"Engage students in meaningful civic learning and encourage them to become active and informed citizens. With this essential book, co-published by Routledge and MiddleWeb, you will gain a variety of practical strategies for teaching civics and current events to your middle school students. Author and expert teacher Sarah Cooper takes you into her school and shares her classroom-tested methods and tools. Topics include: fitting current events into an already-packed history curriculum; staying nonpartisan and fostering balanced discussions; helping students find their stake in the news; teaching civic literacy through primary sources, then and now; encouraging students to invest in analytical writing; fostering student ownership of our classrooms through discussion and debate; [and] cultivating citizenship through empathy and community engagement. Throughout the book, you’ll find student examples, handouts, and rubrics, so that you can easily implement the ideas in your own classroom. By getting your students to think critically about current events, you will help them become passionate writers, thinkers, and involved citizens"