Literacy Assistance Center

Literacy Assistance Center
32 Broadway, 10th fl.
New York, NY 10004
Phone (212)803-3300
Fax (212)785-3685

Contact Us

English Language/Civics Links

Civics Education & Citizenship Preparation
Government and Voting
Government Watchdog and Election Reform Organizations

Civics Education & Citizenship Preparation

  • A Guide for New Immigrants
    The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has published a guide entitled, “Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants.” The publication details the rights and responsibilities of permanent residents (green card holders) and provides information on how to become a U.S. citizen. It also contains information on how to settle in the Unites States. The guide is published in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Portuguese, French, and Haitian Creole.
  • Better Questions, Better Decisions Voter Education Initiative
    This free, downloadable workshop is intended to develop critical thinking and inquiry skills with adult learners. While focused on motivating potential voters to go to the polls, it is also useful for stimulating thinking about civic participation and how government policy affects our daily life.
  • New England Literacy Resource Center Civic Participation & Citizenship Collection Links to resources and information on voting and government, history and civil rights, the immigrant experience, media literacy, teaching about current issues, policy and legislation, and community action.
  • Texas Center for Adult Learning and Literacy EL/Civics Resource Center EL/Civics lesson plans, activities for adults and families, links to other EL/Civics websites, and source materials for students, teachers, and program administrators.
  • Resource Collection on Civics Education for Adult English Language Learners from the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (formerly NCLE, the National Center for ESL Literacy Education)
  • EL/Civics Teacher and Tutor Resources Part of the Literacy Information and Communication System’s (LINCS) ESOL Special Collection. Links to organizations, publications, voting and advocacy resources, and curricula for EL/Civics classes.
  • EL/Civics Lesson Plans The LINCS Northwest hub provides lesson plans, web-based projects, and full curricula for EL/Civics instruction.
  • Civnet An online resource for civic education practitioners, scholars, policymakers, civic-minded journalists, and non-governmental organizations promoting civic education all over the world. Includes lesson plans adaptable for adult education and a CivTalk disussion group where educators and researchers share ideas, teaching materials, and methodology.
  • The Close Up Foundation A nonpartisan citizenship education organization that promotes participation in the political process and awareness of major national and international issues through experiential education programs.
  • The National Archives and Records Administration Educators’ section features ways to use NARA’s huge collection of primary source documents.
  • FirstFind New York libraries provide an access point of governmental, community and reference resources accessible to the adult new reader.
  • The Change Agent: Adult Education for Social Justice This newspaper-style publication provides resources on civic participation and political activism, including classroom activities, lessons, and project based on the paper’s content of the paper.
  • The Key News stories for adults with limited reading skills.
  • The Civic Participation and Community Action Source Book Classroom-generated stories and student activities that reflect on civic and community participation.
  • The California Distance Learning Project CDLP maintains several student created and teacher supported web sites for adult new readers. Topic areas include civic participation, family and employment.
  • Teaching Activity on US Immigration Policy from the Close Up Foundation Multipart lesson plan including background information on the history of immigration and immigration policy, a simulation of a legislative debate on a proposed immigration bill, and experiential learning activities.
  • The Constitutional Rights Foundation Online Lessons Readings, activities, primary source documents, links, and full lesson plans on the Constitution, Bill of Rights, US and world history, and responses to terrorism.
  • The American Memory Learning Page Lesson plans and activities, including several on civics and immigration, from the Library of Congress—focused on K-12 but adaptable for adults.
  • The Naturalization Self-Test On-line This page on the INS website tests students knowledge of United States history and government.
  • University of Massachusetts Medical Center Immigration Inquiry Map Research conducted by UMass Adult Ed ESOL students on immigration topics.
  • NYC Settlement Houses: Community Learning Centers Access to student produced writing as well as the “Life Stories” component which allows adult learners to post their own writing.
  • The Changes Project A participatory action research project focused on the impact of welfare reform, immigration reform and the changing nature of work. The project describes the impact of these issues on the lives of adult learners at five adult education programs in Massachusetts.
  • Virtual Visits A site of web pages developed by adult education students and classes chronicling their field trips they have made.

Government and Voting Resources

Government Watchdog and Election Reform Organizations


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