Is there an issue in your community that you and your classmates
feel should be examined? Do you have ideas to solve a problem in your
neighborhood and want to share your views? Do you want to hear about
other students’ solutions to community issues?
A civics fair is an event where students from a class, school or
entire district can gather to exhibit their solutions to common
problems faced by the community. It is a culmination of research that
helps the community understand a pressing issue, and if possible,
offers your ideas for positive change.
Take a look at a the.News video report from Pittsburgh.
Students from around the city have met to participate in this civics
fair called the Hip Hop Senate. Prior to the event, it was decided that
the event should focus on the quality of schools. The students
researched the topic and gave presentations that studied the effects of
politics on schools, the upcoming mayoral race and the different
candidates’ views on education, and different methods for the city to
fund schools.
In other schools across the nation, civics fairs have been useful
resources for students to express and develop their ideas before
presenting them to their classmates and members of the community. In
Tulsa, students meet in a mock city council civics fair where students
acting as government officials judged presentations and voted on which
had the greatest potential to solve the problem it presented. The
judges then decided which project was to be presented before the actual
Tulsa city council.
How to Create a Successful Civics Fair Presentation
What issues matter to you? Discuss them with your class and decide which matter the most to everybody.
Find out if the civics fair you are attending is open ended -
meaning that no single issue is meant to be discussed - or if the
presentation is meant to focus on only one issue. If the issue is open
ended, then you and your class must decide on a host of issues that you
feel should be addressed. If the civics fair is to discuss a single
issue - for example, the quality of education - then your class must
decide what aspect of the issue you are going to present and give your
solution to that problem.
Define your Youth Issues Agenda and research it thoroughly by
reading the local newspaper and watching the nightly news. Talk with
members of your community, politicians, teachers, and other students to
find out what they have to say.
Organizing Your Presentation
Once your class or group has researched your issue thoroughly, piece
the information together into a presentation that explains the problem
and gives insight on how your class decided to address it.
Your class must then decide on how it wants to present the issue to
the judges. Come up with an interesting presentation that mixes both a
strong argument for addressing the issue with a strong visual
presentation that further develops your argument. Your presentation can
take any number or forms: speech, a tri-fold poster with charts, images
and other information, an interactive PowerPoint presentation, or
something else that explains your project. For more project ideas, take
a look at the the Project Showcase.
When creating a presentation, ask yourself, “What can be best shown
visually and what can be best explained in during the talking portion
of the presentation? What information is essential, and what
information is unnecessary and can be left out?”
Informing the Community at the Civics Fair
Once your class has created a presentation, practice and become
comfortable delivering it to listeners. Everyone in the class should be
able to discuss the issue you’ve researched with the members of the
audience of the Civics Fair.
Civics fairs can range from large events with many schools
participating to smaller single-school events where classes break into
groups to create and exhibit projects. The scope and emphasis can also
range from students tackling a single issue given to them beforehand,
or it can be an open-ended event where the students decide which issue
they are going to discuss.
On the day of the Civics Fair, show up with time to set up. Make
sure you’ve brought all the materials you need in order to make your
presentation look its best.
Think about the presentations from Pittsburgh and how you could incorporate your Youth Issues Agenda into something similar. What is the best method to present your ideas?
Speak Out!
What issue could you and your classmates examine? Can your group
come up with a solution to the problem you are studying? What is the
best way for your group to present the issue? If given the opportunity,
do you think you could make a strong argument to local community
members and politicians? Join the discussion and let us know what you
think!
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