Tips for Inspiring Civic Engagement in the Classroom

Social Studies teachers! Are you looking for ways to incorporate civic literacy in your classroom! Civic Engagement Task Cards are a quick and easy way to stimulate discussion and inspire active engagement in your students!

As a high school U.S. History teacher, I was always looking for ways to incorporate civic literacy and inspire civic engagement in the classroom. I taught in a small district where Civics and American Government were only offered every other year as elective courses (if enough kids signed up for the courses). Task cards were a super-easy way for me to incorporate civics into my U.S. History course. Task cards can be used in many different ways. Here are a few ways I used my task cards in my classroom:

Scavenger Hunt Race- I printed all 6 sheets of task cards and distributed them to students. The first student to earn 100 points (or however many points I decided) “wins.” (I labeled each task card with a point value depending on the level of difficulty and/or time necessary to complete the task.)

Anticipatory Activity or Exit Ticket- I printed and distribute sheets or cut out individual cards from each sheet and used the cards as an anticipatory activity or as an “exit ticket” following a lesson. (I always laminate my sheets and either have students write answers on post-its they stick on the laminated sheets or I give my students dry-erase markers and have them write their answers directly on the laminated sheets.

Homework- I've assigned all 48 cards.

Extra Credit- I've assigned sheets or individual cards as extra credit or “make-up” work.

“Sub Day” activity. No prep is necessary! (Students will need access to the internet to complete some of the tasks. Some of the task cards contain QR codes which will require a QR Code reader (quickly and easily downloaded as an app to most phones.)

I would love to hear how other Social Studies teachers incorporate civic literacy and civic engagement skills into their classrooms! Please share in the comments!

Bulletin boards are another way to promote civic literacy in the classroom. This bulletin board includes key vocabulary and quotes relating to civic literacy. Are you interested in this bulletin board display? Click HERE.