Colorado Mountain College Libraries
Civics education and engagement
Free, nonpartisan lesson plans and resources for K-12 partners and CMC faculty. Built with materials from the National Constitution Center and high-quality open educational resources.
Start here
This guide gives teachers a ready-to-use series of eight civics lessons, plus the national, open and Colorado resources behind them. Each lesson works for grades 6 to 12, with notes for adapting it to CMC college and dual enrollment courses.
Teaching approach
The lessons follow the National Constitution Center's learning framework, which combines three things: historical foundations through storytelling, constitutional interpretation skills, and civil dialogue and reflection. Students learn to ask what the government constitutionally may do, not only what it should do.
Go to: Education at the National Constitution Center
Source: National Constitution Center, Education.
Nonpartisan by design
Every lesson asks students to weigh evidence and hear more than one viewpoint. No lesson asks students to share how they vote or to take a political side.
How to use this guide
Start with Lesson 1 to set civil dialogue norms, then use the other lessons in any order. Each lesson lists what you will need, the steps, ways to adapt it, and a free open textbook chapter to go with it.
