This week, Dr. Charles Flanagan, Outreach Supervisor for the Center for Legislative Archives in the National Archives and Records Administration, joined the Illinois Civics Hub (ICH) for an interactive webinar to demonstrate how primary sources can be used to address Theme 6 from the Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Roadmap– A People in the World. Dr. Flanagan demonstrated how primary sources from the National Archives can be used in classrooms to explore how the role of the executive branch changed over our nation’s history. If you missed the webinar, a recording can be accessed on the ICH Webinar Archive.

Direct instruction on democratic institutions is one of the civic learning practices embedded in the Illinois civics course requirements for both middle and high school. The National Archives has numerous resources through both its Educator Resources and DocsTeach websites that allow students to evaluate sources and use evidence per the Illinois social science standards to dig deeper into the foundational concepts that undergird our constitutional republic. The National Archives has four principles that guide the development of classroom resources:

• Honor the standards
• Start where the students are
• Study primary sources
• Apply what the students learn to their daily lives

Educators looking for more inspiration on how to address the EAD Theme of “A People in the World” can access a diverse set of resources on the EAD website using the Educator Resources tab. The growing set of tools on this site can be sorted by theme, grade level, resource type, and more. 

It is not too late to register for the rest of our Illinois Civics Hub summer Professional Development series. There are two strands of professional development. On Tuesday, powerful pedagogy is the focus to help enhance your current classroom practice and welcome students back to school. Wednesday webinars put the spotlight on some of the leading civic learning providers in the nation. Educators can join live to interact with participants or watch a recording. The webinars are free, and Illinois educators can elect to earn PD credits for attending the webinar and completing a brief, post-webinar application activity.

A description for each webinar and information to register for professional development credits through the DuPage Regional Office of Education is available on the Illinois Civics Hub Professional Development Calendar.