Teaching Civic Literacy Projects

This practical resource shows teachers how to enact robust forms of civic education in today’s schools. Both instructive and thought-provoking, it will inspire teachers to craft curricula addressing a wide range of genuine civic problems such as those related to racial discrimination, environmental damage, and community health. Dividing civic literacy projects into three key phases—problem identification, problem exploration, and action—the author provides concrete examples from upper-elementary, middle, and high school classrooms to illustrate and analyze how each phase can unfold. The projects ultimately provide opportunities for youth to participate in civic life while they develop essential literacy skills associated with reading, writing, and speaking. The final chapter outlines a curriculum design process that will result in coherent and meaningful civic literacy projects driven by clear goals. It includes practical tools, such as a sample unit timeline, an assessment chart, and student worksheets that can be modified for immediate use.

Shira Eve Epstein is an assistant professor of secondary education at the School of Education, The City College of New York (CUNY).

"This expanded conception of civics has been amply supported by sample worksheets, thoughtful discussion questions, and a detailed timeline that make civic literacy projects do‐able for beginning and veteran teachers."

—Teachers College Record

“This book is a gem!”
—Diana Hess, Spencer Foundation

"Provides the best practical guide for teachers who want their students to confront social problems."
—Peter Levine, Tufts University

"Shira’s work offers us a reflection of democratic practice in the classroom through the teaching of critical reading, persuasive writing, and deliberation. In Teaching Civic Literacy Projects,Shira invites us all to contemplate the depth of the democratic project and the possibility that schools can help uphold our democratic ideals.”
—From the Foreword by Celia Oyler, professor, Teachers College, Columbia University.

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