Civic Participation and Community Action Sourcebook

Resources

Webliography

The following is a list of web sites and resource materials available on-line for teachers interested in incorporating civic participation and social justice issues into their lessons.

American Friends Service Committee
http://www.afsc.org/default.htm
The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. The site offers news and a variety of resources on humanitarian issues.

AskERIC Lesson Plans
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/
The AskERIC Lesson Plan Collection contains more than 1,000 unique lesson plans which have been written and submitted to AskERIC by teachers from all over the United States. Lesson plans cover civics, current events, government, U.S. history and more.

Café Progressive
http://come.to/cafeprogressive
This is a one-stop connector to resources about progressive political, educational, community and global issues.

The Century Foundation
http://www.tcf.org/
The Century Foundation is a research foundation that provides analysis of major economic, political, and social issues. The site offers a variety of resources on issues such as welfare and social security reform. Myth-dispelling information about welfare can be found under “The Basics” category on this page.

The Change Agent Online
http://www.nelrc.org/changeagent/
The Change Agent, published by the New England Literacy Resource Center, provides a variety of articles and teaching resources about civic participation. Archived articles and issues can be browsed, or they can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Civic Practices Network
http://www.cpn.org/
Born of the movement for a “new citizenship” and “civic revitalization,” CPN is a collaborative and nonpartisan project dedicated to bringing practical tools for public problem solving into community and institutional settings across America. The common mission is to tell the stories of civic innovation, share the practical wisdom, and exchange the most effective tools available.

Civil Rights Museum/Highlander School
http://www.midsouth.rr.com/civilrights/it25.html
This site takes you on an interactive tour of the legal and social struggles of the civil rights movement in the United States.

CivNet
http://www.civnet.org
This is an international gateway to civic education with many teaching resources, including lesson plans that are usable or adaptable for adult education, original journal articles, civic news headlines, events listings, organizational contacts, and more. The site also features a CivTalk discussion group where educators and researchers discuss and share ideas, teaching materials, and methodology.

Close Up Foundation Online
http://www.closeup.org/home.htm
Take a virtual tour of Washington, D.C., read current news and statistics on civic interests and awareness, and view on-line civic resources.

CONGRESS.ORG
http://congress.nw.dc.us/congressorg2/main.html
Visit this web site to find legislative representatives, email or print a letter to Congress, and see how representatives are scored by various associations and advocacy groups.

Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF)
http://www.crf-usa.org/
The foundation seeks to instill in the nation’s youth a deeper understanding of citizenship through values expressed in our Constitution and its Bill of Rights, and educate them to become active and responsible participants in our society. CRF is dedicated to assuring the country’s future by investing in youth. Make sure to look at the CRF online lesson plans at http://www.crf-usa.org/lessons.html.

Contacting Congress
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress
A very up-to-date database of congressional contact information.

The Democracy Project
http://www.pbs.org/newsandviews/democracy/
The Democracy Project plans to offer a selection of on-air programming choices and an array of web sites, designed to engage, enlighten and inform U.S. citizens.

Destination Democracy
http://www.destinationdemocracy.org
A guide to money and politics. In particular, visit this site to explore campaign finance reform.

Fair
http://www.fair.org
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) is a national media watch group that offers well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship.

How Democracy Works
http://www.democracyworks.org
Here is an online guide to the work of individuals and organizations promoting greater understanding of threats to freedom of expression and civil liberties. The Primer on How Democracy Works promotes conversation about important social and political questions facing us today based on a framework provided by the U.S. Constitution.

Immigration: A Practical Guide to Immigrating to the U.S.
http://www.shusterman.com
A very comprehensive and current immigration site created by Carl Shusterman, an attorney and former INS employee.

Immigration Forum
http://www.immigrationforum.org
The purpose of the National Immigration Forum is to embrace and uphold America’s tradition as a nation of immigrants. The site offers a variety of resources about immigrants.

Institute for the Study of Civic Values
http://www.libertynet.org/edcivic/civiclit.html
This site from the Institute for the Study of Civic Values has resources about the U.S. Constitution and links to civic and political education online resources. An online discussion guide uses the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution as a framework for community planning and social contracts. There are also extensive links to sites that track the implementation of welfare reform.

Key to Community Voter Involvement
http://www.otan.dni.us/cdlp/vip/home.html
This site includes How to Vote: An Election Tutorial, The Easy Reader Voter Guide, How to be Heard and Make a Difference, and much more.

League of Women Voters
http://www.lwv.org
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. This site includes election central and voter registration information in English and Spanish, as well as the Making Democracy Work campaign.

Literacy Link
http://litlink1.pbs.org/litteacher/peerlit/
This is the site for Peerlit, a component of Literacy Link. The site contains peer evaluations of educational web resources, including resources about “Family and Community” and “Culture and Society.”

Metro-Boston Community Wide Education and Information Service (mbCWEIS)
http://www2.wgbh.org/mbcweis/
MetroBoston CWEIS acts as a single “big tent” that can accommodate the diverse information and communication needs of the grassroots community of Boston. MetroBoston is one of a number of communities across the country which are part of the Community Wide Education and Information Service. CWEIS is a national initiative designed to develop and encourage free public access to education and information on-line services using local public radio and television stations as a nucleus.

National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
http://www.nnirr.org/
The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR) serves as a forum to share information and analysis, to educate communities and the general public, and to develop and coordinate plans of action on important immigrant and refugee issues. This site contains a lot of recent and archived news, information, and alerts on immigration rights issues.

Pick Your Candidate - LESSON PLAN
http://hub1.worlded.org/docs/pick/index.htm
A many-faceted lesson plan that helps students to understand campaign advertising and candidate’s positions so they can make educated decisions at the polls.

Political Information.com
http://www.politicalinformation.com/
A search engine for politics and policy. Allows users to search from more than 2,000 sites for news, commentary, issue sites, political interest groups, policy papers, trade associations, and political parties.

Project Vote Smart
http://www.vote-smart.org
Non-partisan voter education and information site. It contains the results of governor, congressional and state legislative races, as well as the voting records of congressmen and women on selected key issues, such as campaign finance reform. Vote Smart Classroom has resources for students and teachers including lesson plans on U.S. history and government.

Public Citizen
http://www.citizen.org/
Founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, Public Citizen is the consumer’s eyes and ears in Washington. With the support of more than 150,000 people, the group fights for safer drugs and medical devices, cleaner and safer energy sources, a cleaner environment, fair trade, and a more open and democratic government.

Southern Poverty Law Center
http://www.splcenter.org
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a non-profit organization that combats hate, intolerance, and discrimination through education and litigation. This site includes readings and activities from their publication “Teaching Tolerance.”

Thomas
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html
Provides an easy way to keep track of legislation.

United for a Fair Economy
http://www.stw.org
United for a Fair Economy is a national, independent, nonpartisan organization that puts a spotlight on the dangers of growing income, wage and wealth inequality in the United States and coordinates action to reduce the gap. UFE provides popular education resources, works with grassroots organizations, conducts research, and supports creative and legislative action to reduce inequality.

The White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Welcome.html
The site offers easy access to the different branches of government and federal services. Historic national documents, daily press releases, and speeches can be downloaded.

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