Students & Educators
Whether you're an educator, parent, or student yourself, these resources are here to help you engage students and youth in civics. Civics education is key to understanding our rights as citizens and how the government works. It helps build stronger communities!
Our Resources
We have resources to engage first-time voters:
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VOTE411.org: Comprehensive voting information site that includes our voter guide for the statewide elections in even-numbered years.
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Election Day Escape: Cast your ballot before the zombies arrive! A digital escape room for beginners.
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We also have a citizen's guide to the state legislative session if you know students or young voters who want to engage in advocacy or have issues they care about!
K-12 Schools
Every March, this week unites students, educators, policymakers, and private sector leaders to energize the movement for civic education across the nation.
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National Civics Bee - North Dakota
A competition for 6-8 graders through the ND Chamber of Commerce, designed to give students the chance to win recognition by sharing ideas for improving their communities and showing their enthusiasm for civics.
The News Literacy District Fellowship, a two-year commitment, invites proposals from district leaders who wish to design and execute innovative and sustainable initiatives to embed news and media literacy education into their districts.​​​
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This research-backed toolkit provides recommendations for K-12 schools and administrators on how to increase youth civic participation and leadership.
Civil Conversations in the Classroom
Print out one of these three posters that support civility in the classroom. ​
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Designed to help teachers with tools and teaching strategies to hold meaningful and productive conversations about public policies, controversial issues, and current events.
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Setting Classroom Expectations for Trust, Tolerance, & Civil Discourse
A 20-minute lesson plan and activity with handouts to set expectations. From Bill of Rights Institute.
Art + Civics
Their Educator Hub provides nonpartisan art and lesson plans to 20,000+ schools. They provide resources for educators and parents to engage students in discussions about social justice issues. ​​​
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Civic art projects for the classroom.
Civics Curriculum
Comprehensive civics course teaches the philosophical and historical foundations of the U.S. political system. They offer free textbooks and teacher training to North Dakota high school teachers.​​​
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Interdisciplinary civics education for everyone with diverse disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, rhetoric, economics, and history.
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Constitutional principles based lessons for high school and middle school classrooms.
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The Project Citizen curriculum provides a practical, first-hand approach to learning about our complex system of government and how to monitor and influence it.
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Interactive lessons for K-12 students on digital citizenship to prepare students to take ownership of their digital lives
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Constitutional Democracy Project
Facilitates an interactive, classroom-tested approach to teaching government, the Constitution, civics, and other social studies classes.
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A free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education, offering a trove of civics resources.​​​​​
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They partner with middle and high schools to implement a community-based civics curriculum that engages students in their own communities.
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Games and lesson plans to help middle and high school students learn about state and local government.​ Great resource: iCivics Elections Headquarters
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Prairie Public and PBS have curated free videos and lesson plans for educators. We love this Together We Can music video series for K-2 to explore ideas about Democracy and Civics, and Civics Made Easy for older students.
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Teaching for Democracy Alliance
Resources, including lesson plans, for teaching about elections and voting.
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Online civic engagement game to use in your classroom. Play it, share it, and use it to refine your skills before heading to the polls! Created by LWV-Alameda.
Our escape room is a fun way to learn the steps to voting in North Dakota. Players must cast their ballot before the (cute and not scary) zombies arrive.
Click Play Now to get started.
Student Leadership Development
Working the polls is a great way to build leadership skills, learn about elections, and give back to the community. North Dakota students ages 16+ can apply.
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ND Boys State / ND Girls State
A week-long program that gives students who have finished their junior year of high school a firsthand experience running state government.
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ND Department of Public Instruction
Building Tomorrow’s Leaders is a comprehensive program geared to high school students and is also available for grades seven and eight.
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North Dakota Leadership Seminar is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching leadership and community service skills to high school sophomores.
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Launching Leadership is a youth leadership program held each June for students grades 9-12 across the state of North Dakota.
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Umoja believes in nurturing an environment where student-led solutions shape the educational landscape in the Great Plains and neighboring communities. They provide student programs such as writing workshops, leadership development, and a pipeline to professions.
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Ogimaa Youth Initiative in Fargo unites indigenous youth to embrace their culture, promote self-empowerment, and enhance leadership skills.​​
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Local Government Opportunities:
Internships & Fellowships
Fellowship for high school students who will get to hear from speakers, learn about government and how it works, and meet other students from around the world.
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CU's Youth Collaboratory 6-month program connects students from across the county both virtually and in person. Participants travel to cities across the nation, meet leading civic innovators, and develop a personal Power Project.
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Fellowship that empowers early-career technologists to innovate in local, state, and federal government offices across the United States.
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Institute for Citizens and Scholars
Civics-related fellowships for young leaders, faculty, graduate and Ph.D. students.
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Civic Service Fellowship for high school students who want to build their community and empower other young people.
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Empowers a diverse class of motivated student athletes to strengthen nonpartisan civic participation on their teams, their campuses, and their broader communities.
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Civic Action remote internship for high school, college, and grad students to engage in grassroots civic participation on issues they care about.
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An 8-month Civic Health Fellowship for medical, nursing, and social work students to learn how to engage patients in democracy.​
Campus Organizations
​ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
Action items for campuses, with the support of ALL IN staff, to institutionalize nonpartisan democratic engagement at their institution.​
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Resources for college campuses to engage in the National Civic Holidays, like Voter Education Week and Vote Early Day.​
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A network of innovators using design thinking skills for local social impact. They help launch design studios on campuses across the US that connect interdisciplinary student teams, mentors, and local organizations using design frameworks to co-create a better future.
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National hub and largest nonpartisan network in the country dedicated to increasing student voter participation.
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Nonpartisan organization that creates programs focused on integrating civic engagement into college athletics.
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Helps institutions develop democratic engagement action plans that coordinate administrators, faculty, and student organizations in civic and electoral engagement.​​​​​​