Teacher Workshops
Civic Engagement Teacher Workshops July 2019
Join the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office this summer to learn more about the resources our office provides to teachers regarding civic engagement including lesson plans, an essay contest, the 2020 Student Mock Election, and more! Our tools and resources aim to incorporate civic engagement throughout the education experience and to help students to become actively engaged citizens.
Teachers of all grade levels and teaching subjects are welcome to sign up! Emphasis will be placed on social studies curriculum, but all civic-minded teachers are welcome. Teachers will receive 4 hours of professional development credit. There is no fee to participate and lunch is provided.
Space is limited!
Click HERE to sign up for any of the below workshops.
Nashville
Wednesday, July 10th
Lipscomb University
10:00am – 2:00pm CST
Chattanooga
Thursday, July 11th
Chattanooga State Community College
10:00am – 2:00pm EST
Jackson
Wednesday, July 17th
Lane College
10:00am – 2:00pm CST
Memphis
Thursday, July 18th
Shelby County Election Operations Building
10:00am – 2:00pm CST
Tri-Cities
Wednesday, July 24th
Northeast State Community College
10:00am – 2:00pm EST
Knoxville
Thursday, July 25th
Pellissippi State Community College
10:00am – 2:00pm EST
If you have any questions, please contact Britney McDaniel at 615-253-4589 or Britney.McDaniel@tn.gov.
Blue Book Lesson Plans
The following lesson plans were created by Tennessee teachers from across the state utilizing the Tennessee Blue Book, a great resource for information about state government. These lesson plans link with the current Tennessee social studies curriculum standards using the information provided in the Blue Book to utilize in civics and government classes. Lesson plans can also be adapted to fit different grade levels and curriculum standards.
There are a limited number of hard copies of Blue Books available. To see about ordering a set for your classroom, please contact the Secretary of State’s office at (615) 741-2819 or one of your local legislators. The online version of the Blue Book is also available here. The pages of the Blue Book that are needed for each activity are included in each lesson plan as PDFs. Please note that these lesson plans below are for the 2017-2018 Tennessee Blue Book edition. For lesson plans that correlate with older editions, click here.
Elementary School:
- Branches of the State and National Government
- Principles of the U.S. Constitution
- Tennessee and American Symbols
- The Three Grand Divisions of Tennessee
High School:
- Interest Groups vs. State and Local Government
- Project: Tackling Issues in Your Community
- Tennessee City Government*
- Tennessee County Government*
- Tennessee General Assembly: Legislators and Legislation
- Tennessee State Constitution
- Tennessee’s Governor
- The Departments in Tennessee’s Executive Branch
- The Legal, Fiscal, and Operational Relationship Between State and Local Government
- The U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights vs. the Tennessee Constitution’s Declaration of Rights
- Your Representatives in Government & How You Can Be Involved
*Depending on where your school is located, choose one.
Tennessee State Library and Archives: Education Outreach
The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a great resource for teachers seeking primary sources for use in classroom instruction. Newspaper records, historic photographs, letters, diaries, maps, political cartoons, census records, Governor’s papers, and more that tell the store of Tennesseans and our role in the greater story of American history are all available as the Education Outreach website!
Other Helpful Links:
Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts
