Being civically engaged helps students build their critical thinking and decision-making skills while also building meaningful relationships with others. In fact, civic engagement in schools is so important, informed action is woven in the C3 Framework – elementary students are encouraged to learn about current problems, evaluate ways to take action, and then apply what they have learned to be engaged citizens. Building a foundation of civic engagement can help elementary students continue to be active participants in their communities throughout their lives. 

What are some ways to cultivate civic responsibility in some of our youngest learners? How can we all be teaching civic engagement in schools? 

The following lesson plans offer civic actions that are ideal for elementary grade students.

Understand the Importance of Community

Civic engagement for students starts with them being thoughtful members of their community. Introduce what a community is, how your students are a part of a community, and the responsibilities of being a good community member. If you are looking for a lesson to help facilitate these discussions, check out Our Town, where students design a new community and think about changing needs as the population grows. In this lesson students will also discuss why each part of a community is important and the many different types of communities they are a part of (family, school, local, global, etc). To build on the concepts of what makes a community, Educating for American Democracy has some great K-5 resources to help students think about how they positively contribute to their communities and additional stories of how people have made their community better.

Explore Local Challenges & Solutions

Next, have students brainstorm local challenges in their community and come up with ways they could take informed action. Maybe they notice a lot of waste in the cafeteria and want to start a recycling or composting club at their school. Or they notice a lack of access to fresh food and want to help create or help maintain a community garden. A Population Education lesson that can get students to understand how important it is to come together to solve problems they recognize is Helping Hands. In this lesson students identify where their community might need help, organizations that are currently helping with those challenges, and how they can make a larger impact. This lesson also helps K-5 students practice organization, communication, time management skills, and think about the benefits and challenges of community service projects.

Encourage Global Thinking

After your students have had a chance to take civic action on a local level, have them explore global communities and the challenges they may face. Introduce the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and have them think about how they can contribute to the achievement of the Goals. For example: students can learn about SDG 15 – Life on Land when you use the lesson Wanted Alive, where students research an endangered species and come up with a way to create more awareness to help the animals stay protected. This lesson has students think about what changes will create the largest positive impact and the importance of legislation like the Endangered Species Act.

Share Success Stories

Encourage your students to ask questions about current events and to take pride in executing their civic responsibility, and reinforce that their voices matter. Share stories of young activists making change so they can see that it is possible for them to make a difference too. For large challenges, show them the power of cumulative actions. Check out the lesson Lend a Hand to the Earth, where students identify an action that will protect the environment, write a class pledge, and tally each time any one of them completes the action. This lesson helps students visualize how even though they might not be able to see the impact of their individual actions, when the entire class works together their impact amplifies. And it shows that civic engagement for kids can be powerful and fun, too!

Essential Skills and Additional Opportunities

In addition to these ideas, civic knowledge and literacy, including media literacy are essential for elementary students to be globally engaged citizens. iCivics has a set of K-5 resources that can help build the knowledge to be able to take informed action on local and global challenges. Explore more civic engagement lessons from Population Education that teach students how to participate in local and global challenges in a positive way. For additional ideas and resources on ways younger students can make an impact, check out the Kids in Action Toolkit from Youth Service America.

Image credits: Boy holding sign (Photo by Anna Shvets); Donation box (Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya)