Fundamental Democratic Ideas

• Understanding the U.S. political system and the unique power of young people

• Demonstrations: Basic Constitution Test and The Power of Young People

Structural and Historical Disenfranchisement

• Individual perspectives and relationships with structural/institutional discrimination in U.S. history

• Demonstrations: Multilayered Identity Chart and Disenfranchisement Presentations (click on the images below for examples of student work)

Fighting for the Right to Vote

• Commitment, bravery, and ideas that fueled the U.S. Suffrage and Civil Rights movements

• Demonstrations: Voting Rights Case Study DBQ

Dilemmas in U.S. Citizenship

• Understanding the U.S. political landscape and your relationship to U.S. politics

The Art and Math of Voting and Abstaining

• Understanding and communicating individuals’ choice to vote or abstain

• Demonstrations: Reproduce Voting Art, Interview, and What it Means to Abstain Presentation

New Threats and New Ideas

• The multifaceted and complex attacks on voting rights today.

• Final Demonstration: Digital Response Journal Entries

• How do we decide whom and what to trust, and what we personally believe?

• How can people connect in a local way to address big, global issues?

• How do we both acknowledge and work through personal bias to help others?

• How can we know which actions will make a real difference in the world?

• What are the best ways to help others understand what is important to us?

For this final project, students choose a local, national, or international movement/issue with which they feel some solidarity, then investigate the facts and figure out a way to do something of their own design to make the world better. Students are asked to explore, design, follow through, and act on an action step—big or small—that comes from an informed place.

The process for the final project is designed around the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards. Students learn concepts and vocabulary, develop critical thinking skills, practice the research process, examine forces larger than individuals, and reflect on activism from a place of self-awareness and empathy. The final project was designed for distance learning.

Click on the images below to view examples of students' final projects.