Resources for Engaged Civic Education
Look under Resources for great tools to use in Student Civic Engagement Projects in the following categories:
Action Guides
Step-by-step questions, tasks, and resources for students and teachers.
Teaching Tools
Graphic organizers and other instructional resources to foster the skills and dispositions of an informed citizen.
Learning Exercises
Connect content to civic questions through Taking Informed Action exercises.
Civic Inquiries
Inquiry materials to structure investigations into modern civic questions.
Virginia History Day is the state affiliate of National History Day, a project-based learning program for students grades 4-12. This interdisciplinary research project helps students develop historical thinking and literacy skills while making the study of history engaging, relevant, and most of all, fun! Browse below for more information about the upcoming competition and learn how to participate, view teacher and student resources, become a VHD judge, and more.
Purpose: The Model General Assembly program was established in 1948 and is designed to introduce high school students to the legislative process of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Legislation is debated in committees and on the floors of the actual Virginia Senate and House of Delegates
Participants: Students in grades 9-12 may attend, with limited roles for 9th graders
Roles: Participants can assume the roles of senator, delegate, officer, lobbyist, reporter, or underclassmen legislator. See the Student Guide document for more information.
Legislative Bill: Each club or school group should submit at least one and no more than five bills along with their registration. The Virginia YMCA strongly encourages the patrons of the bill to discuss the bill with a current or former state legislator. All bills should reference the Code of Virginia or the Constitution of Virginia and should be thoroughly researched.
Virtual Museum Experiences you may be interested in for yourself or your students!
Upcoming Virtual Museum Experiences
Live virtual museum programs bring fun and enriching content to your classrooms to enhance your students’ learning experience. Interact in real time with our museum educators as they explore popular topics from constitutional history.
Civic Stories: For young learners, these fast-paced, engaging classes allow students to discover our roles and responsibilities as citizens and the remarkable stories of historical figures who pursued civic action to form “a more perfect Union.”
Live from the Museum: For intermediate learners, students are led by our educators through virtual tours, workshops, and demonstrations that feature some of your favorite historical figures and events.