Breakout Session Descriptions

Elementary Track (Private Dining Room)

Breakout 1

Integrating Civics through Literacy for Primary Students (Mark Conlon, Pitt-Johnstown)

This session, designed for the K-4 teacher population, will share best practices for selecting high quality children's literature and trade books that allow them to integrate social studies content into their literacy lessons. Also, teachers will be provided with a chance to brainstorm potential civics and service-learning projects based upon their selected children's literature. Teachers will be given time to practice aligning PA social studies standards with a selection of children's literature and share their ideas with attendees.

Breakout 2

Engaging K-8 Students in Democracy (Beth Specker, Rendell Center for Civic Engagement)

Mock trials are an engaging tool for students to increase their literacy and thinking skills.  by using Literature based and history based mock trials, students can simulate civic action.  Students engaged in Mock trials increase text dependent analysis, expand their comprehension, integrate literacy into action and become aware of rules, responsibility and justice.  A mock trial simulation includes students of all cognitive abilities in a productive manner that mirrors real life.  Each student can explore a way they can contribute to civic process and engagement.  This workshop will introduce literacy and history mock trials to educators with ready to use materials and strategies for implementation in their classroom. The session is ideal for teachers in 4-8th grade. 

Breakout 3

Primary Sources in Early Grades: Historical Literacy for Little Historians (Joe Schmidt, Bill of Rights Institute)

Engage your elementary classroom with innovative primary source integration inspired by the Bill of Rights Institute’s curriculum. Gain practical strategies, resources, and hands-on techniques for historical inquiry and student empowerment. This session will examine a lesson from the Bill of Right Institute’s new elementary U.S. History curriculum. Leave with classroom ready strategies, lessons, and resources!

HS - Knowledge Track (Google Lab)

Breakout 1

Managing Multiple Viewpoints in Sources and Your Students (Joe Schmidt, Bill of Rights Institute)

Join the Bill of Rights Institute to discover strategies for teaching civics and history through diverse sources and multiple viewpoints. Learn how to use more than 6,000 FREE resources to engage students in discussions and activities that foster empathy, understanding, and historical thinking skills. Gain new teaching methods, lesson ideas, and technology applications to enrich your curriculum.

Breakout 2

Frederick Douglass on the U.S. Constitution: Is it Pro-Slavery or Anti-Slavery? (Jordan Watts, Villanova University and the Jack Miller Center)

Abolitionists' disdain for the U.S. Constitution reached a high point in the wake of the Supreme Court's 1857 Dred Scott decision. However, in 1860, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech addressing whether the Constitution is inherently pro-slavery or anti-slavery. He examined the passages of the Constitution used to support slavery and argued that a plain reading does not support the institution of slavery. His arguments are straightforward and remain relevant for anyone questioning the constitutionality of slavery, even before the passage and ratification of the 13th Amendment.

Breakout 3

Using Museums as Experiential Learning Tools for Civic Education (Sarah Harris of the National Constitution Center, Allison Cepis of the National Liberty Museum)

Museums can serve as dynamic classrooms, bringing history and civics to life through immersive exhibits and learning experiences that spark critical thinking and dialogue. Presenters will introduce resources, methods, and learning opportunities to enhance your teaching toolkit and inspire students to become informed, engaged citizens. Explore NCC's non-partisan framework for teaching constitutional concepts and events, which include historical foundations through storytelling, thinking skills, and reflection. Engage in NLM’s unique approach to civic learning centered on collaboration, active citizenship, and artistic expression. Learn about resources and opportunities tied to the new exhibition, “Free Speech: Our Right, Our Responsibility,” part of the Museum’s Year of Free Speech running through summer 2025.

HS - Skills Track (Kirby Auditorium)

Breakout 1

Can We Talk? Skills that Promote Productive Dialogue Across Difference (Chris Satullo and Harris Sokoloff, Committee of Seventy)

Can We Talk? is a research-driven, skills-based program that introduces students to habits that promote productive dialogue across difference, to counter polarization and division. Facilitators and participants don't shy away from tough political conversations. Instead, they are framed for reflective engagement. Participants will receive information, like in-class lesson plans and presentations, to bring the CWT program to the classroom and learn about the statewide dialogue for students from across PA on Oct. 24th. Visit www.seventy.org/youth-civics/can-we-talk.

Breakout 2

Constitutional Thinking Skills and the First Amendment (Sarah Harris, National Constitution Center)

Apply constitutional thinking skills to primary sources associated with the First Amendment, including majority opinions, dissents, and the text of the Constitution. We will also engage in discussions on essential constitutional questions that can pave the way for meaningful, and civil, classroom dialogue.

Breakout 3

Resisting Cognitive and Perception Biases for Better Civil Discourse in an Election Year (Alison Stumacher of the Alliance for Decision Education, James Coan of More Like US)

Join us for a session focused on teaching the perception gap and applied decision-making skills in the midst of an election year, through the lenses of open-mindedness and intellectual humility. This workshop aims to equip educators with strategies in their classrooms to help students resist cognitive biases and recognize shared values and commonalities. Discover how these approaches can help students to value different opinions, bridge divides and enhance civic education for all.

HS - Action Track (Freedom Classroom)

Breakout 1

Elections and Voting (PA Youth Vote)

Teachers will receive multiple nonpartisan resources that they can share with their classrooms to engage them in every election, not just the one in November. PA Youth Vote’s peer-to-peer voter registration model helps schools win the Governor’s Civic Engagement Award, while C70’s PA Youth Mock Election gives students practice in researching their ballot, evaluating candidates, and casting their vote.

Breakout 2

Youth Empowerment: Collaborative session with Generation Citizen, Founding Forward, PA Youth Vote, and More Like US 

By the end of this session, teachers will learn about and gain access to local resources to support various entry points for youth empowerment in and out of the classroom.  Each organization will discuss how their mission and resources support teachers in their goals to teach students the civic knowledge, skills, and actions needed to actively participate in our democracy now and in the future.  

Breakout 3

Bringing to Life the Written Lesson Plan Through Lawyers and Judges (Deborah Gross, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts)

Through the successful re-launch of our civics education program, PMC discovered that some of the best civics teachers are lawyers and judges. They have a unique understanding of the law and its interpretations, and discussion of personal experiences in the legal field serves to enrich the learning experience and humanize individuals/professions that can be perceived as unattainable. This workshop will outline how volunteer lawyers and judges have supported and sustained PMC's civics education program, how to  get lawyers and judges interested in teaching, the sorts of topics and curriculum that lawyers and judges are great at teaching, and how lawyers and judges play a vital role in inspiring students. This workshop will also explore the benefits of experiential learning in a civics curriculum as demonstrated by PMC’s successful facilitation of student courtroom observation at the Criminal Justice Center in downtown Philadelphia.