Overview
The Our American Voice Civic Engagement Program: Overview
The Our American Voice Civic Learning and Engagement Program (OAV Schools) for middle school students (Grades 5-8) was established in 2009. It addresses four core principles and consists of two parts: Part I: Civic Learning. Part II Student Engagement.
This online package replicates the original OAV Schools classroom program virtually. It includes the following:
- Essential lessons addressing 10 topics
- Family Life is Civic Life components for selected essential lessons
- Enhancement lessons addressing 10 topics
- Three lessons (beginning, intermediate, advanced) for each topic
- All lessons feature Library of Congress primary sources and digitized student learning activities using the Inquiry Arc
- Summative assessments
- Whole class student engagement planning process and examples
- Detailed teacher’s guide and implementation plan with 3 options
The OAV Civic Engagement Program is flexible and customizable in nature. Teachers can tailor the program to make it most appropriate for their students. The program aligns with the major recommendations put forward by national and state groups for an effective civic education.
Acknowledgements
The OAV Schools Program operated by the Barat Education Foundation (BEF) since 2009 was developed as a collaborative endeavor with support through the years from staff, teachers, students, schools, parents, advisors and donors. The key contributors to creation of this Civic Engagement Program were: The Barat Education Program; the Office of Innovative Professional Learning at DePaul University; The Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program; the Robert R. McCormick Foundation; Senator Richard Durbin (IL), the Illinois State Senate under the leadership of Senator Don Harmon; Berwyn South School District 100; and BEF’s generous donors.