Resources Links

The Michigan Center for Civic Education is part of a national network of law-related and civic education centers throughout the United States. Sign up for the MCCE e-news to receive updates on new resources and training opportunities.

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Michigan Resources Links
Civic Education/Constitution Resources Links
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Michigan Resources

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University
www.gvsu.edu/hauenstein
A source for videos, speeches and research on our Presidents, their families, and their achievements.

List of State Websites
www.michigan.gov/statewebsites
Using this site you can get access to data and information created by all Michigan State Agencies.

Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC)
www.michigan.gov/mcsc
A great resource for volunteering or service learning opportunities and grants. This is also a source for information on Americorps.

Michigan Compiled Laws
www.lawsource.com/also/usa.cgi?mi
This site contains codified laws for the state of Michigan. It also has sections on the Michigan Constitution, pending bills and session laws.

Michigan Council for Social Studies
http://www.mcssmi.org/
A membership organization for social studies educators with the mission to recognize and Promote Effective Social Studies in Education

Michigan Department of Education
http://www.michigan.gov/mde
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-38924_41644_46818—,00.html
Of particular interest to civic educators is information at with links to information including:

• Social Studies Alignment Project
• Social Studies High School Content Expectations v.10.07
• Social Studies Content Expectations for K-12 Social Studies Support Materials

Michigan Government Television
http://www.mgtv.org
Michigan Government Television (MGTV) is a non-partisan cable television network that provides live and taped coverage of all branches of Michigan Government without commentary, analysis or editing for content, which means that viewers see everything on the record. Part of MGTV’s mission is to offer schools unique tools to help students better understand state government. There are videos of state government proceedings for viewing. MGTV produced documentaries, “Oh, Could They But Speak: The History and Importance of Michigan’s Civil War Battle Flags” and “Defining Moments: Frank Murphy, Fred Korematsu and the Internment of Japanese Americans During World War II” illustrate the intersection of history and current affairs.

http://www.michigan.gov/snyder
A resource to learn about the governor and policy priorities.

Michigan Legislature Homepage
http://www.Legislature.mi.gov
Site for all things legislative in Michigan. You can find bills being considered, calendars, conduct a basic or advanced search or contact your elected representative or senator.

Michigan Supreme Court Learning Center
http://www.courts.michigan.gov/plc/
The Michigan Supreme Court Learning Center opened its doors to the public in 2002. This 3,800 sq. ft. public education center introduces children and adults to the Michigan court system. The Learning Center is designed for elementary students to adults, and is filled with activities including an introductory video, computer programs, push-button programs and traditional wall text panels. The Learning Center includes many resources including lesson plans and resources for the classroom. http://courts.michigan.gov/plc/resources/curriculum.htm

Michigan State Government
http://www.govspot.com/state/mi.htm
This site gives both specific and general resources for all areas of Michigan government.

Michigan Supreme Court
http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/
http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/clerk/msc_orals.htm
Includes summaries of cases that have been or will be argued before the Michigan Supreme Court’s seven Justices during the term (August 2011-July 31, 2012). This page also provides a status of the case, and links to the Court’s opinion or order in each case this session

State Bar of Michigan
http://www.michbar.org/generalinfo/publicoutreach.cfm
The State Bar’s Law-related Education Public Outreach Committee has developed a website with resources for lawyers, educators and anyone who is interested in educating the public about the law.

State of Michigan
http://www.michigan.gov/
This is the official site for the state of Michigan with links Michigan Government and Education.

State and Local Government
http://www.statelocalgov.net/
A frequently updated directory of official state and local Government websites.

Civic Education/Constitution Resources

270 to win game
http://www.270towin.com
This site includes an interactive Electoral College map for 2012 and a history of Presidential elections in the United States.

Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship at Purdue University
http://ackerman.education.purdue.edu/
The focus of the Ackerman site is to provide programs, institutes, activities, and resources for educators to implement programs that result in student involvement in schools and communities.

American Presidents; A Reference Resource
http://www.millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident
The Miller Center is a nonpartisan institute that seeks to expand understanding of the presidency, policy, and political history, providing critical insights for the nation’s governance This website is a comprehensive collection of material about the Presidents of the United States and the history of the presidency. This web site features essays about the President’s life before, during and after each presidential term. Includes an archive of presidential speeches.

Annenberg Media Learner
http://www.learner.org/resources/series173.html
This is the link to Democracy In America which has videos that are appropriate for high school government classrooms. It requires that you register with the site but there is no fee.

The Bill Of Rights Institute
http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/
A non-profit organization dedicated to educating teachers and high school students about America’s founding principles. They offer online resources, games, and discussions. They also offer webinars, seminars and free lesson plans on a variety of topics including Supreme Court cases.

Center for Civic Education
http://www.civiced.org
Nonprofit that developed the National Standards in civics and government. This organization also developed the We The People, Project Citizen, Citizens Not Spectators and many other programs with the mission of promoting an active, engaged citizenry. Website includes free downloadable curricular resources on lessons on a variety of topics including 9/11 and the Constitution, Constitution Day & Citizenship Day, and Voting

The Center On Congress at Indiana University
http://congress.indiana.edu/
The central goal of the Center on Congress is to improve public understanding of Congress, particularly about the work and role of Congress, its impact on people’s lives, and the importance of civic participation. This site contains multiple e-modules about the operations of Congress. The site includes lessons for all grade levels on a variety of topics related to congress including How Congress works, The impact of Congress and the Importance of Citizen Participation.

The Choices Program
http://www.choices.edu/
The Choices Program is a national education initiative developed at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. The Choices Program provides teaching resources on historical and current international issues, offers professional development for classroom teachers, and sponsors programs that engage students beyond the classroom. Current publications include The United States in Afghanistan, Responding to Terrorism, US Invasion of Iraq, Russia’s Transformation.

Close-up
http://www.closeup.org
A non-profit, non-partisan organization that promotes responsible and informed participation in the democratic process through a variety of hands-on activities. Close up also provides classroom teaching tools, including Current Issues. This annual textbook stimulates student debate on key policy issues.

Colonial Williamsburg
http://www.history.org
This site offers multimedia, resources, and lessons for the classroom teacher. It includes electronic field trips and “the Idea of America,” a digital American History Project designed to help prepare high school students for active citizenship.

Consource
http://www.consource.org
The Constitutional Sources Project is a free online library of constitutional source documents. Included in their collection are the Federalist Papers, Anti-Federalist Papers, and James Madison’s Notes of the Constitutional Convention.

Constitutional Rights Foundation
http://www.crf-usa.org/
Nonprofit that seeks to educate engaged citizens through an understanding of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Website includes a variety of free lesson plans, including the free web based Civic Action Project (CAP) a practicum for high school students in civics and government. Lessons on U.S. history, world history, and government are included in the Bill of Rights in Action, CRF’s quarterly curricular newsletter which is archived on this site.

Constitutional Rights Foundation-Chicago
http://www.crfc.org
Nonprofit that seeks to educate engaged citizens through an understanding of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Site includes many free lessons on topics including American Jury, Brown vs. Board of Education, and Classroom Tools for Discussion, Issues, and Service Learning as well as many other topics.

CSPAN Classroom
http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/
This is a free primary source for materials for teachers. Current topics include Campaigns and Elections, Federal Courts, Political Parties, Checks and Balances, Federalism, Civil Liberties, Immigration, Rule of Law, Civil Rights Interest Groups and Lobbying. A special section of the website is dedicated to helping teachers integrate video into instruction.

Declare Yourself!
http://www.declareyourself.com
A national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign to empower and encourage every eligible 18-29 year-old in America to register to vote.

Democracy For Kids!
http://www.democracykids.org/
This site provides an on-line learning module for grades 4-6 on the legislative branch.

The Democracy Project/PBS Kids Go
http://www.Pbskids.org/democracy/
Students can use this site to tour the government, spend a day with the President electronically and follow campaigns.

iCivics
http://www.icivics.org/
iCivics is a web-based education project designed to teach students civics and inspire them to be active participants in our democracy, iCivics offers a host of exciting, interactive, free and standard aligned resources including games, more than 40 lesson plans, virtual classrooms, and opportunities for students to get involved with and impact their communities—digitally. The 14 games, curriculum units and lesson plans in the cover topics ranging from politics and public policy to foundations of government to foreign affairs and diplomacy.

John C. Stennis Institute of Government
http://www.sig.msstate.edu/
The John C. Stennis Institute at Mississippi State University has over 1,000 links to materials that can assist with the implementation of civics and government classes. Categories include interactive presentations, congressional information, current events, historic court cases, historic speeches, historic texts, lesson plans, presidential information, and state constitutions.

Kids Voting USA
http://kidsvotingusa.org/
Students learn about democracy through a combination of classroom activities, family dialogue and an authentic voting experience. After classroom preparation, students take part in a voting experience using a ballot that mirrors that of the adults with the same candidates and issues. This “real life” practice dispels the mysteries of the voting process and reinforces the knowledge and skills gained through Kids Voting classroom activities

Literacy Links for Civic Education
http://literacylinks.civiced.org
Developed by the Center for Civic Education, this site is filled with hundreds of teacher-created materials that meet both Social Studies and English Language Arts Standards.

The Living Room Candidate
http://www.livingroomcandidate.org
This site features political campaign ads since 1954 which can be streamed for use in class. Additional statistics about various presidential elections are also available including maps depicting electoral votes.

National Constitution Center
http://www.constitutioncenter.org/
This site contains numerous teacher resources. From lesson plans to primary source documents, the National Constitution Center offers a variety of resources to bring deeper understanding of American history, government and active citizenship to students.

The Redistricting Game
http://www.redistrictinggame.org
Developed by the Annenberg Center for Communications, this web game allows students to engage in a redistricting simulation.

The Thomas Jefferson Center
http://www.tjcenter.org
Dedicated to protect the rights guaranteed by the first amendment. It includes legal briefs and links for further research. Sites includes podcasts of programs sponsored by the Center.

Law-Related Education/Law Resources

American Bar Association
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/educational_resources
Includes a variety of resources, including free downloadable lessons to help teachers and lawyers in the K-12 classroom.

http://publiced.abanet.org/lre/
A comprehensive database of law related education programs for elementary and secondary schools. This site serves as both a repository and resource for the thousands of programs in the United States.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
http://www.aclu.org
A good source for Constitutional issues.

CNN Court TV
http://www.trutv.com/newname.html
Includes coverage of trials and headlines of current cases.

Find Law
http://www.findlaw.com
Users can learn about the law and search a particular legal issue.

Landmark Cases
http://www.landmarkcases.org
Developed by Street Law, provides teachers with a full range of resources and activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases.This site includes information and teaching materials on the U.S. Supreme Court cases most often included in state standards, frameworks and testing programs. Also includes information on interactive teaching strategies including case study, moot court, Role play, and Political cartoon analysis, and more.

Legal Information Institute-Cornell University
http://www.law.cornell.edu/
A nonprofit that believes everyone should be able to read and understand the laws that govern them, without cost. Includes primary legal materials and links to a wide array of U.S. and international legal reference websites.

The Oyez Project
http://www.oyez.org
The Oyez Project at Chicago-Kent is a multimedia archive devoted to the Supreme Court of the United States and its work. This site is organized to provide information on the justices, cases, an online tour of the Court, a series of discussion forums, articles about cases on the docket this term as well as the oral arguments for every case since the mid-1950’s.

Scotusblog
http://www.scotusblog.com/
The website provides information on current cases before the Supreme Court including links to relevant editorial pieces and news on those cases.

Southern Poverty Law Center
http://www.splcenter.org
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society. Site includes free resources that teach school children to reject hate, embrace diversity and respect differences.

Street Law
http://www.streetlaw.org
Street Law is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing practical participatory education about law, democracy, and human rights. Site includes lessons about the history of the Supreme Court, mock trials, and moot courts. Programs include the Law School and Law Firm Diversity Pipeline Program. Site includes free Mock Trial cases and information about the popular Street Law text.

Supreme Court Historical Society
http://www.supremecourthistory.org
The Society, a private non-profit organization, is dedicated to the collection and preservation of the history of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Society accomplishes its mission by conducting educational programs and providing resources of interest to legal practitioners, scholars and historians and the general public.

The Supreme Court/PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/
The Educators section of Web site was developed with Civic, American History and Social Studies teachers. to develop projects and activities that help students examine the role of The Supreme Court in history, as well as in our daily lives. This section of the site includes with interactive games, Lesson Plans for ages 9-18, and downloadable video segments.

Teaching Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org
A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, this website provides teachers with free educational materials that help reduce prejudice and foster intergroup relations.

U.S. Government Resources

Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids
http://bensguide.gpo.gov
This site provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers from the U.S. Printing Office. These resources teach how our government works, the use of the primary source materials and how one can use GPO Access to carry out their civic responsibilities.

Kids In The House
http://kids.clerk.house.gov/
Student can learn about the role of the U.S. House of Representatives, the legislative process, and House history. On this site, you can go on a virtual field trip and meet the clerk. Site includes free downloadable lesson plans.

Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/tps/
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Teaching with Primary Sources Program works with colleges and other educational organizations to deliver professional development programs that help teachers use the Library of Congress’s rich reservoir of digitized primary source materials to design challenging, high-quality instruction.

http://www.thomas.gov
This is a Library of Congress site that provides information about legislation in Congress.

The National Archives
http://www.archives.gov/
http://docsteach.org/
The national Archives website provides lesson plans for teaching with documents and thousands of primary source documents to bring the past to life as classroom teaching tools.

Our Documents
http://www.ourdocuments.gov
The Our Documents initiative is a cooperative effort among National History Day, The National Archives and Records Administration, and USA Freedom Corps. This site features one hundred milestone American History documents from the National archives. It includes the original primary source documents for each entry.

The State Department for Youth
http://www.future.state.gov
This U.S. Department of State For Youth site provides activities for the world’s future diplomats. This site has links and activities for educators and students.

United States Supreme Court
http://www.supremecourt.gov/
Sites includes biographies of justices and summaries of decisions.

Other

American Political Science Association
http://www.apsanet.org/
A working network of scholars providing deep knowledge of political science and politics.

Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools
http://www.civicmissionofschools.org
A coalition of organizations committed to improving the quality and quantity of civic learning in grades K-12 by working for policies that implement the recommendations of the Civic Mission of Schools report. This website is rich with resources for educators and others to identify civic learning resources they may adapt, adopt, or replicate

CIRCLE-The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement
http://www.civicyouth.org
CIRCLE conducts research on civic education in schools, colleges, and community settings and on young Americans’ voting and political participation, service, activism, media use, and other forms of civic engagement. It is based at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University.

Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)
http://www.fpri.org/
FPRI is an independent, nonprofit organization devoted to advanced research and public education on International affairs.

National Council for the Social Studies
http://www.socialstudies.org
The mission of National Council for the Social Studies is to provide leadership, service, and support for all social studies educators.

National Conference of State Legislatures
http://www.ncsl.org
The National Conference of State Legislatures is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation’s 50 states, its commonwealths and territories. Site includes summaries of state policies on civic education and downloadable lesson plans,

National Issues Forums
http://www.nifi.org
Nonpartisan, nationwide network of locally sponsored public forums for the consideration of public policy issues.

ProCon.org
http://www.procon.org
ProCon.org is a nonprofit that provides unbiased, nonpartisan research on controversial issues in a “pro versus con” format.It is a useful site for examining current events or if you want your students to practice writing persuasive essays or their debating skills without spending a lot of time on research.

Shmoop
http://www.shmoop.com
Shmoop provides lively Learning Guides and Teaching Resources written by educators and doctorate students at top universities. This website has information on literature, civics, and U.S. History. This site includes lesson plans, quotes, primary sources

Youth Court
http://www.youthcourt.net
Non-profit organization that provides training and technical assistance to educators. This site serves as an information clearing house to youth and teen court programs in the United States.

Youth Serve America
http://www.servenet.org
Youth Serve American improves communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles.