Summer Readings to Inspire Teachers about Project Based Learning with Civic Engagement
2 min readJun 23, 2016
Teachers, here are seven books that will inspire you and help you to guide project based learning that’s focused on students’ civic engagement. They’re filled with key insights and practical strategies showing why and how this work is essential for students in all subjects.
- Christina Berdan, et al. 2006. Writing for a Change — Boosting Literacy and Learning Through Social Action. Jossey Bass & the National Writing Project. Articles by teachers doing this work across the country. Don’t miss the amazing story of the Youth Dreamers in Baltimore.
- Harvey Daniels and Sara Ahmed. 2015. Upstanders — How to Engage Middle School Hearts and Minds with Inquiry. Heinemann. Great ideas and thoughtful understanding of students’ needs.
- Ben Kirshner.2015. Youth Activism in an Era of Education Inequality. New York University Press. Outstanding research on teachers and students attempting social action in classrooms.
- Meira Levinson. 2012. No Citizen Left Behind. Harvard U. Press. A must-read for any teacher who wants to understand the importance of this work and the many issues he or she must consider in approaching it.
- Mikva Challenge. 2015. Issues to Action. A thorough teaching guide by an outstanding organization.
- Brian Schultz. 2008. Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way. Teachers College Press. Great story of a teacher and his fifth grade students figuring it out as they pursued their effort to get their school rehabbed.
- Steve Zemelman. 2016. From Inquiry to Action: Civic Engagement with Project-Based Learning in All Content Areas. Heinemann. Had to include my own effort to provide a teaching guide with inspiring classroom stories that showed me the power of this kind of teaching and learning.
Enjoy — and let me know what you think after reading some of these!
