Indiana Sixth Grade Civics
Introduction
The Indiana Bar Foundation (Foundation) is excited to be a support and resource for educators who are or preparing to teach the new sixth grade civics class, now required for Indiana middle schools starting in the 2023-2024 school year with the passage of House Bill 1384 during the 2021 Indiana General Assembly session.
The Foundation uses the We the People curriculum to be the base of helping teachers. We the People assists with teaching content to students and applying an inquiry-based approach to your teaching methodology. It also adds an authentic assessment to allow you to easily check the depth of understanding of your students’ knowledge in an authentic manner.
Indiana Sixth Grade Civics
Below, you will find materials to help with teaching the Indiana Sixth Grade Civics course. Materials include PowerPoint presentations, student handouts, reading materials, worksheets, activities, vocabulary guides, and more.
Materials correspond to the state standard with which they are most closely aligned. Educators can choose what materials they find best for their students and classrooms. Educators should feel empowered to use what is most useful to you and adapt materials as needed to fit the needs of your students.
The materials are rooted in the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum. References to lesson numbers within the materials correspond with the lessons of the We the People Level 1 (4th edition) text, published by the Center for Civic Education. We the People books and lessons are not needed to use the materials from the Indiana Bar Foundation, but teachers may find it a useful additional resource if a textbook is beneficial to you. Please contact sales@civiced.org for information about purchasing textbooks.
Materials for Standards 1 are open and available. Standards 2-17 require a free registration to access the materials. There is no charge to access or use the materials.
Course Materials by Standard
Materials for Standards 1 are open and available. Standards 2-17 require a free registration to access the materials. There is no charge to access or use the materials.
In addition, this Class Guidance Chart connects the civics resources with Indiana Academic Standards and estimates the time necessary to present the information. Some lessons apply to multiple standards and are repeated on this chart to show how they meet multiple standards.
Standard 1 Essential
Summarize the principles and purposes of government as stated in the Preamble to the United States Constitution.
Standard 2 Essential
Identify and explain essential ideas of constitutional government, which include limited government; rule of law; due process of law; separated and shared powers; checks and balances; federalism; popular sovereignty; republicanism; representative government; and individual rights to life, liberty and property; and freedom of conscience and religion.
Standard 3 Essential Standard
Explain the concept of a separation of powers and how and why these powers are distributed, shared, and limited in the constitutional government of the United States.
Standard 4 Essential Standard
Describe and give examples of individual rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
Standard 5
Explain the major purposes of the Indiana Constitution, as stated in the Preamble.
Standard 6
Describe individual rights held under Article I of the Indiana Constitution, such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
Standard 7
Examine ways that state and national government affects the everyday lives of people in the United States.
Standard 8
Describe the primary and general election process for local, state, and national offices, including those used to select congressional and presidential office holders.
Standard 9
Identify and explain the duties of and selection process for local and state government officials who make, implement, and enforce laws.
Standard 10
Explain that the United States has three levels of government (local, state, and national), and that each level has special duties and responsibilities.
Standard 11 Essential Lesson
Identify the three branches of the United States government and explain the functions of each.
Standard 12
Identify and explain the major responsibilities of the legislative (Article 4), executive (Article 5), and judicial branches (Article 7) of state government as written in the Indiana Constitution.
Standard 13
Explain the role citizens have in making decisions and rules within the community, state, and nation.
Standard 14
Examine ways by which citizens may effectively voice opinions, monitor government, and bring about change in government including voting and participation in the election process.
Standard 15
Use a variety of informational resources to identify and evaluate contemporary issues that involve civic responsibility, individual rights, and the common good.
Standard 16
Recognize and explain the relationship between the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in the United States.
Standard 17
Explain ways that citizens can participate in the election process (political parties, campaigns, and elections) at the national, state, and local levels.
What is We the People?
At the heart of the We the People program is studying academically rigorous inquiry questions and the authentic assessment: simulated legislative hearings. Students learn and study the content of the class. They are given topic-related questions to study and research, typically in small groups, and demonstrate their learning. Students showcase the depth and breadth of their understanding through the authentic assessment.
- Students study content and are given inquiry questions as assessment.
- Students will work through the questions in small groups (typically 3-5 students) to fully answer the question.
- The student panel then verbally presents their answer to the teacher (or another evaluating person or panel). Often, there is a time limit to do this, typically four minutes.
- Once the student panel finishes, the teacher or evaluating person/panel will ask follow-up questions to further probe the students’ knowledge and understanding. The follow up question period can last either a set amount of time (often six minutes) or a set number of questions (typically 3 or 4 follow up questions).
See this one-page flyer to better understand the process of the We the People hearing
Licensing
The materials are available to use by Indiana educators under the CC-BY-NC-SA license. This license enables users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.
