The core goal of the Joint Center is to support Florida’s K-12 civic educators who seek to strengthen civic knowledge, skills and dispositions among their students. The Joint Center also seeks to understand the factors that lead to improved civic learning and engagement and to monitor the condition of Florida’s civic health.
In carrying out its work, the Joint Center is intended to achieve key shared objectives of both the Lou Frey Institute and the Bob Graham Center.
Here, you will find the Joint Center’s most recent (2013) instructional support materials for 7th grade civics. Organized by the Florida Department of Education’s End-of-Course Reporting Categories (Appendix D), materials cover each instructional benchmark tested by Florida’s Civics EOC. Aligned to Common Core State Standards and to Florida’s Civics End-of-Course Assessment Test Item Specifications , each module includes : (1) A Lesson Plan; (2) Content Resources for Teachers; (3) Student Multiple Choice Civics Assessment Items at Low, Moderate, and High Complexity; (4) FLDOE’s Civics End-of-Course Assessment Test Item Specification; and (5) A Teacher Professional Development Assessment. All materials are free.
Here, you will find instructional materials for teaching integrated civics in Florida’s elementary schools, the 2009 edition of Middle School Applied Civics, curricular support materials for high school U. S. Government courses, including AP, support for running classroom, school, or mock elections, an extensive curriculum on Florida local government and community problem solving, and a guide to integrating civics in K-12 reading and language arts. All materials are free.
Here, you will find a complete self-paced professional development course to support teaching all of Florida’s 7th grade civics benchmarks. The material contained in this course was developed in 2010, prior to FLDOE’s release of Civics End-of-Course Assessment Test Item Specifications. Thus, while the course provides useful background for teachers, alignment to Test Item Specifications is not precise. Access to the course is free. For professional development materials carefully aligned to Test Item Specifications, see Middle School Applied Civics 2.0.
You may also request a customized professional development program here. Examples of programs previously offered are available for review. Joint Center professional development programs are free for Florida teachers.
Here you will find reports and data that monitor the condition of Florida's civic health.
Here you will find complete information about Florida’s Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Civics Education Act, a description of additional professional development opportunities through the Joint Center, and links to a wide range of other civics education organizations and resources.
