Youth have the power to make a difference in their communities and pave their own career paths. One way to empower youth is to teach them about civic participation and create opportunities for them to see change in action. We are compiling resources on civic particpation, campaign development, federal and tribal government structure, and intergovernmental relations, as well as, identifying organizations across the country exist to help you develop service projects for students to develop, particpate and lead.
Lesson Plans on Tribal Governments in Montana were developed in 2006 by five representatives of Montana's tribal government, high school teachers, and high school students at a statewide education submit. For grades 9-12, the lessons plans are designed to teache government concepts based on the systems of Montana's tribal governments and intergovernmental interaction.
"Good Governance in Tribes: Moving from Ad-Hoc Knowledge-Building to a Tribal Civics Class" is paper by Dr. Elizabeth Wabindato, Ph.D, that provides strategies for strengthening tribal governance by offering a practical and doable tribally-based civics program.
iCivics is an interactive web-based game that is designed to teach students about American civics and democracy. It has vibrant teaching materials that have been used in classrooms in all 50 states. iCivics simulates electorial campaigning, issue advocacy, jury dury, and budget planning. Check out lesson plans built around the games on the iCivic's section for teachers.
The Living Room Candidate, developed by the Museum of Moving Images, is an online based curriculum for teaching students about campaign messaging and advertisement. We recommend the Ad Maker, which is an "interactive editing tool that students can use to create their own versions of historic presidential campaign commercials". Be sure to read over the Ad Maker's lesson plan or explore additional resources for teachers.
Semester of Service™ is a worldwide campaign lead by Youth Service America. Classrooms across the country use Semester of Service's project plan to increase student engagement and make a significant difference in their communities. YSA also offers the Semester of Service Strategy Guide to help youth create strategic plans to launch and sustain service and learning activities over a period of time.
Native Youth Leadership Alliance (NYLA) is a multi-year fellowship program that provides culturally based training, resources, and a community of support; to help young Native leaders create positive change in their communities. NYLA empowers young Native leaders to vision, build capacity, expand networks and mobilize their communities in order to create positive change rooted in their traditions and cultures. The core areas of NYLA’s approach are empowerment, culturally based principles of indigenous leadership, intergenerational relationships, holistic well-being and Native values such as reciprocity, skill building, network building, and collaborative partnerships.