According to the 2018 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework, “the future of democracy depends on our students’ development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions that will enable them to embrace democracy’s potential, while recognizing its challenges and inherent dilemmas.” Facing History and Ourselves’ research-based approach to history and civics aligns with the Framework’s guiding principles and content standards. Our student-centered teaching strategies, historical case studies, and current events resources are designed to help young people develop the essential civic qualities they need to participate in a democracy.

Founded in 1976, Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational and professional development organization dedicated to providing teachers with best-in-class professional development, educational resources, and ongoing support in order to help students learn how to be civically engaged in their communities and world.

For over 40 years, Facing History has been working with Massachusetts educators to teach civics through historical case studies.

Our case studies

• illuminate key aspects of democracy that aremissing when the functions of government aretaught in the abstract;

• reveal the complex social and political contextin which governments function: the beliefs,personalities, institutions, historical legacies,and human behaviors that shape, and sometimesdistort, the democratic process; and

• invite students to probe the gaps betweenthe ideals in America’s founding documents and thehistory and lived realities of injustice—an approachthat has been shown to effectively stimulate youngpeople’s civic engagement.

With Facing History, students learn that the United States, in all its complexity, is the product of history and the choices people made in the past—and they discover the power of their own choices today.

Facing History and Civics Using the Past to Build a Better Future

For more information, visit: facinghistory.org/civics-education-massachusetts

Why Facing History?Effective civic education begins in the culture of the classroom. Facing History sees schools as a microcosm of democracy—a place where young people can learn that they belong, that they have a stake, and that their voices matter. We offer educators the training, tools, and resources to intentionally shape learning environments to embody equitable and democratic values, not just during a civics unit but every day of the school year.

The resources below, and our accompanying professional development, will help you create a safe and engaging classroom where students learn to listen respectfully to different opinions and experiences, try out ideas and positions, and give—and get—constructive feedback with-out fear or intimidation. And the pages that follow provide an illustration of how Facing History’s core case studies and other resources can help you meet the specific standards of your content area.

Fostering Civil Discourse: A Guide for Classroom Conversations This downloadable guide provides strategies to support your students as they develop effective skills for civic participation. Also check out the two-part webinar series in our On-Demand Learning Center (facinghistory.org/ondemand).

My Part of the Story: Exploring Identity in the United States This unit (available at facinghistory.org/my-part-story) is designed to launch a course about US history,

“People who are prepared to continue the legacy of democracy in the United States . . . are prepared to discuss complex and controversial issues and ideas with people of different views, learning to speak with clarity and respectfulness, [and] develop and practice habits of civic engagement and participation.”

—2018 MA Curriculum Framework for History and Social Science, page 12

literature, or civic life through an examination of students’ individual identities. When students explore and define their identities and their relationship to society, they are empowered to develop their voice and their ability to participate in respectful dialogue, deliberation, and reflection. This unit engages and values students by showing them that they are integral to the story of this country.

Teaching Current Events Exploring current events is fundamental to civics because current events introduce the issues, dilem-mas, and controversies that shape civic life today and empower students to make informed choices and take meaningful action. The importance of current events to civic education has long been recognized, even as teachers have become increasingly reluctant to invite potentially polarizing topics into the classroom.

Current events also foster key civic skills. At a time when news is increasingly digital, social, and fast, discussing current events is an opportunity for prac-ticing media literacy and understanding the human behaviors, like confirmation bias, that influence how we engage with the news and with each other.

Facing History provides support for educators who are trying to make meaningful connections between current events and the curriculum, including teaching ideas and activities for addressing breaking news and ongoing issues, a checklist of things to consider before you start teaching current events, and strategies for navigating partisan politics in diverse classrooms (facinghistory.org/current-events).

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A Proven Approach A compelling body of research validates our approach to civic education. In a randomized controlled trial, Facing History was shown to significantly increase

• students’ tolerance for others with different political views

• their capacity for civil discourse

• their belief that they can make a difference

Facing History students score higher than their peers on a civic responsibility index as well as a measure of essential higher-order thinking skills. Facing History alumni are more civically involved than their peers: more likely to vote, to participate in a civic or community group, and to discuss current events.

In addition, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) named Facing History as one of only nine middle or high school SEL programs (among nearly 400 nominated) that has a proven positive impact on students. Facing History is just one of two cited that works at both the middle and high school level, and among the few that integrates the development of SEL compe-tencies into the academic disciplines.

99% of teachers surveyed would recommend Facing History professional development to their colleagues, compared to the 29% US average for teachers’ satisfaction with PD, as reported by the Gates Foundation.

In-Person, Online, and On-DemandFacing History offers ongoing, profes-sional learning at your convenience.(facinghistory.org/professional-development)

Check out our upcoming in-person and online workshops, courses, and webinars, and visit our On-Demand Learning Center, available 24/7, for a library of on-demand webinars and classroom videos featuring teaching strategies in action, classroom conversations, and teacher tips. (facinghistory.org/ondemand)

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Grade 8Facing History Resources

CORE CASE STUDY

Choices in Little Rock + Writing Strategies Supplement

KEY SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCES

10 Questions for Young Changemakers

Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement

Facing Ferguson: News Literacy in a Digital Age

Memphis 1968

Teaching Farewell to Manzanar

Teaching Warriors Don’t Cry

MA Standards AlignmentTOPIC 4: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens

Choices in Little Rock

Teaching Warriors Don’t Cry

Memphis 1968

TOPIC 5: The Constitution, Amendments, and Supreme Court Decisions

Choices in Little Rock

Eyes on the Prize

The Reconstruction Era (selected primary sources)

Human Rights, Civil Rights, and the Cold War

Teaching Farewell to Manzanar

TOPIC 7: Freedom of the Press and News/Media Literacy

“Where Do We Get Our News and Why Does It Matter?”

“The Challenge of Confirmation Bias”

Facing Ferguson

US History IFacing History ResourcesCORE CASE STUDY

The Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of Democracy + Writing Strategies Supplement

KEY SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCES

Becoming American: The Chinese Experience

“The Legacies of Chinese Exclusion”

MA Standards AlignmentTOPIC 5: The Civil War and Reconstruction

The Reconstruction Era

The Origins of Lynching Culture in the US

Understanding Jim Crow

TOPIC 6: Rebuilding the United States: Immigration and Industry

Becoming American: The Chinese Experience

“Equality for All?” from The Reconstruction Era

“The Legacies of Chinese Exclusion”

TOPIC 7: Progressivism and World War I

Holocaust and Human Behavior, Chapter 3

 

How Our Resources Align

Core Case Studies

KEY

Videos

Units + Study Guides Memoir Study Guides

Individual Lessons

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US History IIFacing History ResourcesCORE CASE STUDY

Civil Rights Historical Investigations + Writing Strategies Supplement

KEY SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCES

10 Questions for Young Changemakers

Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement

Memphis 1968

MA Standards AlignmentTOPIC 2: Modernity in the United States: Ideologies and Economies

“The Legacies of Chinese Exclusion”

Race and Membership in American History: The Eugenics Movement

Teaching Mockingbird (first-hand accounts of African American men and women)

The Origins of Lynching Culture in the US

Understanding Jim Crow

TOPIC 3: Defending Democracy: Responses to Fascism and Communism

Americans and the Holocaust

“Bearing Witness to Japanese American Incarceration”

The Nanjing Atrocities: Crimes of War

Teaching Farewell to Manzanar

TOPIC 4: Defending Democracy: The Cold War and Civil Rights at Home

Civil Rights Historical Investigations

Eyes on the Prize

Freedom Riders

Memphis 1968

 

World History IIFacing History ResourcesCORE CASE STUDY

Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior + Writing Strategies Supplement

KEY SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCES

10 Questions for Young Changemakers

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Teaching Red Scarf Girl

MA Standards AlignmentTopic 4: The Great Wars 1914–1945

Crimes against Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the Armenians

The Nanjing Atrocities: Crimes of War

Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Topic 5: The Cold War Era 1945–1991

Confronting Apartheid

Teaching Red Scarf Girl

Topic 7: The Politics of Difference: Conflicts, Genocide, and Terrorism

Everyone Has a Story video

“The Roots and Impact of Antisemitism”

“The Persistence of Hate”

“Responding to the Rohingya Crisis”

“Why Don’t People Act/Save the Darfur Puppy”

NEWS LITERACYFacing Ferguson: News Literacy in a Digital Age helps students become informed and effective civic participants in today's digital landscape. The unit includes 11 lessons, which feature video interviews with award-winning journalists and scholars, analysis of news coverage and images, and a range of activities designed to develop students’ critical thinking, media literacy, and social–emotional skills and competencies.

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Selected Facing History Resource List

CORE CASE STUDIES

Choices in Little RockInvestigates the choices made by the Little Rock Nine and others in the community during efforts to desegregate Central High School in 1957—efforts that resulted in a crisis that historian Taylor Branch described as "the most severe test of the Constitution since the Civil War."

Civil Rights Historical InvestigationsTraces the development of the US civil rights movement from the 1950s to the 1970s through three of the move-ment's major events: the murder and trial of Emmett Till, voter discrimination in the South, and school desegrega-tion in Boston.

The Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of DemocracyProvides a deep exploration of the pivotal era when a nation divided by slavery and war was challenged to rebuild. Includes a complete 16-lesson unit as well as 7 video-based lessons.

Teaching Holocaust and Human BehaviorConsists of 23 lessons and an assessment that lead students through an examination of the catastrophic period when Nazi Germany murdered six million Jews and millions of other civilians, in the midst of WWII. Makes connections between universal themes raised by this history—related to democracy, citizenship, racism, and antisemitism—and the world we live in today.

Case Study Supplements: Writing Prompts and Strategies Each case study includes a supplement with specific writing prompts and teaching strategies that require students to gather evidence from that unit’s rich collection of primary documents, use that evidence to make claims about the past, and craft a formal argumentative essay.

UNITS AND STUDY GUIDES

10 Questions for Young ChangemakersThis four-lesson unit focuses on two cases of student activism to provide students the opportunity to reflect on and gain insight into their own civic participation, while also providing strategies to assist students as they trans-fer the knowledge gained from their unit of study into tangible opportunities to take action in their community.

Becoming American: The Chinese ExperienceExplores universal themes of identity and belonging in the context of the ways the first arrivals from China in the 1840s, their descendants, and recent immigrants have “become American.” Film available to stream from facinghistory.org.

Confronting ApartheidDigital book created with the Boston University African Studies Center examines the complicated history and lasting legacy of apartheid in South Africa.

Crimes against Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the Armenians Focuses on the Armenian Genocide during World War I and its many legacies, including Turkish denial and the struggle for the recognition of genocide as a “crime against humanity.”

Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement 1954–1985 (documentary series and study guide)Explores important lessons about the power of ordinary citizens to shape democracy. Includes the landmark 14-episode PBS series (available to stream from facing-history.org), a study guide that provides a framework and primary sources for using the films in the classroom, and a series of lessons that examine the strategy of nonviolence.

Facing Ferguson: News Literacy in a Digital AgeHelps students become informed and effective civic participants in today's digital landscape through 11 les-sons, which feature video interviews with award-winning journalists and scholars, analysis of news coverage, and activities designed to develop students’ critical thinking, media literacy, and social–emotional skills.

Freedom Riders (documentary and study guide) Documents the experience of the Freedom Riders, who worked to dismantle the structures of discrimination— specifically segregated interstate bus travel—through nonviolence. Stream the film and use the accompanying study guide, Democracy in Action, to consider the relationship between the political/historical context and the stories and motivations of the Freedom Riders.

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Memphis 1968Explores the issues that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. raised in Memphis and asks the question, “What is the role of civic engagement in a healthy democracy?” through a series of three lessons. Lessons examine the visions and strategies of Dr. King, Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael, analyze King’s final speech, and ask students to consider how they can respond to MLK’s challenge to create a more just world.

My Part of the Story: Exploring Identity in the United StatesLaunches a course about United States history, literature, or civic life through an examination of students’ individual identities, in order to empower students to develop their own voices and recognize that they are integral to the story of the country.

The Nanjing Atrocities: Crimes of WarExamines the war crimes perpetrated by Japanese troops in the Chinese city of Nanjing during World War II through five lessons that stress an appreciation of the dangers of unchecked nationalism and militarism.

Race and Membership in American History: The Eugenics MovementFocuses on the early 1900s when many people believed that some “races,” classes, and individuals were superior to others, using a new branch of scientific inquiry known as eugenics to justify their prejudices and advocate for programs aimed at solving the nation's problems by ridding society of “inferior racial traits.”

Universal Declaration of Human RightsExamines the context in which the UDHR was drafted, including the debates and dilemmas faced by Eleanor Roosevelt and others on the committee that produced the UDHR, and considers the legacies and lasting impact of the declaration.

INDIVIDUAL LESSONS

“Americans and the Holocaust” (working title)Coming this spring, a new series of multimedia lessons based on up-to-date scholarship, developed in partnership with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum with artifacts from their new online exhibit and extensive archive.

“Bearing Witness to Japanese American Incarceration”Probes some of the complex issues arising from the history of Japanese incarceration during World War II in order to enable students to explore difficult questions about national identity, institutional racism, and the boundaries of US citizenship.

“The Challenge of Confirmation Bias” (from Standing Up for Democracy unit)Defines confirmation bias and examines why people sometimes maintain their beliefs in the face of information that contradicts their understanding.

“The Legacies of Chinese Exclusion”Explores why the anti-immigration law of 1882 matters today and how the history of Chinese exclusion has shaped enduring attitudes about difference, citizenship, and American identity.

“The Persistence of Hate: What the 2017 Unite the Right Rally Revealed about Contemporary Antisemitism”Presents a case study of the persistence of antisemitism in the contemporary United States.

“Responding to the Rohingya Crisis” Places this ongoing crisis in historical context, with foot-age from a refugee camp and survivor testimony. Addi-tional lessons on this topic include “Understanding the Conditions that Lead to ‘Ethnic Cleansing’” and the les-son,“The Persecution of the Rohingya and the Persistence of Genocide” from the unit Teaching Schindler’s List.

“The Roots and Impact of Antisemitism” (from Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior)Helps students understand how anti-Judaism developed into antisemitism in the nineteenth century and consider the present-day implications of longstanding patterns of discrimination and violence against Jews.

“Where Do We Get Our News and Why Does It Matter?”Invites students to assess their news consumption by encouraging them to consider their relationship to and perception of the news, which is increasingly social, digital, and fast.

“Who Can Become American?” Explores the 2018 immigration debate and contextualizes conversations surrounding identity and immigration in the United States.

“Why Don’t People Act/Save the Darfur Puppy”New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof explains how he applied his knowledge of the psychology of compassion when writing about the genocide in Darfur. In the related video Psychic Numbing, Kristof describes the tendency to care less about a crisis as the number of victims increases.

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VIDEOS

Everyone Has a StoryArn Chorn-Pond tells his story as a refugee from the Cambodian Genocide.

Human Rights, Civil Rights, and the Cold War Dr. Carol Anderson, professor of African American Studies at Emory University, discusses the emergence of human rights discussions during World War II and examines links between the Cold War, the creation of the Universal Decla-ration of Human Rights, and politics of race in the United States in the 1950s. See also Dr. Anderson’s other videos.

The Origins of Lynching Culture in the United StatesDr. Paula Giddings, professor of Afro-American Studies at Smith College, discusses the history and origins of lynching.

Understanding Jim CrowDr. David Cunningham, chair of the Department of Sociology at Brandeis University, explores systems of racial separation and institutionalized segregation known as Jim Crow.

Developing Civic Skills through MemoirThrough memoir, students connect with pivotal moments in history in a way that is emotionally compelling; builds a better understanding of the impact of these moments on individual lives; and fosters empathy, perspective-taking, and other social–emotional competencies. The study of memoir can take place in social studies or ELA classrooms. Particularly in middle school, social studies and ELA educators can coordinate in order to amplify student outcomes.

Facing History’s Witnesses to History study guide series includes:

Teaching Warriors Don’t CryExplores Melba Patillo Bates’s powerful memoir about the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock.

Teaching NightProvides primary sources and other resources to connect students to the historical context of Elie Wiesel’s painful journey during the Holocaust.

Teaching Farewell to ManzanarSupports the teaching of Jeanne Wakatsuki’s memoir about the forced relocation of Japanese Americans.

Teaching Red Scarf GirlHelps students explore themes of conformity, obedience, and prejudice through Ji-li Jiang’s memoir set during the tumultuous years of the Cultural Revolution in China.

Bring Facing History to Your School The Facing History model is flexible and responsive, meeting the needs of individual teachers, whole schools, and entire districts.

We can help you implement the new content and civic standards in 8th grade, US history, world history, and news literacy classes.

» Visit our website to explore our wide range of educator resources and sign up for in-person or online professional development.

» Work with us to develop a tailored program to meet the particular needs of your school or district.

For more information, visit facinghistory.org or contact Princess Johnson at 617-735-1625 (princess_johnson@facinghistory.org).

facinghistory.org