This volume examines the role of writing, rhetoric, and literacy programs and approaches in the practice of civic engagement in global contexts. Writing programs have experience in civic engagement and service learning projects in their local communities, and their work is central to developing students' literacy practices.

"This book highlights the value of critical thinking as a way to navigate this difficult and frustrating terrain, so that students grow and develop as knowledgeable, independent thinkers. Strategies presented include student reflection based on experience, moving from narrow to broader perspectives, and using graphic organizers to build and activate knowledge before, during, and after instructional activities."

"Barton and Ho present a global vision of social and civic education, one that reorients the field toward justice and harmony. Drawing from diverse philosophical and cultural traditions, as well as empirical research, they introduce curriculum principles designed to motivate and inform students thoughtful and compassionate deliberation of public issues."

American political culture runs through civics classrooms, and the degraded dialogue and scorched-earth partisanship that has defined modern American politics is an indicator that all is not well in our nation's schools. Teaching Civics in Unstable Times: Guidelines for Defining "We" in American Democracy offers a fresh, expansive view of what civic education can look like in K-12 classrooms, and presents three strategies to help teachers, curriculum writers, and administrators turn their schools into laboratories for democracy that train young people for the moral and intellectual challenges of democratic citizenship.

Civic Education in the Age of Mass Migration examines the exclusionary aspects of citizenship and offers democratic societies an alternative approach that includes all long-term residents regardless of citizenship and immigration status. Banks reimagines a civic education curriculum that gives secondary students the knowledge and skills needed to move the United States toward a more perfect union.

The Civically Engaged Classroomis packed with practical guidance designed to support teachers in giving students the skills, knowledge, and tools to be active participants in society. Each chapter describes classroom structures, curricular possibilities, and specific lessons for teaching crucial civic virtues, including: acknowledging identity, bias, and privilege building background knowledge close and critical reading and ethical research skills composing nuanced stances in writing building coalitions and engaging in activism.