Students at Westfield Middle School are learning how government operates with the Civic Mirror Project, in which students become citizens of a hypothetical country that they build on their own.
Eighth grader Cyle Ginsberg finds that the project is an effective way to learn about governments and how they are run.
“It’s a lot more involved than reading from a textbook and doing homework,” Ginsberg said. “It’s a lot easier to learn from actually doing something than reading about it.”
Ginsberg was in WMS social studies Stephanie Walker’s classes, which uses the Civic Mirror project to learn about how government operates.
“They turn the students into citizens of a country that they build on their own,” said Ginsburg’s social studies teacher Stephanie Walker. She used Civic Mirror for the first time this year. “The students come out with an actual identity, flag and geography of their country. The government is based on the U.S. Constitution, which is the curriculum for eighth grade.”
Students elect a senate, house of representatives and a president. They use laws for budgeting and tax levies.
“They appoint a judge so they learn about the separation of powers and checks and balances,” Walker said. “It’s really a microcosm simulation of the United States.”
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