In recent years, schools have seen a decline in the emphasis of civic literacy throughout student learning. This can be attributed to sources including the Brookings Institution and the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy.

What is civics education?

Civics includes knowledge of governmental structures (local, state, and national), constitutional principles and rights. In addition, it focuses on legal systems, the rule of law, and the historical context of civic and political development.

Civics education helps preserve democracy, aid in awareness of community needs and challenges, and leads to advocacy and informed decision-making. It can also foster transferable skills such as critical thinking and reasoning, constructive communication, collaboration, information analysis, problem-solving, ethics, responsibility, and more!

Below, we’ll share some of the top civics resources that you can immediately integrate into your teaching and learning, and why you should check them out!

1) Ben’s Guide

Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government is catered for students in grades K-12 and includes content such as learning adventures, games, infographics, and a glossary. Ben’s Guide is a service of the Government Publishing Office (GPO). Clear information on the branches of government, how laws are made, the election process, historical documents, federally recognized tribes, national symbols, and more is provided by this resource! There are also interactive games to play including, “Place the States” and “Branch-O-Mania.”

2) iCivics Education 

iCivics Education also targets students in grades K-12. Here, you can find a variety of curriculum units, lesson plans, Private i History Detectives, DBQuests, webquests, videos, games, and simulations. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor founded iCivics with the goal of ensuring, “that all Americans have the knowledge and skills to participate in our unique experiment in self-government.” This nonpartisan site offers free and innovative resources that all 50 states use. You know it’s good because over 145,000 educators use iCivics to teach 9 million students.

Further, experts including Annenberg Public Policy Center, the Center for Civic Education, Nickelodeon, Colonial Williamsburg, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, The White House Historical Association, the Council on Foreign Relations, and more designed their resources in partnership! With standards-aligned content that is both engaging and interactive, you are bound to find a plethora of options to enhance your lessons.

3) Civics Renewal Network

The Civics Renewal Network provides modules (teaching units), assessments, media, interactives, primary sources, and even bell-ringer activities for grades K-12. The network is a combination of nonpartisan, non-profit organizations that are committed to strengthening civic life in the U.S. They have a variety of resources that clearly delineate targeted grades, subjects, issues, resource types, and lesson duration. They also provide related Constitution articles as resources as well as associated strategies, which is extremely helpful. To sort through the abundance of resources, select “Classroom Resources,” and use the filter on the right side of your screen to narrow down your results.

4) The Bill of Rights Institute

The Bill of Rights Institute is designed for grades 3-12. Content includes lessons, videos, essays, current events articles, interactives, games, and activities. The Institute provides materials and programs that encompass American history, government, and civics. This site also offers printable games and homework help videos. If available, you can also make a request for a donation of Pocket Constitutions. Over 200,000 booklets were donated in 2024!

5) NewseumED

NewseumED’s content includes lesson plans, videos, digital artifacts, historical events, interactives, and other tools and collections for students grades three and higher. There are thousands of resources that are utilized by over 11 million people. Due to copyrighted material, the site does require that you create an account, but it is free and easy to do so. Check out this site if you are looking for engaging education tools to boost skills relating to media literacy and the First Amendment. According to NewseumED, users will “learn how to authenticate, analyze and evaluate information from a variety of sources and put current events in historical context.”

6) Annenberg Classroom 

The Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics created Annenberg Classroom, catering towards students in grades 6-12. Surveys from Annenberg Classroom have shown that Americans have insufficient comprehension of how the government and our Constitution work. This site provides multimedia curricula that educators can use to help students become more engaged and well-informed.

Here, you can find lesson plans, videos, games, timelines, downloadable books, a Constitution guide, and a glossary. In fact, their videos have won over 70 awards! Annenberg Classroom is a non-profit, nonpartisan program of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, which works with the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.

7) Campaign Weathervane

Campaign Weathervane is a game powered by the ROPER Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University. The site lets you interactively predict American viewpoints to gain favorability and win the presidential candidacy. You can even travel back in history, the time machine starts in 1940!

8) Bad News

Bad News is another interactive game. The Dutch organization, DROG, which works against the spread of disinformation, developed the game along with the UK’s Cambridge University researchers and Gusmanson studio’s visual and graphic design team. According to Bad News, players take on the role of a fake news-monger to “expose the tactics and manipulation techniques that are used to mislead people and build up a following.” The intended audience is for ages 14 and up and provides a unique insight into media literacy. To learn more about the game’s development, read the Bad News Information Sheet.

9) Constitute Project

Constitute/The Constitute Project provides access to the world’s constitutions so that you can read, search, and compare them. You can look up constitutions by country name and filter by their status, whether in force or draft. Further, the Comparative Constitutions Project allows you to compare and contrast a variety of topics as well as visualize data with maps and graphics.

Want to learn more and see demos of these resources in action? Check out our OTIS session, Resources for Enriching Civics Education! You can also find a variety of Edu Resources and Skills Videos for social studies and civics available on otis.teq.com.

For more tips, tricks, and tools for teaching in and out of the classroom, check out more content on the Teq Talk blog or our YouTube channels OTIS for educators and Tequipment.

We also offer virtual professional development, training, and support with OTIS for educators. Explore the technology and strategies that spark student success — no matter where teaching or learning are happening!

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