Choosing to Participate

Choosing to Participate focuses on the civic choices—both large and small—people make about themselves and others in their community, nation, and world. As teachers and students explore the readings in this collection they will come to understand that choices people make may not seem important at the time, but little by little they shape us as individuals and responsible global citizens. The stories in this collection focus on individuals and groups—the famous and the not so famous—wrestling with a question that many young people ask, How can I make a positive difference in the world? This resource is a valuable addition to units on civics, government, and US history. A translation of this resource is also available to educators teaching in a Spanish-speaking setting.

Features include:

• 10 readings centered around the following themes: civic participation, democracy, bystanders vs. upstanders, community, segregation
• 2 new readings tell the story of social change (My Country 'Tis of Thee) and civic participation (From Sympathy to Action)
• Accompanying video/audio links add a multimedia component to each reading
• Connection Questions to stimulate classroom conversation

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Reading 1: Democracy: A Work in Progress
• Reading 2: Everyone Has a Story
• Reading 3: Little Things Are Big
• Reading 4: My Country ‘Tis of Thee (Related Lesson Idea)
• Reading 5: From Sympathy to Action (Related Lesson Idea)
• Reading 6: Crisis in Little Rock
• Reading 7: Conversations
• Reading 8: An American Idealist
• Reading 9: Not in Our Town (Related Lesson Idea)
• Reading 10: Choices
• Additional Resources