Encouraging Civic Engagement: Rights and Responsibilities

This workshop provides educators with strategies to help students understand civic rights, responsibilities, and the importance of active participation in democracy. It focuses on building foundational knowledge of the electoral process, understanding candidates and key issues, and developing critical news literacy. Teachers explore activities that engage students in research, debates, mock elections, and civic action projects, ensuring students connect classroom learning to real-world civic life. By the end, participants will be equipped to guide students in becoming informed, responsible, and engaged citizens.

• Student disengagement and lack of understanding of the electoral process and civic participation.
  
  
• The challenge of helping students navigate misinformation and biased media sources during elections.
  
  
• Limited opportunities for students to practice authentic civic engagement and connect classroom learning to community involvement.

1. Teaching the Electoral Process Through Active Learning: Participants will gain strategies for teaching election vocabulary, the Electoral College, and voting procedures using interactive activities such as electoral maps, research projects, and simulations.
   
   
2. Developing News Literacy and Critical Thinking: Educators will learn how to help students analyze media, detect misinformation, vet sources, and form their own opinions on candidates and key issues without bias.
   
   
3. Fostering Student Civic Engagement: Teachers will explore project-based approaches like mock debates, community improvement campaigns, service projects, and letter-writing to lawmakers, enabling students to apply their knowledge in meaningful, real-world contexts