The Civics Project
By law, students in Massachusetts need to complete a student-led civics project during their 8th grade year. These projects should reflect something you are interested in- something you want to change or advocate for at the local or state level. By completing this project, you will demonstrate your skills in research, writing, public speaking, analyzing data, and implementing the knowledge that you have learned throughout the course.
How are schools and districts ensuring that the required student-led civics projects are truly nonpartisan?
According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education:
Chapter 296 of the Acts of 2018, An act to promote and enhance civic engagement, requires that schools provide students with a nonpartisan, student-led civic action project once in eighth grade and once in high school. The law stipulates that civics projects may be individual, small group or class wide, and designed to promote a student’s ability to: (i) analyze complex issues; (ii) consider differing points of view; (iii) reason, make logical arguments and support claims using valid evidence; (iv) engage in civil discourse with those who hold opposing positions; and (v) demonstrate an understanding of the connections between federal, state and local policies, including issues that may impact the student’s school or community.
It is essential that these projects are student-led; while teachers may set boundaries on the topics that can be addressed (e.g., working with a science teacher to engage students in action around an environmental policy issue), the choice of topic and action plan should ultimately be student-generated. Although these projects can and likely will lead to discussion of pressing and contemporary issues, as explained in the Civics Project Guidebook, action plans should not be directed at electoral politics, nor should they be developed in support of candidates in particular elections. Furthermore, the law requires that if classes engage in a project collaboratively, students must have the option of doing an individual project instead.
Given that we will be completing this at an honors level, the projects will be either individual or in small groups.
Six Stages of the Civics Project
Stage 1: Examine Self and Civic Identity
With this first stage, students start by exploring issues and topics that matter to them, their families, and communities. Students begin this process by analyzing challenges they are currently experiencing that they feel go unaddressed or under-addressed, or they can build upon valuable work that is already done in the community to solve problems. The purpose of this stage is for students to develop a list of potential issues to use for their project. Here are some questions to consider for this stage:
What are our rights and responsibilities to each other?
How do we model and support acceptance of student self-determination of identity, recognizing that students’ understanding of their identities is often complex and evolving?
Stage 2: Identifying an Issue
After students have spent time exploring and identifying issues that matter to them, the next step is to identify a focus issue for their student-led civics project. The purpose of this stage is to identify and/or focus on an issue to use in their student led project. These are some questions to consider for this stage of the project:
How do we learn more about our community issues?
How can we use facts, statistics, and stories to convey the depth and scope of a community issue?
Stage 3: Researching and Investigating
During this stage, students engage in rigorous research. The purpose of this research is to examine the context, policies, perspectives, and history of their issue, and to learn about possible root causes. Students not only conduct research to identify a range of perspectives related to their topic, but also to critically analyze these perspectives to develop their sociopolitical awareness and cultural competence. The purpose of this stage is to research the possible root causes of the issue and develop common knowledge and perspectives on the issue. Below are some questions to consider while working on this stage:
What is research? What types of research do I need to do to better understand my focus issue?
How do I do research well?
Stage 4: Developing an Action Plan
Once students have determined the root causes at the core of their project, it is time to build a theory of action and action plan aimed at achieving systems impact. The purpose of this stage is to construct an action plan that provides a variety of tactics to make it more likely that change related to the identified root cause will occur.
Stage 5: Taking Action
Students begin acting on the tactics they planned. They move beyond the walls of the classroom and exercise their voice. This is the stage that will be the most unique to each project, depending on the choices students make along the way.
Stage 6: Reflecting and Showcasing
Students end their project with a final, summative reflection and work showcase. Such a showcase is a best practice of project-based learning that supports student pride and ownership. Students should reflect on individual growth and project success throughout the six stages.
Resources and Guidebooks:
Research Guidebook.pdfInfluencing Policy Guide.pdfMedia Guide.pdfCreating Awareness Guide.pdfSupport Guide.pdfCommunity Connection Guide.pdf