We are a group of Social Studies teachers from Portland State University who believe that the best way to teach Civic Engagement is to participate in the community. This website is the culmination of a year's progress looking at our community and trying to find a way to help.
We began our study of civic engagement by reading, Shira Epstein's book, Teaching Civic Literacy Projects: Student Engagement with Social Problems (2014, Teachers College Press). We discussed the challenges and benefits of implementing civic engagement projects with 6th to 12th grade students. We identified community issues that were meaningful to us individually and eventually decided to develop social justice lessons and curriculum resources that would support the ethnic studies curriculum standards that were being developed in our state. We organized our work into six curriculum clusters and developed 56 lessons focusing on issues of racial equity and justice, providing counter-narratives to traditional curriculum, including the voices of African Americans, Native Americans, Latino/a and Asian American immigrants, and rights of those with disabilities and those who identify as LGBTQIA. The sixth theme examined connected struggles for social justice.
These lesson plans are specifically designed to fit within any social studies curriculum. They are written to meet Oregon Secondary Social Studies Standards and can be modified. Please download and adjust to fit your students' needs! Also feel free to share comments and suggestions for improvement via the email link below.