Madeline came home from school and couldn't stop talking about the Revolutionary War. Her 5th-grade teacher, Mrs. Doering, had hosted a spirited class debate between the patriots and loyalists. "Did you know some people wanted to stay loyal to the king?" she asked. Over the next week, Madeline read more about democracy, wrote an essay on the topic, and asked more questions about history than ever before.

Mrs. Doering understood something too many educators and policymakers have overlooked: if you want kids to excel at reading, they need to care about what they're reading.Â
Today, Madeline is a junior in college studying political science and psychology, with plans to attend law school. She credits that 5th-grade debate for sparking her passion for history and critical thinking.
Madeline's story isn't unique—it's a reminder of the power of civics education and educators.
Unfortunately, our education system has sidelined civics and history in favor of test-driven priorities. The results have been catastrophic for literacy, civic engagement, and democracy: today, fewer than 25% of U.S. students are proficient in civics and literacy rates continue to decline. It's time to restore civics to its rightful place in our classrooms—not just as a vital subject but as a foundation for creating better readers, thinkers, and leaders.
The Decline of Civics Education: A Crisis for Democracy
Why do U.S. schools prioritize teaching reading without connecting those skills to meaningful content like the Revolutionary War? It's complicated.
Reduced Instructional Time: Since No Child Left Behind, schools have drastically reduced time for social studies, including civics, to focus on tested subjects like math and reading. Elementary students spend just 21 minutes daily on social studies, compared to 89 minutes on English language arts (Center on Education Policy).
Underfunding: In 2020, only $5 million was allocated for civics education nationally, compared to billions for STEM programs (Fitchett and Heafner). This lack of investment leaves schools without the resources to teach robust civics curricula.
Testing Pressure:Â High-stakes testing has pushed schools to prioritize subjects that appear on standardized exams, often at the expense of civics and history. Teachers report feeling pressured to "teach to the test" rather than foster meaningful engagement with content (Fitchett and Heafner).
A Literacy Revolution: Why It Matters More Than Ever
Teaching reading comprehension as a set of discrete skills—finding the main idea, making inferences, and drawing conclusions— misses the mark. Comprehension doesn't happen in a vacuum. It depends on background knowledge and vocabulary, the building blocks of understanding.
Natalie Wexler, author of The Knowledge Gap, highlights how this approach fails students. In one study, students with prior knowledge of baseball significantly outperformed peers unfamiliar with the sport on a reading task, even when the "better readers" in the group lacked that knowledge. The takeaway? Comprehension is deeply tied to what students know before picking up the book (Wexler).
Civics education is one content area well suited to fill this knowledge gap and increase what students know. By teaching students about history, government, and democracy, civics provides the context and vocabulary they need to make sense of complex texts in school and beyond.
Civics Builds Better Readers, Thinkers, and Leaders
Civics education doesn't just make students better readers. It equips them with critical skills for navigating the modern world and participating in democracy. Words like justice, freedom, and legislation mean little to students who haven't encountered them meaningfully. Civics connects these abstract concepts to real-world events, helping students understand what they're reading—and why it matters.
Stories like the Boston Tea Party, the Civil Rights Movement, or debates over voting rights spark students' imaginations and encourage them to dig deeper. Research shows that engaged readers are better readers. A study by Recht and Leslie demonstrated how background knowledge enables students to connect with texts, improving both comprehension and retention.
Civics education emphasizes inquiry and analysis, preparing students to think critically about the world around them. Programs like Stanford University's Reading Like a Historian have shown how document-based questions help students evaluate sources, analyze evidence, and draw connections to modern challenges. Joel Breakstone, director of the Stanford History Education Group, explains, "The great power of history education is its ability to simultaneously develop knowledge and literacy."
Civics also fosters leadership skills by encouraging collaboration. One teacher working with the Bill of Rights Institute, a WWRF grantee, noted, "This is an opportunity to get students talking face to face, using cards with vocabulary and concepts [that] force them to collaborate and compromise."
Civics turns passive readers into informed citizens by teaching students to analyze primary sources, question information, and engage in debates. It equips them to combat misinformation, evaluate media critically, and actively participate in democratic processes.
Without strong civics education, we risk a future where citizens struggle to tell fact from fiction, fail to participate in elections, or cannot hold leaders accountable. Democracy may not survive if its youngest citizens are left unprepared.
WWRF: Restoring Civics to Build Better Readers and Leaders
WWRF is committed to reversing the decline in civics education through innovative programs and strategic partnerships. By funding innovative programs, resources, and teacher training, WWRF aims to rebuild civics education into a meaningful and engaging part of the K-12 curriculum. Here's how we aim to help:
Partnership with Bill of Rights Institute (BRI)
WWRF funds BRI programs that combine interactive lessons, games, and primary source analysis. Through this partnership, WWRF ensures students have access to engaging, content-rich civics education. BRI's programs use:
Primary Source Analysis: Students interact with foundational documents like the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights to build their knowledge of American history and democracy.
Interactive Videos: Dynamic storytelling helps make historical events and democratic principles relatable and memorable.
Digital Games and Simulations: Gamified tools, such as role-playing games that simulate historical decision-making, keep students engaged while fostering critical thinking skills.
BRI resources have reached over 10 million student learning hours. Teachers report significant improvements in student engagement, critical thinking, and collaboration. One teacher noted, "What I really feel will benefit us in the long run, especially, is getting our students to have a conversation with each other and to discuss things."
Making Civics Fun Through Interactive Tools
WWRF supports programs that use tools like games and simulations to make civics more engaging. Students participate in mock elections, write legislation, and debate policies, building critical thinking, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Recognizing the importance of engagement, WWRF funds gamified civics curricula that bring democracy and history to life. These programs:
Use interactive platforms that allow students to participate in mock elections, write legislation, or debate historical events.
Emphasize teamwork, problem-solving, and communication—key skills for academic success and civic engagement.
Piloting Programs in Underserved Schools
WWRF is launching pilot programs in low-income districts to ensure that all students—not just those in well-funded schools—have access to high-quality civics education. These initiatives include training, engaging resources, and measurable outcomes.
Supporting Teachers
WWRF invests in professional development for teachers, helping them feel confident and prepared to teach civics and history. This includes:
Training teachers to use primary sources effectively in the classroom.
Providing resources and lesson plans that integrate civics with literacy instruction, creating cross-disciplinary learning opportunities.
Your Civic Duty: Unlock Literacy and Leadership Skills
Civics education is the key to literacy, leadership, and democracy. Here's how you can help:
Advocate: Contact your local school board and ask how much instructional time is spent on civics and history.
Volunteer: Share resources like iCivics, the Bill of Rights Institute, or the National Constitution Center with schools or community groups.
Donate: Support organizations that bring civics education to life in classrooms nationwide.
Madeline's story is just one of many. If civics isn't your passion, find ways to introduce other content, like the arts and social sciences, in the classroom. Imagine if every student had the chance to connect with history, democracy, and their role in shaping the future.
It's our civic duty to make this a reality.
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Works Cited
Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Future of Civics Education Policy. 2024. https://media.carnegie.org/filer_public/22/95/2295320e-52f4-4653-868d-38c362c64f5d/carnegie_civics_policy_2024.pdf.
Center on Education Policy. Instructional Time in Elementary Schools: A Closer Look at Changes for Specific Subjects. 2008. https://www.academia.edu/97304353/Instructional_Time_in_Elementary_Schools_A_Closer_Look_at_Changes_for_Specific_Subjects?uc-sb-sw=37469782
Fitchett, Paul G., and Scott Heafner. "A National Perspective on the Effects of High-Stakes Testing and Standardization on Elementary Social Studies Marginalization." Theory & Research in Social Education, vol. 38, no. 1, 2010, pp. 114–130. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254336543
Recht, Donna R., and Lauren Leslie. "Effect of Prior Knowledge on Good and Poor Readers' Memory of Text." Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 80, no. 1, 1988, pp. 16–20. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232584848
Stanford University. "Changing the Course of History." https://ed.stanford.edu/news/changing-history-course.
Wexler, Natalie. The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System—and How to Fix It. Avery, 2019. https://nataliewexler.com/books/the-knowledge-gap/.
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