What's the best class fit for Project Citizen?
Project Citizen is designed for students in grades 5-8 who are in social studies or language arts classes. It can also be adapted into an after-school club or organization.

How much time does Project Citizen take?
Project Citizen can be used in the classroom once to several times per week, even every day. It usually takes at least a month to complete a project in the classroom.

What does Project Citizen do?
Project Citizen provides students the opportunity to examine public policy and work cooperatively on a student-driven project where they take steps to address a problem they identify in their community.

Where do I start?
Through the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago, teachers in Illinois can order a free set of Project Citizen textbooks, including one teacher's edition, for their class. The textbooks lead the class through the steps of the project. Contact CRFC for training in how to use the program in your class. CRFC offers workshops either at or out of school.

What are the steps of Project Citizen?

• Identifying public policy problems in the community
  Project Citizen lessons introduce the concept of public policy and help students identify a variety of public policies and their general purposes. Teachers lead students in identifying problems in their community that could be affected or amended by a change in public policy.
  
  
• Gathering information on the problem and examining possible solutions
  Students use materials provided in the text and other recommended resources to gather information and conduct interviews in order to evaluate a variety of possible solutions.
  
  
• Selecting or developing a public policy
  Students examine the causes of a problem, anticipate potential obstacles in enacting solutions and establish a public policy that will best address and amend the chosen problem. Using activities from the text, students learn how to write an explanation and justification for a policy that will persuade others to see how it might improve the problem.
  
  
• Implementing an action plan or project that promotes the public policy
  Using the text as a guide on how to make professional phone calls, write effective letters, and structure meetings, students make appointments with the appropriate community leaders and carry out the steps to generate publicity, gain community support and obtain the necessary endorsements for their plan of action.
  
  
• Reflecting on their learning experience
  An important part of the Project Citizen reflection process comes as students look back on what they learned and accomplished during the project in order to create a of a 4-panel portfolio. In groups, students assemble data, create graphics and a bibliography and summarize each of the Project Citizen steps, all to be placed on the portfolio panels. Students are encouraged to discover ways they can transfer the knowledge of public policy and tools for effecting change they gained from Project Citizen, to other situations.
  
  

What else can my students do?
After completing their project, students may take part in a noncompetitive regional Simulated Legislative Hearing during the spring of 2008. At the hearing, students use their portfolios and other resources to make an oral presentation on their community project to representatives.

What is the Illinois Portfolio Competition?
Teachers may enter their class portfolio in the Illinois Portfolio Competition held in May of 2008 and co-sponsored by Secretary of State Jesse White's Office and held in the Capitol Building in Springfield. Portfolios are judged without students present. One portfolio will be chosen to represent Illinois at the national Project Citizen Competition, sponsored by the Center for Civic Education and co-sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures, to be held next summer. Only projects that come from rostered classes are eligible to go on to the national showcase.

Last updated: August 15, 2007

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