Civic Education in K-6 and 9th Grade: Essential for Effective Participation in Public Life - Essay Sample

Introduction

Current event: Free enterprise policies in America during the COVID-19 Pandemic, for example, as presented in Aljazeera's Nick Dearden's Story.

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Social Civics: Civic education is an essential part of the K-6 system and a necessary element of learning for students in the 9th grade. Civic literacy in this context regards the knowledge and skills essential for an individual to participate effectively in public life through the understanding of government processes, knowing one's rights and exercising them, and the responsibility to citizenship at a local, state, or global levels.

Free Enterprise: In a high school context, economics is a subject that incorporates the study of systems in which private business operate in competition and practically free of state control. In essence, it is the branch of economics that covers private entrepreneurial entities and their potential to work independently of the government. It is for this reason that an interdisciplinary.

Learning Objectives and State Standard on Civics/Economics Classes in K-6 Education

Per state standards available here, learning objectives for Civics education include the following:

• The student's learning about the relationship between civics and free enterprise
• The identification of factors that may affect the regular contact between the two disciplines.
• Acknowledgment of the significance of both disciplines in the everyday life of a citizen.

Warm-Up

Before delving into the exercise, the teacher can have the students summarize the most significant emerging and occurring issues in society. Currently, the COVID-19 Pandemic makes for a good topic of exploration where the students can be instructed to try and connect civics and free enterprise regarding the epidemic.

Instructional Strategies

Formative Questioning and Engagement

Critical Thinking Exercises: Administration of essential exercises of thinking on the subject involves asking the students to review the topic of interest and posit their opinions on the matter. Moreover, the teacher can have the students select a partner with whom they complete an essential thinking exercise, in this case, associating free enterprise and the social responsibility of business owners during a pandemic. At the end of the activity, the tutor then has the pairs of students to share their responses with the entire class from where they discuss and arrive at a consensus.

Debates: As it is apparent that the subject of the lesson is a controversial issue, it is essential to have the students explore both sides of the arguments. Here the teacher can go as far as mooting congressional proceedings where the parliament argues on the issue before passing policy that may affect free enterprise in the community or society. Consequently, moot parliamentary debates in class will enable the participants to understand the purpose and value of the power of the legislature in drafting and passing bills and policies during pandemics. Moreover, it will allow the students to have a front-row seat towards the role of leadership regarding the development of the system concerning novel cases.

Materials Needed:

Since the lesson is an interdisciplinary class, the appropriate reading material or textbooks should be availed for the students. Prepare a presentation discussing the key terms and concepts on the topic of free enterprise policies during uncertain times, including a link to the story to be reviewed for the class.

Lesson Closure:

The conclusion of the lesson will involve asking the students to summarize the key concepts or learning points of the class. Moreover, the teacher can clarify the points or issues that the students seem to fail to understand.

Assessment Plans and Homework:

Formative Tests

To assess the understanding of the different policies and economic terms during the lesson, engage the students through verbal quizzes and discussions on unfamiliar laws and economics terms.

Summative Tests

A reflective essay on the relationship between civic education and free enterprise would suffice to gauge the student's comprehension of the subject.

References

Dearden, N. (2020, April 8). The free market will only deepen the coronavirus crisis. Breaking News, World News, and Video from Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/free-market-deepen-coronavirus-crisis-200408122743522.html

Synnott, G. (n.d.). National standards for civics and government. Center for Civic Education. https://www.civiced.org/standards?page=stds_toc_intro