ekfk Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I want to add some civics to our curriculum. Some options I've found are the True Books series, Cartoon Nation series, How the U.S. Government Works and U.S. Government and Presidents, Grades 3 - 5 (Skills for Success). Has anyone used any of these? Do you have other recommendations? I'm looking for something objective, not left or right leaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I teach civics once per week to my kids, though I haven't used the resources you mentioned. We are currently reading through O, Say Can You See? (Keenan) which I like very much. The history resources I have seen come with various biases, but I have not come across any civics material for elementary years that has bias. Most of what I have seen talks about the flag, Uncle Sam, monuments in Washington DC., the White House, the Capitol building, how many supreme court justices there are, etc. Those are just facts. I don't see how anyone would interpret them as bias either way. If you are interested in looking for other resources, the best article I know of is here: civics article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Have you thought of using some Cub Scout programs? IMO, they are well designed to hold the attention of the age groups they are intended for. For example, kids are taught how to fold a U.S. Flag -- a nice hands-on activity. They can learn flag etiquette with mini flags, etc. There is a lot of info in the Cub Scout Handbooks, if you can get a hold of the one for your age group (sounds like Wolf Cubs). Here is a link to requirements: http://usscouts.org/advancementTOC.asp Here are some den meeting plans: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/Leaders/DenLeaderResources/DenandPackMeetingResourceGuide/WolfDenPlans.aspx If you can do a field trip to your state capital or to a historic site or to a battle reenactment that could also spark kids' interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I am using the Intellego studies for this. So far so good, he loves it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 You could add in a few schoolhouse rock videos for fun! Look for you tube videos for "I'm just a bill", "Barter", "Three-ring circus", "Tyrannosaurus debt"... among others... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 You could add in a few schoolhouse rock videos for fun! Look for you tube videos for "I'm just a bill", "Barter", "Three-ring circus", "Tyrannosaurus debt"... among others... I second this. You can watch them on YouTube: http://www.schoolhouserock.tv/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grace'smom Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I got this book after a suggestion on this board the other day and it looks really good. We're planning to do a civics/government thing next fall due to the elections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.