Category Archives: CM News
Government Event (Winter 2000) Civic Mirror Classroom Video Series, Episode 12
In The Civic Mirror, every simulated year is made up of four in-class events (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall), and this video shows students participating in the first one: The Government Event. Here politicians pass legislation, set tax rates, implement policy, … Continue reading
Performance-Based Assessment Method Civic Mirror Classroom Video Series, Episode 11
This video shows students learning how they will be evaluated throughout The Civic Mirror. Basically, at the end of every simulated year, students complete a self-evaluation rubric where they have to evaluate their ‘in-game’ performance in four areas that count … Continue reading
The Hex Auction Civic Mirror Classroom Video Series, Episode 10
The Hex Auction is arguably the most exciting event in The Civic Mirror. In this event students make split second decisions about what pieces of property to purchase, and these decisions can literally make or break them financially (and politically … Continue reading
Political Elections Civic Mirror Classroom Video Series, Episode 9
In this video, we see candidates initially scrambling to piece together their final words and convince as many citizens as they can to vote for them. After each candidate says their 15-second piece, the ballots are cast, the votes are … Continue reading
Election Campaign Debates Civic Mirror Classroom Video Series, Episode 8
In this event, candidates debate about a variety of issues that relate to their country’s government and economy. Students not debating are asked to prepare questions about things they are concerned about. Unlike most classroom debates and mock elections where … Continue reading
Forming Political Parties Civic Mirror Classroom Video Series, Episode 7
In this activity, students are given time to mingle with their classmates in order to discuss national issues they have an interest in (especially as they relate to their Hidden Agendas) with the intent of forming political parties. The fascinating … Continue reading
Learning the Constitution Activity Civic Mirror Classroom Video Series, Episode 6
When The Civic Mirror begins, students – like people of any state or community – will inevitably ask questions like: “Can he do that?” “Would I be able to get away with … ?” “What’s legal? What’s forbidden? And who … Continue reading
Classroom Incentives and Rewards: CM Classroom Video Series, Episode 5
The Civic Mirror provides teachers with a variety of reward mechanisms that encourage students to complete in-class work. Students will know that before they receive their Citizen Profiles, their attitude, participation, and work-completion marks will be used to decide who … Continue reading
Create National Identity #2 Civic Mirror Classroom Video Series, Episode 4
This is the second step of the student-run “Create National Identity” activity. This lesson can be skipped if teachers are short on classroom time; however, if they choose to run this lesson, it has two main goals: 1. Students vote … Continue reading
Teacher-Led Reflection Civic Mirror Classroom Video Series, Episode 3
The Civic Mirror’s educational power truly lies in the teacher and students’ ability to extrapolate meaning and significance from all of the simulated events. In this classroom video tutorial, students reflect on and discuss what went well in their first … Continue reading
