How to Use the Civics Artifacts Library

How do I use this library?

All of the artifacts included in the library are from projects across the state; they are a sampling of the type of work happening in civics classrooms around Massachusetts. As such, the artifacts included in this library can serve as sources of inspiration and ideas for you and your students. Recognizing that every classroom and civics project is unique, many may also be useful starting points that you can adapt for your own instructional needs.

How are library artifacts organized?

Artifacts are broken down into the following three categories:

• Grade 8 Teacher-Created Resources: These artifacts are examples of materials teachers have created for use with 8th grade students. Many are easily adaptable for use with high school students.

• High School Teacher-Created Resources: These artifacts are examples of materials teachers have created for use with high school students. Many are easily adaptable for use with 8th grade students.

• Examples of Student Work: These artifacts are intended to serve as sources of inspiration and provide examples of the various forms student work could take throughout the project. They include both examples of 8th grade and high school student work.

What do the project tags indicate?

All artifacts within each category include a brief description and several tags to help you narrow your artifact search. Each entry includes the following tags:

• District, grade level, and course in which the artifact was used/created

• Project model: individual (each student leads their own projects), small group (a few students co-lead a project together), whole class (all students co-lead a single project)

• Project stage alignment

• If applicable, one or more of the following tags:

  • Adapted for remote learning — resources with this tag include both fully-remote and hybrid examples.

  • Culturally responsive teaching — resources with this tag are exemplary models of culturally responsive teaching.

  • Exemplary inclusive practices — resources with this tag are exemplary models of how to make the project meaningful and accessible for students, specifically English Learners and students with disabilities.

  • Exemplary student-driven learning — resources with this tag are exemplary models of the student-led project characteristic.

How does Massachusetts define "high-quality" student-led civics projects?

A high-quality student-led civics project:

• Follows the six stages of action civics.
• Embeds eight key characteristics throughout the six project stages.
• Is culturally responsive in design and implementation.

The ultimate goal of student-led civics projects is to develop students’ civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions as defined in the 2018 History and Social Science Curriculum Framework .

Last Updated: April 27, 2023