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Arizona Civics Podcast
Welcome to the Arizona Civics Podcast. This podcast aims to share our journey of sustaining Arizona’s interests in reforms to civic education by working with civic educators in our state. This work is being done by the Center for American Civics at Arizona State University. I am your host, Liz Evans, Civic Education and Outreach Program Director at ASU, and I will interview Arizona teachers, content experts, and leaders in civic education. We hope you enjoy our journey to make Arizona a national civics model!
Arizona Civics Podcast
Beyond Multiple Choice: Engaging Every Student in Civic Learning
Imagine a civics classroom where every student—regardless of ability, background, or learning style—can fully engage with the democratic principles that shape our society. Three exceptional educators from a civic literacy cohort share their revolutionary approaches to differentiating civic education, transforming traditional multiple-choice instruction into vibrant, accessible learning experiences.
These master teachers, representing elementary, middle, and gifted education, reveal practical strategies for making civic concepts come alive for all learners. From inquiry-based activities with "low entry, high ceiling" approaches to creative assessment methods that prioritize understanding over memorization, they demonstrate how modern civic education can reach every student in meaningful ways.
You'll discover how innovative techniques like hexagonal thinking help students visualize connections between civic concepts, while role-playing activities and simulations transform abstract principles into tangible experiences. The teachers share how they've successfully used everything from Hamilton songs to fake guillotines to make civic knowledge stick, proving that engagement and emotional connection are the true keys to lasting civic understanding.
Most powerfully, these educators explain how they connect abstract constitutional principles to students' everyday experiences—comparing international conflicts to playground disagreements or helping students see how First Amendment rights apply in their daily lives. Through these real-world connections, civics transforms from a collection of facts to a framework for understanding society.
Whether you're a new teacher seeking a foundation for teaching civics, a veteran educator looking for fresh approaches, or anyone passionate about preparing the next generation of engaged citizens, these insights will inspire you to reimagine how we teach democracy. Join the movement to ensure every child receives the civic education they deserve and develops the knowledge and skills to become active, informed participants in our democratic process.
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Welcome back everyone. I really love this topic that we're talking about STEM, STEM, stem and maybe your civics. You know was a bunch of multiple choice tests or some really quick facts and that's it, but what I'm what we're moving to is more of civics in different ways for different types of learners in different ways for different types of learners. So I have three amazing teachers from our civic literacy cohort with me here today and we're going to talk about differentiating instruction in civics by equipping the teachers with strategies to engage diverse learners, connect classrooms to real-world civic engagement and assess student understanding in meaningful ways. So I am going to let them introduce themselves and we will get started.
VerGeshia Washington:Hi, I'm VerGeshia. I'm an elementary school teacher in Georgia. I currently teach science and social studies.
Rhonda Watton:I currently teach science and social studies. I'm Rhonda Watton and I teach eighth grade social studies in Sussex, wisconsin.
Morgan Routh:My curriculum is pretty much focused on US history and government. Hi, I'm Morgan Routh and I am a gifted specialist for a profoundly gifted, self-contained middle school program where I teach interdisciplinary humanities, which is kind of like a mixture of ELA and social studies. A little about me as well. I'm not only a part of the cohort, but I also write for the Arizona Geographic Alliance.
Liz Evans:Amazing and I love the difference in what you're teaching, VerGeshia. I love that you teach science too, because I think that sometimes we think civics can only be taught in a social studies class, so it's really fun. It's fun to have a kind of sample of the teachers that we've had, because there are 28 teachers working on this curriculum. It is a true K-12 curriculum, created for teachers by teachers, and I have said this before, I've been out of the classroom for five years. I do not know what a post-pandemic classroom looks like, which is why I hire experts, because they are the ones that know. So all of these lessons are created by people who are practicing, who are in education and the best of the best, to be very honest with you. So my first question is really looking at the lessons in action, because you all created amazing lessons. How do the lessons that you created in the civic literacy curriculum kind of support differentiated instruction in civics classrooms?
Morgan Routh:So to go ahead and start, one of the best things about this curriculum is that our differentiating instruction is not just extension activities, it's not just going deeper. We essentially did a lot of backwards planning where we had kind of that immigration question for the test and we were able to build out a whole experience around it. So a lot of the lessons that I ended up doing they support things like research based learning. They support different types of learners, so kinesthetic, verbal or visual learners. We also implement things like AVID strategies, especially WICR, and then for mine in particular, because I have that kind of gifted kid mindset, we do a lot of inquiry activities and the nice thing about inquiry activities it's one of those low entry, high ceiling elements where my kiddos can go in and they, you know you can have a regular classroom, you could have an ELL classroom, you could have a self-contained SPED classroom or you could have a gifted classroom and they could all get something out of it.
Morgan Routh:So a good example of that would be my James Madison lesson, where students inspected the first revision of the Constitution. I put all of the different images into a slideshow and the kids can observe and when you actually look at James Madison's like first revision. I mean he's got X's, he's got you know little margins in the corner, he's got wording things, he's got big you know idea revisions. And so when we're talking about what kids can observe, they can not only relate to the fact that James Madison is a drafter, but also that there are just so many like little mini negotiations. That kind of happened in the drafting of the constitution and it's of course a document of compromises, so you can really have the kids kind of access that through their own way without needing much background.
Rhonda Watton:With mine I would kind of piggyback a lot on what Morgan mentioned. The inquiry does allow for all abilities to kind of reach their potential at their level. In a couple of the lessons I did we varied the vocabulary too, so sometimes the vocabulary and some of the lessons can be higher ended. So again, doing different vocabulary activities helps with the comprehension of the content that you're covering. Doing some projects, such as Project Citizen, which is one in which students select an issue in their community or school, again it involves researching it, coming up with new ideas. Those are things that you know. No matter what their ability level, they work with small groups. So again, you need students with all different skills and abilities to be successful in the project.
Rhonda Watton:One of the lessons I did was looking at different like holidays and different civic holidays, and again that one as well. Whether you do announcements, whether you create bulletin boards or you know you come up. It's another type of activity that's really open-ended and can be, you know, met in many different ways. Sometimes, in learning some of the specific you know content, you know I usually like to put things to songs, so you know a lot of times there's songs either that you know students can write lyrics to or songs that help in retaining, and then as well as just other types of interactive activities. Anytime students are able to interact with one another. I always find that that helps with retention.
VerGeshia Washington:For me.
VerGeshia Washington:I work a lot with the STAT students, so when I was thinking about differentiation, I thought a lot about them, so bringing things down for them and just making sure that the information could reach them and be accessible.
VerGeshia Washington:I'm looking at my First Amendment lesson, so, like for them, making sure that the information is right in front of them on paper versus the board and just, you know, write hands on, like I said, because I work a lot directly with them and even with their the end product, giving them more options than the rest of the class where they can do theirs on paper versus electronically, creating a presentation or they can write it. So I just presentation or they can write it, so I just. I was in my mind I wanted to reach the high, the gifted, as well as sped, because I feel like sometimes they I don't know how to word it not get forgotten about, but sometimes it's hard to kind of figure out how to include them or how to reach them, and so I was very intentional with making sure that the lesson could be as accessible as possible, you know, and ensuring that we're also, you know, reaching the standard and answering the questions as well.
Morgan Routh:Yeah, VerGeshia, you know, working with you and seeing how you've designed some of your lessons, I always thought that they were excellent and that you took a lot of time to really think out what is going to happen, start to finish. Yeah, we, I think that's one of the best parts of this curriculum is that teachers who are busy and they don't have that same kind of lesson planning time, they can just kind of pick it up and run with it and make modifications as they need.
Liz Evans:And this is exactly why we have practicing teachers, because we don't want to, at the risk of saying, no child left behind into a group of educators, but we don't. We want every kid to be able to learn, regardless of where they are at now, where they have been in the past. Every child deserves a civic education. So you kind of talked a little bit about strategies. So what kind of strategies can teachers use to engage diverse learners and in this case for diverse learners? We're talking about kind of ability levels while ensuring that all students build a strong civic knowledge, especially because we're starting to see more of a rise in states requiring a civics test to graduate which really aligns with the citizenship test kind of what we did. I think the most recent one was the state of Iowa. Rhonda, I will start, I will have you start on this one. What kind of strategies do you utilize in your classroom?
Rhonda Watton:Okay, and I think I kind of talked a little about this in the last one, but I will I will share again A few things that I find work with students of all different abilities are anything. That's usually like a hands-on something where I do partner or group work and sometimes I intentionally, you know, put you know different levels, ability levels together, um, but um, other times, uh, you know, like I said, with vocabulary activities, we do, um, things kind of like the headbands, you know, where we put a word up and they have to. You know, they give clues and they have to try to figure out what the word is and they have to try to figure out what the word is. Sometimes we just do like the GIM kits and the book kits and some of the online activities. You know what was I going to say, I guess, with using the songs too, I always find, like with some of the civic ones with the Schoolhouse Rock I know that was my generation back in the day and some of the kids have heard them some of the civic ones with the Schoolhouse Rock I know that was my generation back in the day and some of the kids have heard them, some of the kids haven't, but they really are a nice springboard for, you know, kind of introducing a lot of the topics that many of these lessons focus on. And that's not the only song, but you know, those are just any ways that kids can connect. And I think what I found too is with the Hamilton songs from the musical. You know, I've never had more kids interested in some aspects of history before and they know some of the facts because of those songs.
Rhonda Watton:So you know, I guess that's one of those areas that you know some of the higher ends.
Rhonda Watton:You know, when you're talking diverse, some of the higher end, you know you're taking some of those to a different level as well. So, rather than you know participating and they have a word, a vocab word, a person, it could be an event, and then usually students I have in groups of three or four, they take these hexagons and they have to make connections between the words. So you know you can use it in any unit where they have to. You know they might have First Amendment and freedom of speech and they have to put them together and then give an example of that. Or you might have, you know, a person like James Madison and Federalist Papers and again, what's the connection there? So that way again you can vary that with your ability. You may require just some students to maybe do three to five and again other ones maybe more, or be able to explain or make connections with more. So those are just a few of the strategies that I found that have worked well.
Morgan Routh:Those are just a few of the strategies that I found that have worked well. I love hexagonal thinking. I totally do it, and at a gifted level. We've done a ton of trainings on them and it's so cool because it's really easy to make and you can use it in any subject. So if you've ever heard of, you know, want to research hexagonal thinking, there's a great YouTube video about it. You just got to type it in.
Morgan Routh:So for me, differentiation and trying to reach those learners that are kind of diverse, you know, the best part about civics is that, instead of, you know, thinking about it in the old terms, where it's like the fill in the bubble or you know you just got to answer these questions, you kind of have to think of it as if it's a framework of society. You know it's what's happening in our news, it's what's happening in our history classes. You know, when we're talking about the United States and our values, we kind of work within this framework and these rule sets and these checks and balances, and that if something exciting is happening, it's kind of like one of those where the people are pushing against those frameworks. And so I think that anywhere you go, you'll find people can still understand it. For an example, I'm pretty sure every kid in America has cited free speech as a reason why they can yap at each other in the class. And it's you can't stop my speech. It's like, well, I know.
Morgan Routh:So I guess when I built some of my lessons, I wanted to think about how does it come alive in our real world? And so I have a ton of multimedia elements in there videos, turn and talks and, you know, conversational elements that you can kind of bring in modern news or modern history in, and there's plenty of openings where you have little anecdotes. For example, we had I did one on the role of the vice president and the role of the president, and the kids would make a resume thinking about what is the president's job and how would they apply for a job like that, and so it kind of brings in that that CTE element in there. And then another great lesson that I did was where they were able to use the USGS website and explore what our US territories looked like, and it was kind of like a little web quest webinar thing where they could look at pictures, they could look at the cuisine, look at the cultures, and so you know, the kids can hit that standard of being able to spot it on a map, but the actual research itself goes a lot deeper and you kind of bring those cultures into 3D in relationship to our territories.
Morgan Routh:So you know, when we're talking about civics, we just have to kind of broaden our scopes and think how exactly do our civics, you know, actually touch on their lives? Think how exactly do our civics, you know, actually touch on their lives? And I think that's a cool thing about this lesson guide is we have so many different teachers that have so many different perspectives on how life is and then they kind of fake it into the lesson yeah, um, I use a lot of songs too.
VerGeshia Washington:I know just recently we're talking about the three branches and I found a silly song on PBS and they were dancing and the kids were making fun. But they were singing along and doing the silly dance and they were remembering something. I do a lot. I I tell a story, especially with the wars, like you know, I'm like if someone's in a conflict, you go get your big brother, they wouldn't got their big brother, you know.
VerGeshia Washington:Make it relatable to them and they just that gets them hooked because they can relate to that. You know they can relate to conflict on the playground or conflicts in family, unfortunately. But it helps them to see you know why the wars got started or why the certain countries got involved. So I do a lot of storytelling to something that they can relate to or things that they've seen to. Hopefully, you know, help them make the real, real world connection and remember something or know the why behind it. I guess because you know, they know why a fight starts on the playground, you know. So maybe, knowing that, and they okay, that's why the war started. They, they disagreed on you know what land, who the land belonged to, or they, they disagreed on that. They didn't like that person did that, and so it makes them understand it a lot, um, a lot better.
VerGeshia Washington:Cause I like to work with younger kids, third through fifth grade, so just I have to bring it all the way down and I'm very I'm a quiet person in real life but in the classroom very animated too, and extra, and I do all the things and a lot of repetition and I'm just I can say the regular, you know regular statement, but I'll say it in a dramatic way and you know I'll say it 10 times over and over and have them repeat it, just so things like that I just try to, I try to entertain them and just keep their attention and it, it, it, it works. At least it lets them enjoy my class, but I think it helps them to, you know, absorb some of the information at least.
Liz Evans:I love that you I mean we have like teachers are entertainers, like let's be honest, we have to keep their attention.
Liz Evans:But I really appreciate that you utilize language that makes sense to them, like you're talking about fighting and why people disagree, and they get that, and even I mean it is such a simple thing. But it can be utilized in elementary school and in high school too, because I think a lot of times kids are like I don't understand why we go to work, I don't. You know who cares about X, y and Z, but when you who are like I know in real life I'm an introvert, I'm pretty quiet, but as soon as I get in front of kids, it's like a whole different thing, because you have to keep their attention and kids learn from teachers and classes that they have fun in and they feel like they can be kind of their like fun extra selves too. So I really love that and appreciate that. Their like fun extra selves too. So I really love that and appreciate that.
Liz Evans:So what role do assessments and we're not just talking about tests, right, like I think sometimes people think social studies and they're like, oh, multiple choice tests, but there's so many different ways to assess kids. So what role do assessments and these real world connections play in tailoring civics instruction to meet the needs of individual students?
VerGeshia Washington:The first thing I think of are like the scenarios, just them. Like you said, it's not about multiple choice and just knowing the dates and the where and the facts, just understanding the why behind it. Again, it was just why I try to have it relate to them, and a lot of our tests are about the scenarios, it's the reason behind it. So I don't focus a lot on this happened on this date and this person did. I mean, they have to know some of that. But I think it's important to understand the scenarios and, in order for them to understand that, like I said earlier, helping them to relate to it. So then when they see the scenario or when they're reading the question, then they're like, okay, well, when she said that this happened, okay, that's why question. Then they're like, okay, well, when she said that this happened, okay, that's why.
VerGeshia Washington:So, I think, just helping them understand the. I like to paint a picture. I guess is what I'm trying to say. You know, I like to have them see the story, versus seeing words and numbers. And I think when they see the test in front of them and that kind of, I hope the picture comes back and they can kind of see the flow of everything, if that makes sense.
Liz Evans:So what it sounds like is you're not assessing them on what they remember, like dates. You're assessing them on what they know, and that is such a positive way to assess students because it really allows them to explain the why, and I think that that sets kids up for success, no matter their level in school, whether they're elementary or high school. It allows them to again just show what they know, and that is such a powerful thing.
VerGeshia Washington:Yeah, and it's unfortunate sometimes they don't do well on the test, but if I ask them what happened, they can tell me everything. So that is always my goal. I want them to know the information. I don't want them to just do well on the test, because that's just memorization and I don't like that. I don't like that. But I want to make sure they know the information and they can at least tell me. So you know, they may not have done well on the test, but they learned something and that I mean. I think that's all that matters.
Rhonda Watton:Well, and when we memorize things then we forget them, like our brain can hold so much Right, yeah, and I would agree a lot with what was mentioned. Agree a lot with what was mentioned, and I think sometimes your experiential learning or emotional learning is what really sticks with you. I can, I know one of the seventh grade teachers. They do a lot of. They have, well, a fake guillotine, but like you know, they do that whole thing with the French Revolution and the kids come to me every year remembering that and like they can tell you a lot about the events leading up to it and after that. And I think sometimes when you have activities like that, you know it's they, like you said, they don't remember everything, but they know the big picture of all of it. And you know, I like to do a lot of role play and simulations. In fact, we're doing the Constitutional Convention tomorrow where they're, all you know, a historical identity and you know, and then can be creative, because in the past kids come with different voices and all different theatricals and some of the conversations really are pretty deep and go further than what I think you could do in a textbook or that I could do just running through a Google Doc. So I like to have that type of interaction in class. I know our assessments too have changed, like you were saying, in five years. It's varied because I've been teaching for over 30 years and we've always done tests and we've always had multiple choice and not necessarily true and false, but short answer, that kind of stuff. And we still to some degree do content checks. But for the most part, when you're looking at their summative grades you're looking at more open-ended, like when they learn the content, what can they do with it. So you know, like in one of the units we have them create a newspaper for Westward Expansion. So again, taking a look at some of the main ideas, was Westward expanse and justifiable? They create a, a political cartoon, um, you know, and add some of all those components to it.
Rhonda Watton:We've done artifact boxes for the revolutionary war. So they have to think of what are five artifacts that if you were to kind of summarize the revolutionary war under the essential question of you know, how, would you know, how did the Continental Army beat the British? You know we have them focus on a vocabulary word, an event, a person, a particular battle, and those are all of their choice. And then they have to come up with what artifact would match with that. And again, it's challenging for some because some of the kids really are like just give me the test, I want to just do the test and that's it. But I think this is where it it digs a little deeper and not only are they learning but they're learning from each other as well, which I think is kind of a cool thing. And then, like one pagers we've been doing those recently too where again it's it's their summative for the unit, so they have to be able to identify the people. I mean, they're doing all the things I think you normally would do on a test, but they're doing it in their own creative way and the way that their brain works and remembering it I do, I use traveling trunks from a couple organizations for Revolutionary War and the Civil War, so they're able to, you know, put on the jackets or hold the cartridge box or whatever artifacts may come with those boxes.
Rhonda Watton:And you know we have the conversations about it, but I've done raft writing with one where they come with many, especially with the civil war.
Rhonda Watton:So they have, you know, maybe they have a shoe or they have the cartridge box and they have to the raft.
Rhonda Watton:Writing is the R is for role, a is audience, f is the format and T is topic. So again, they have a lot of voice and choice in how they, you know, maybe they take that shoe and they think that shoe um was on, you know, a battle in during Gettysburg and it was on the foot of you know, whoever it might have been there, you know pick it or whatnot, and um, you know, and they have to do a written piece so they can do it based on um. You know, maybe they're going to do a diary entry, maybe they're going to write a poem. So how they present it again is really up to them. So one other option that I not all schools offer this, but we do a Washington DC trip too, which is like we don't do a test on it or an assessment on it, but certainly we go in October where students are able to build on that then throughout the year or reflect on where they've been, what they've done for those students that have attended.
Liz Evans:When I say we got the cream of the crop for teachers, I truly mean it, because these are the things like I want my daughter doing right, and my nieces and nephews, because it isn't just sit and get and then spit it out on a test, it is let's do stuff with it.
Liz Evans:And I love that you said student voice and choice, because at the end of the day, as long as they can show you what they know, however, they do that through their writing is such a powerful thing and it allows them to be successful in a manner that works best for them. And I think that that is such an underrated thing and so many teachers do it. And I wish I mean I do not have the solution for standardized tests. I wish I did, but these are the kinds of things that make standardized tests, I think, so much easier for kids because they're able to kind of expand. So when they have to go down, sometimes it's a little easier to kind of expand. So when they have to go down, sometimes it's a little easier. This has been amazing and wonderful, so I'm going to ask one final question what is one hope that you have for how differentiated civics instruction can impact students or communities too. And Virgesha, I will start with you.
VerGeshia Washington:The first thing that came to my mind just teachers, I guess, having having access to the lessons so that they can teach them to the students, because sometimes, especially a new teacher, it's not. You don't know what to do or where to look or where to begin, and so and that's something else I had in mind with the lessons is what? If you know, I'm a new teacher, I don't know what to do, where to start. I wanted to be sure that the teacher could have a foundation. I guess I think that's my hope is that teachers have a foundation, have somewhere to start at least, so that they don't feel lost and, you know, they can build from there.
Rhonda Watton:Well, definitely, I think, through this um, this process of creating this curriculum, um, you have a huge toolbox there that have many, many really creative interactive ideas and, um, like I was mentioned before, you can take it, you can tweak it. Um, you know, they're pretty straightforward lessons with everything linked Certainly a great place for some new ideas, instead of some of those online sources that you go and pay for a lesson here or there. These are free and I think some of these lessons are just as good, if not better, if not better. As far as students looking forward, you know, ultimately, as citizens, I would like to see, you know, the students become active in their communities, productive, become effective citizens, where they're knowledgeable about the history and background of our country and you know, kind of where, how we've gotten to this point.
Rhonda Watton:And then also, you know, to get out there and exercise your right to vote, exercise, you know, that type of going and working in your communities. You know, I always tell them I said you want to get out there and vote. You don't want to be the grumpy guy and the and the lazy boy that complains about everything. You got to get out there and do something about it. And you know, and I just think through some of these activities that they can get in school and some of the opportunities that they might have, that hopefully you know, through service learning or projects as well, that they get a taste of that and continue into adulthood.
Liz Evans:Thank you, and thank you both so much for your expertise, for your incredible lessons. I have been a civic educator for over two decades and this project has honestly been one of my favorites, and working with you and the other members of the cohort has genuinely been one of the honors of my lifetime. So thank you so much. Listeners I will put. I know that lessons were mentioned. I will make sure that those go in our show notes, but thank you both so much for your time, for your energy and for everything you do for civic education.
