Citizenship/Civic Awareness

Two Sides of Me Quilt

An original lesson developed by participants at the Oregon Leadership Teacher Institute, this lesson focuses on demonstrating a respect for individual differences and acting with integrity.

Civic Virtue in Modern American Democracy

A four-lesson unit from Learning to Give in which students will identify, describe, and evaluate characteristics of civic virtue (putting the common good above individual interests) in modern American society.

Lesson 1: What Is a Good Citizen? How the Textbook(s) Define Good Citizenship and/or Civic Virtue

Lesson 2: Developing a Personal Definition of Civic Virtue—e pluribus unum

Lesson 3:  The Great Debate—Do Americans Today Have Civic Virtue?

Lesson 4:  Ask the Experts—What Do Contemporary Surveys Tell Us About Americans and Civic Virtue?

Citizenship Lessons from Character Counts!

Visit Character Counts! for a long list of lessons that explore various aspects of citizenship. (You'll need to create an account first, but it's free to do so.)

Welcome to My World

Youth identify resources they have and those they currently use in their community, as well as community resources they may begin using in the future, in this lesson from Character Counts. (You'll need to create an account first, but it's free to do so.)

Cyberbullying and Civic Participation

This lesson from the Media Awareness Network allows students in grades 7–8 to explore the concept of civic participation in the creation of Canadian laws through a study of the consultation process found in the Canada Gazette. Students will create their own School Gazette by proposing and discussing rules against cyberbullying at school.