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 Civics, Economics, Geography, History, & Skills for Public Life
Note: Resources are provided for informational purposes and not as recommendations from OSPI. Resources referenced here may be for educators or parents/families and may not be intended for use in the classroom. We recommend reviewing all educational materials for alignment with district policy and state law before using them with students. Articles and other resources are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints or policies of OSPI.
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As members of the community may be participating in one or more of these observances, we share resources to educate ourselves.
Independence Day
Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches, and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States. See resources below to learn more:
Independence Day - National Geographic Kids
Red, White, and Blue Learning - Edutopia
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Teach with TVW - Civics Resources
Teach With TVW provides FREE standards aligned resources for WA state civics teachers.
Get tips for engaging your students in their state government, along with announcements on our latest lesson plans and civics videos.
SIGN UP For our Newsletter!
Learn more about Teach With TVW’s FREE Civics Resources -
Join one of our drop-in Zoom Info sessions:
Friday, July 12th 3-4pm
Tuesday, August 6th: 10 -11am
Wednesday, August 21st: 10-11am
Thursday, August 29th: 2-3pm
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88448243359
Sign up for an email reminder!
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TVW-CONNECTS is produced by Teach With TVW, a FREE civics resource for all Washington social studies teachers. Explore all of our civics programs at www.teachwithtvw.org |
SRVCE Civic Education Curriculum
High school teachers - planning ahead for the coming year's capstone projects? Explore free civics resources from srvce.edc, like this Change and Impact module.
SRVCE blends inquiry-based civic learning, media literacy education, and exploration of public service careers to prepare students to be active citizens and thrive in the workforce. All SRVCE materials are free.
Click here to learn more.
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Congratulations to National History Day Students!
The 2024 National Contest for History Day took place in June 9-13 at the University of Maryland. Each year nearly 3,000 students with their families and teachers gather at the University of Maryland, College Park for the week-long National Contest. They come from all fifty United States, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Department of Defense Schools in the Atlantic, and international schools in China, Korea, and elsewhere. The National Contest is the culmination of the annual competition cycle and a celebration of student scholarship. After spending months on project research and preparation, and successfully competing at local and affiliate contests, student scholars are invited to share their work at the National Contest. Congratulations to the following Washington State students and teachers for their accomplishments!
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First Place in Junior Group Website - Anya Guhan, Aarya Kulkarni, & Jennifer Zhu from Redmond Middle School - Electrifying Rural America: The Rural Electrification Act and Administration. Teacher: Graceanne Read
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First Place in Junior Individual Website - Ila Lu from Evergreen Middle School - Pocket Books: Turning the Page for American Readers. Teachers: Nicole Kesler & Madisson Madden
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Third Place in Senior Individual Exhibit - Logan Piper from Royal High School - The Boldt Decision. Teacher: Emily Ovenell
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Junior Division Outstanding Entry - Liels Taylor from Northshore Middle School for her Junior Individual Performance titled William Wilberforce: A Turning Point in the Abolition of the British Slave Trade. Teacher: Corey Martin
5. Senior Division Outstanding Entry - Rebecca Carlson from Royal High School for her Senior Individual Exhibit titled The Lenin Shipyard Strike. Teacher: Emily Ovenell
If you have questions about National History Day, please contact Hannah Tofte (hannah.tofte@k12.wa.us), Program Supervisor for Civic Engagement.
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Study Shows Project Citizen Promotes Students' Civic Development
Project Citizen, a signature Center for Civic Education program where students research and develop solutions to school or community problems, increases students’ civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions, along with social and emotional learning (SEL) and STEM skills. These findings emanate from a three-year study (2020–2023) of the program led by Georgetown University’s political science professor Diana Owen. The study, which followed 180 schools, 196 teachers, and more than 5,000 middle and high school students, validates inquiry-centered, project-based learning as a powerful means to facilitate students’ civic development.
Among the study highlights:
- Students’ civic knowledge increased by an average of 62% in middle school and 38% in high school, significantly higher than those enrolled in traditional civics courses;
- Students demonstrated a greater understanding of contemporary public issues (civic skills);
- High school students showed higher trust in government and media and were more likely to express an interest in government service and running for office (civic dispositions);
- Middle and high school students improved problem-solving and civic expression skills (SEL skills); and
- Project Citizen students grasped how to use STEM skills to address community problems and connected STEM and civics classes.
Read the comprehensive report in its entirety.
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Study: Understanding Instructional Quality in Social Studies Classrooms
Extensive research documents the importance of instructional quality for promoting student outcomes. Yet, the field of education knows very little about the instruction occurring in social studies classrooms, a central venue for civic learning in schools.
To address this need, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is working with university partners to propose a federally-funded study to collect evidence of teaching quality in social studies classrooms. This initial effort will provide a foundation for future research to build upon, with the ultimate goal of improving social studies instructional policy and practice, students’ civic learning outcomes, and American democracy.
AIR is looking for state and district partners to provide a non-binding letter of support for the grant proposal. Below, AIR highlights the benefits and commitments, and they would be very happy to schedule a Zoom meeting to discuss the work further and answer any questions you may have.
Participating in the study has several benefits:
- AIR will share district- or school-level reports with summaries of scores on observational measures and student surveys so that school and district leadership can see how their students are performing on these metrics. These reports would be confidential, not shared publicly by AIR.
- AIR will offer compensation to participating teachers and district leadership to support data collection efforts.
If the project is funded, the study would launch in Summer 2025. AIR would seek support in the following ways, if funded:
- AIR would seek your support by engaging in periodic discussions about the study, as well as seek your guidance and limited assistance with recruiting districts within your state or schools within your district.
- AIR will ask teachers to participate in classroom observations and a student survey. Participating schools will not be asked to implement any additional curriculum or initiatives.
You can contact Elizabeth Adams, the project lead at AIR, directly at eadams@air.org
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OSPI Social Studies Grants 2024-25 - Education Grant Management System (EGMS)
The Education Grants Management System (EGMS) is an application designed for users to apply for funding opportunities, manage grants, and award grant recipients. The EGMS also provides recipient capabilities for organizations needing tools to administer, track, account for, and report on their grant-related activities. Beginning 2024-25 fiscal year, the Kip Tokuda Memorial Grant and Civic Education Travel Grant will occur in EGMS. We anticipate opening the applications after July 1, 2024.
All reports and form packages associated with School Year 2023–24 will remain in iGrants (e.g. end-of-year reports, budget revisions, etc.).
We encourage all those interested in applying for those grants moving forward to visit the OSPI Education Grant Management System website. You can learn more about the platform and learn how to create an account.
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Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation Grant
The Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation is an organization that provides grants for educators to teach anti-hate initiatives, respect, and kindness to students nationwide through Holocaust education. The grant allows educators to teach their students about the Holocaust – empowering them to learn how the lessons of the past can lead to kindness, respect, and inclusion in our society today. Each grant is capped at $1,000. The grant can be used to purchase educational materials, such as books for the classroom; help fund experiences, such as subsidizing the cost of transportation to a museum; help cover speaker fees for survivor speakers; or to bring programming into the school, such as traveling museum exhibits. The foundation has hosted several teacher resource webinars to introduce educators to a multitude of programming that is available nationwide. The grant application portal opens in mid-August. Teachers who teach 4th to 12th grade are eligible to apply.
To be added to their list and be notified when the grant portal opens, please email ann@mshefoundation.org.
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Healing and Justice: Medieval Stories from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt
The Center for African Studies at Howard University is hosting an institute July 23-26, 9:30am - 3pm EST virtually sharing manuscripts cataloged in PEMM (The Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary database). The institute will include morning and afternoon presentations by content experts. Teachers will learn about the historical, political, and cultural contexts of early Christianity in Ethiopia and Eritrea; gain knowledge of the significance of Ethiopian manuscripts and their production and use.
On the fourth day of the institute, local teachers will attend a hands-on workshop. Teaching artists will introduce participants to the various techniques, skills and tools relevant to making an illuminated manuscript. These hands-on activities will equip educators with techniques and strategies to engage their students in making their own manuscript books.
The institute will be particularly attractive to art teachers, language art teachers and social science/world history teachers grades 6-9. It is offered free of charge. Click here to learn more and register.
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University of Washington - Media Literacy Institute 2024
The Media Literacy Institute, now in its fourth year, has continued to receive great reviews from its participants. Tessa Jolls, Director of the Center for Media Literacy and two of her colleagues will be offering the Media Literacy Institute online, July 29-August 2, 9:00-11:00am PST. Participants can earn up to 20 clock hours; coaching designed to help meet individual needs is also made readily available throughout the Institute.
This course is a collaboration between UW Center for Excellence in Media Literacy and the Center for Media Literacy.
Click here to learn more and register.
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Summer Professional Development for High School Psychology Teachers
High school psychology teachers are encouraged to consider attending APA 2024, taking place August 8-10 in Seattle, Washington. APA will provide hundreds of hours of programming on all subfields of psychological science and countless programs will be of interest to teachers. Select programming is available virtually for those who cannot attend in person.
In addition to offerings at APA 2024, the APA Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) is sponsoring a full-day workshop for high school psychology teachers on Wednesday, August 7 at the University of Washington; Cost for TOPSS members is $35 for the workshop registration and is separate from APA 2024 registration. For additional details on the August 7 workshop and to register, visit the workshop website.
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Learning about the Holocaust and Japanese American Incarceration
In this immersive 3-day workshop, following an introductory Zoom presentation by Naomi Kawamura on November 7th open to all who are interested, participants will explore the dynamics of cultural memory, what influences our collective understanding of history, and how memory is shaped by diverse experiences, perspectives, and contexts. There are follow-up, in-person workshops on November 8, 9 and 10. Participants will delve into the memorialization of the Holocaust and the Japanese American wartime incarceration to explore how and why different communities remember the past, how memory can contribute to individual and group identities, the role of museums, memorials, and archives in preserving and transmitting memory, and the intersections of historical traumas.
This program is open to the public, with priority consideration given to educators for the in-person component as space is limited. Washington state teachers will earn one clock hour for attendance at the Zoom presentation on November 7th, and up to 18 hours for participation in the workshop.
Click here to register and learn more.
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Learning Standards Review
Learning standards define what all students need to know and be able to do at each grade level. As required by state law (RCW 28A.655.070), OSPI develops the state’s learning standards and periodically revises them based on the student learning goals in RCW 28A.150.210. Click here to learn more about the process and click here for a timeline of review and implementation.
If you have any questions, please email standards.review@k12.wa.us.
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ALL STUDENTS PREPARED FOR POST-SECONDARY PATHWAYS, CAREERS, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
Led by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, OSPI oversees K-12 public education in Washington state. Our mission is to provide funding, resources, tools, data and technical assistance that enable educators to ensure students succeed in our public schools, are prepared to access post-secondary training and education, and are equipped to thrive in their careers and lives.
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