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Resource Exchange

	Philadelphia KAT students proudly display their cross-disciplinary study on abandoned vehicles in their neighborhood.

KAT encourages the use of primary resources. Here is a list of resources recommended by KAT developers and teachers:

• Websites
• Books
• Booklets
• Local resources

Don't Miss! KAT also develops its own resources, see our Access Materials section for these.

Do you have a resource to share?

Websites

www.eagleton.rutgers.edu The Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University conducts meaningful research, publishes interesting articles and offers useful materials and programs relating to civic education. Eagleton is part of a large consortium. Worth checking out!

www.civiced.org/stds.html - Contains persuasive narratives about the importance of civics education, listing and discussions of K-12 standards, and a section of "organizing questions and content summary"

www.firstgov.gov/index.html - Excellent first stop for students wishing to explore their local government. Information is organized by topic and by level of government. Students can access their local and county government websites as well as search for government information on topics of interest.
Lesson Idea: KAT students studying child health in their community, for example, might therefore start with government-provided medical insurance available to children in the state of Pennsylvania (www.insurekidsnow.gov ). After taking notes on that information, students might want to go back and link to their particular county's health department for different sorts of information (www.piperinfo.com/state/index.cfm ) .

www.govspot.com - access a variety of useful governmental links. For Example: www.hicitizen.com provides information for citizens to register to vote and forms necessary to obtain a learner's permit for driving. The govspot site has links to government reports and news items, and to local and state governments. Through it, you can visit the National Archives and nutrition education, the National Register of Historic Places and children's literature.

E-citizen.org - offers visitors the opportunity to submit certain types of paperwork online to their local government offices for particular tasks they may have to conduct. (KAT has not actually experimented with these forms.) From this site you can also click onto webpages of the National League of Cities, the National Civic League, Government Online, and countless other sites and layers. Visitors should be cautious here, as elsewhere on the Internet, because many of the choices are commercial or trade groups who have their own biases and stakes in the information presented.

http://www.connectforkids.org - Provides links to more than 1,200 children's issues sites and 1,500 organizations; data on how well children are performing locally, regionally and nationally in terms of quality-of-life issues; and information on donation time and/or money for child-related causes.

Books

Measuring Up: Standards, Assessment and School Reform by Robert Rothman (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1995) traces the history of educational assessments the United States.

Educative Assessment: Designing Assessments to Inform and Improve Student Performance (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998). Grant Wiggins makes the case for assessments that "improve performance, not just audit it"

Becoming Good American Schools, by Jeannie Oakes et al. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2000). The experiences of "Turning Points" - the Carnegie Corporation's middle
school reform efforts - are treated in this book. Nearly suffocated by somewhat cumbersome writing are several valuable points.

The Power of their Ideas, by Deborah Meier(Boston: Beacon Press, 1995). Known for her leadership in New York City's Central Park East schools, Meier's goals for public education include to "create environments where all kids can experience the power of their ideas." Very refreshing.

Civics for Democracy: A Journey for Teachers and Students by Katherine Isaacs (Center for Study of Responsive Law, Washington, D.C.: Essential Books, 1992). This volume contains chapters on student projects and techniques for action, as well as chapters on civic movements in U.S. history.

Storypath book series.  (Chicago: Everyday Learning Corporation, 1997.) Particularly supportive for KAT projects in younger grades, Communities and Their Decisions and Families in Their Neighborhoods are colorful introductions that set the general stage for service learning and local issue study.

Free Spirit Publishing (Minneapolis: 612-338-2068) has several books that shout "CAN DO" and, depending on the reading level of your students, might be good reading for them. 

Kids with Courage: True Stories about Young People Making a Difference (1992) and The Kid's Guide to Social Action (1991). Both are authored by Barbara Lewis. Jim Delisle is author of Kid Stories: Biographies of 20 Young People You'd Like to Know (1991). 

Booklets

The Center for Local Government Services publishes dozens of booklets on local government and community planning. (1-888-2CENTER)  Here are some worthwhile resources from them:

Citizen's Guide to Pennsylvania Local Government. This Citizen's Guide is the general overview we all need on how the pieces of the government puzzle fit together.The Center also publishes a directory of contact people in each municipality across the state.Even if you don't need to own a copy of this, you can call their (888) toll free number above to get this information.

Directory of Pennsylvania Councils of Governments (COGs).COGs are coalitions for joint purchasing, planning and other regional concerns. Names and phone numbers are included in this Directory.

The Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs produces its own publications list.  One suggestion is:

Pennsylvanian's Questions and Answers.The Qs in this booklet are detailed enough to be of specific interest to Borough officials: "Our borough would like to enact a pitbull ordinance. Does PSAB have a sample?" Another asks if there's a difference between an ordinance and a resolution.

PSAB Book of Selected Ordinances (its cost may outrun most school supply budgets) contains samples of 47 popular, actual ordinances in effect across the state on topics such as cruising, skateboarding and recycling. (717-236-9526).

Local Resources

Resources in Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County (pdf file) (2000)

KAT resources are in the Access Materials section of our site.

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