No Reluctant Citizens

Teaching Civics in K-12 Classrooms

Edited by:
Jeremiah Clabough, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Timothy Lintner, University of South Carolina Aiken

A volume in the series: Teaching and Learning Social Studies. Editor(s): William B. Russell, University of Central Florida.

Published 2018

American democracy is at a critical crossroads. Rancor, division, and suspicion are the unfortunate byproducts of the contentious 2016 presidential election. The election also bred a measure of civic uncertainty where citizens of all ages struggle to find and define their roles within a functioning democracy. No Reluctant Citizens: Teaching Civics in K-12 Classrooms is designed to help social studies teachers reinforce the centrality of civic education through a series of hands-on, participatory, and empowering activities. From civic literacy to human rights, from service learning to controversial issues, No Reluctant Citizens: Teaching Civics in K-12 Classrooms explores an array of topics that ultimately provides K-12 students the conceptual and practical tools to become civically engaged.

CONTENTS
Introduction, Jeremiah Clabough. Civic Literacy: The Building Blocks for Creating an Active and Informed Citizenry, Jeremiah Clabough. Character Education: The Pathway to Citizenship, Thomas N. Turner. Elementary Civics Education and Diversity (Inclusion), Janie Hubbard. The Lemme History Detectives: Researching Rights, Race, and Activism within Local History, Jason Harshman and Lauren Darby. Exploring Human Rights and Civic Action Through Children’s Trade Books, Kristy Brugar. Students at the Heart of Civic Learning: Best Practices in Implementing Action Civics, Brooke Blevins, Karon LaCompte, and Tyler Ellis. Small Explosions: Igniting Controversy in the Secondary Social Studies Classroom, Timothy Lintner. Civic Education in a Post-Truth Society: Combating “Fake News” and “Alternative Facts”, Wayne Journell. “All Politics is Local:” Enhancing Media Literacy through State and Local Elections, Scott Roberts and Charles Efler. Revolution at Sherman High School—Simulating Democracy in the Classroom, Mark Pearcy. Integrating Service-Learning to Foster a Social Justice Approach, Greg Samuels. Human Rights Violations Against Children: An Inquiry-based Simulation for High School Students, Natalie Keefer. Global Citizenship: Teaching in an Interconnected World, Ken Carano.