Civic Literacy: Course Overview

The standards and objectives in the Founding Principles of the United States of America and North Carolina: Civic Literacy course will provide students the opportunity to engage in intensive application of the skills, concepts, processes, and knowledge gained in previous social studies courses and prepare them to be college, career, and civic ready. Despite there being a different overall focus for each subsequent course, students will explore the content through the following lenses: inquiry; behavioral sciences; civics and government; economics; geography; and history. As students develop cognitively, these lenses become more focused based on the grade-level content and disciplinary thinking skills.

This course has been legislated by N.C. Session Law 2019-82, House Bill 924. Because the civics and government strand is an integral part of the vertical learning progression of each course, kindergarten through high school, students are expected to enter this course with a fundamental knowledge and understanding of the structure and function of government and civic responsibility. This course provides students the opportunity for a deeper study of the governmental and political systems of the N.C. and the U.S. and will build upon the application of the Founding Principles as identified by N.C. Session Law 2019-82, House Bill 924. This course will allow students to examine the ways in which power and responsibility are both shared and limited by the U.S. Constitution and how the judicial, legal, and political systems of North Carolina and the United States embody the founding principles of government. Students in this course will analyze and evaluate the extent to which the American system of government guarantees, protects, and upholds the rights of citizens. Through the integration of inquiry-based learning, students will also investigate how the American system of government has evolved over time while learning how to analyze topics, issues, and claims in order to communicate ideas and take action to effect change and inform others. When opportunities can be provided, this course can be augmented by related learning experiences, both in and out of school, that enable students to apply their knowledge and understanding of how to participate in their own community and governance. Mastery of the standards and objectives of this course will inform and nurture responsible, participatory citizens who are competent and committed to the core values and founding principles of American democracy and the United States Constitution.