NYCDOE: Passport to Social Studies – Grade 12 Participation in Government Unit 2 Guide
This Passport to Social Studies teacher’s guide is the second unit of the Participation in Government course, titled: Rights and Responsibilities. This curriculum was developed by a team of NYCDOE staff and teachers, in collaboration with scholars of history and social studies education. Students immerse themselves in the topic by discussing historical questions, reading and analyzing a rich collection of diverse primary and secondary sources, examining artifacts, and interpreting images, such as paintings, photographs, and maps.
In Rights and Responsibilities, students explore the many meanings of citizenship, rights of individuals in society, and responsibilities of community membership. Students seek to answer the Essential Question: Has the evolution of American principles and practices promoted greater democracy? By investigating meanings attached to being/becoming American, contemporary issues in civil rights, and responsibilities of citizenship students identify a topic of interest and leverage research methods to develop a podcast on a topic of their choosing. At the conclusion of this unit, students write and produce a podcast examining a topic from this unit and its relationship to the Essential Question.
Throughout the unit, students continue to strengthen social scientific and historical thinking skills from grades prior to cultivate and strengthen their ability to think critically and apply concepts to novel situations, and interpret, select, and cite accurate evidence, and use disciplinary vocabulary to develop their analysis.
This guide includes multiple components:
- Overview
- Day-by-Day Planner
- Model Lesson
- Unit Assessment (and rubric)
- Historical Thinking Tools and Analysis Strategies
- Key Standards
- Connections to the 9-12 Civics for All Curriculum, Part One and Part Two
To evaluate student mastery of content knowledge, cognitive processes, and critical thinking skills, this unit includes opportunities for formative assessments and a performance-based unit assessment. Please note that the NYCDOE 9-12: Passport to Social Studies materials also include a separate student Text Set for each unit.
