The two entities are partnering to offer K-12 educators use of the Civics Collection through PBS LearningMedia, according to a news release last week. The collection offers videos from platforms like PBS Frontline and iCivics, plus interactive lessons and media galleries that instructors can add to their lesson plans. All are made to be easily integrated with online learning management systems like Google Classroom, which most teachers in grades six to 12 use weekly.
Users can explore the foundations of American democracy, citizens’ rights and responsibilities, social and economic policy, and power and influence in government, through lessons rooted in documents like the U.S. Constitution, the release said. The resources, including full lessons, videos, quizzes and media libraries, are intended to build skills like media literacy and engaging in civil discourse for middle and high school students.
“Young people care about current events. They avidly consume news on social media and want to change the world around them,” according to a promotional video for the Civics Collection. “Yet, half of 18- to 24-year-olds didn’t vote in 2020 and less than one in four eighth graders demonstrate proficiency in civics. Yesterday’s civics isn’t working for today’s students. They don’t see themselves and their lives reflected in the curriculum, and they don’t feel prepared to participate in civic affairs.”
According to the news release, the resources feature multiple perspectives and diverse viewpoints. For example, one lesson considers the curb-cut effect, or the idea that legislation benefiting a particular group, like people with disabilities, can benefit the community at large. Another focuses on relationships between Indigenous tribal leadership and the federal government.
The site currently has about 100 resources available across six topics, but when it’s finished it will house 180.
“Being a well-informed participant in our democracy starts with getting a solid foundation of civics in the classroom,” Susan Goldberg, president and CEO of GBH, said in the news release. “The Civics Collection provides the resources educators need to prepare a new generation to fully understand what it means to be an American.”
The Civics Collection has a similar design to the U.S. History Collection, which PBS LearningMedia launched in 2022. It covers American history from pre-Colonial times to the present and, as of June, has had more than 1.7 million users and 12 million page views, per the news release. An independent study showed the History Collection helped students improve historical knowledge and thinking skills, the release said.
