.

The Curriculum

The CIVICS curriculum teaches school children the structure of United States government and the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of being a U.S. citizen. While the lessons teach the mechanics of the political process, we also emphasize the importance of personal involvement.

The CIVICS curriculum is divided thematically according to the two semesters. The fall semester focuses on understanding the structure of government. The spring semester focuses on understanding rights. Special lessons are interspersed throughout the year according to major political events, which have recently included elections, the census, and healthcare reform.

"Activities are engaging and the students look forward to CIVICS each week… The curriculum is well laid out and provides a foundation for curriculum we teach towards the end of the school year." Kristina Sullivan, 5th Grade Homeroom Teacher, Graham and Parks Alternative Public School

Resources

CIVICS is co-sponsored by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Institute of Politics (www.iop.harvard.edu), which also sponsors such undergraduate programs as citizenship tutoring, policy discussion groups, the Fellows program, and the prestigious forum; and the Phillips Brooks House Association (www.pbha.org), the Harvard community service umbrella organization. These organizations not only fund CIVICS, but also provide us with important connections to policy makers and the local community leaders that we utilize to benefit our students. Furthermore, these institutions provide an essential resource to train our volunteers and evaluate the success of the program.

Special Projects

CIVICS is able to arrange guest visits by prominent officials and newsmakers through our partnerships with the IOP and PBHA. Many visiting Fellows to the Kennedy School visit CIVICS classes. Recent guests include Former Haitian Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis, former Mayor Greg Nickels of Seattle, and former Mayor Bill Purcell of Nashville. We have also arranged visits by policy makers, including U.S. Congressman Michael Capuano. If possible, the fall semester’s curriculum will be complemented by a visit to the State Supreme Court and a meeting with a justice.

Volunteer Training

All volunteer teachers are Harvard undergraduates with an interest in government and an aptitude for working with children. Our volunteer retention rate is high, and volunteers tend to be exceptionally dedicated. We also have an apprentice system so that new volunteers always work alongside an experienced teacher.

At the beginning of each semester, we have a mandatory training session designed to introduce volunteers to each other and to the curriculum, to give them background information on the schools where they will be working, and to provide them with basic teaching strategies. We subsequently hold mandatory meetings every other week that are structured as workshops in which volunteers learn and build particular skills, such as running effective classroom discussions. We also critique mock discussions and activities

There is continual assessment of our volunteers through evaluations by CIVICS students, classroom teachers, and fellow volunteers.

“I think [CIVICS volunteers] benefit from working as a team, as each group brought their own strengths from each member. They always brought a positive attitude and seemed to enjoy the kids. They learned names and personalities.” Michelle Frazier, 5th Grade Homeroom teacher, Maria L. Baldwin School

CIVICS and Massachusetts State Requirements

In addition to the inherent pedagogical and civic value of learning about the purpose and operation of American government, the material taught by the Harvard CIVICS program assists students in meeting the curricular objectives mandated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The CIVICS program understands that class time is valuable, particularly given the increasing prominence of tests like the MCAS. We are more than willing to work with principals and teachers to ensure that the CIVICS curriculum benefits schools to the fullest.

For 5th grade students, CIVICS addresses the following learning standards laid out in the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework. With an in depth focus on these topics, students will undoubtedly perform better on the MCAS test in history and social sciences which will be administered at the end of the 5th grade.
(5.23; 5.24; 5.25; 5.26; 5.27)

For middle school students, CIVICS touches on the following learning standards in the MHSSCF for US History I and II. Students will be tested on this material at the end of either the 10th or 11th grade depending upon the schedule adopted by individual schools.
(USI.7; USI.8; USI.9; USI.11; USI.12; USI.13; USI.14; USI.15; USI.16; USI.17; USI.18; USI.19; USI.20; USI.21; USI.41 C,G,H)

CIVICS also introduces the following concepts which are covered in depth in the 12th grade U.S. Government elective.
(USG.1.1; USG.1.2; USG.1.3; USG.1.4; USG.1.5; USG.1.6; USG.2.9; USG.3.3; USG.3.4; USG.3.6; USG.3.7; USG.3.9; USG.3.11; USG.5.1; USG.5.2; USG.5.3; USG.5.4; USG.5.10)

Bring CIVICS into Your Classrooms

An unfortunate reality in our society is that young people often feel disenchanted and alienated from the very democratic processes and institutions that were designed to serve them. Using engaging, interactive lessons, CIVICS seeks to fill a void in students' education and to affirm that they can be active participants in government.

We know that your day is full and that it might be difficult to schedule CIVICS for your students, but classroom teachers tell us they are happy they did. We are flexible in our scheduling and are happy to accommodate your schedule and your needs when arranging to volunteer in your classrooms.

We hope that you will consider having CIVICS volunteers teach in your classroom and will be happy to meet with you at your convenience to discuss implementing CIVICS in your school. Should you desire more information about the CIVICS program or want to schedule a meeting, please feel free to contact us:

IOP co-chair: Paul Leroux

PBHA co-chair: Paolo Singer