← Convention Pilot Kit

Civics & Ethics Labs — Starter Curriculum

Session-by-session outlines for a pilot cohort. Junior / Teen / Adult tracks for each lab. Non-partisan, ethics-first, mentor-led. Working draft — adapt to your group; minor-facing materials clear counsel before use.

How to read this

Each lab has three tracks (Junior ~8–12, Teen ~13–17, Adult/educator) and four ~60–75-minute sessions. Every session lists an objective, the activity, materials/tie-ins to the portfolio, and a takeaway. Run sessions in order; each builds on the last.

Shared rules (all sessions): ethics module first; age-appropriate; supervised; two-adult rule for minors; non-partisan (teach how to evaluate, not what to conclude).

CIVICS LAB

How civic institutions work — and how to tell what's real in a noisy feed.

Junior track (~8–12)

S1 — What is a source? Objective: understand that information comes from somewhere, and sources differ. Activity: sort everyday claims into "who said it?" — a friend, a sign, a video, a book. Tie-ins: Fact Guides (kid version). Takeaway: "Before I believe it, I ask where it came from."

S2 — Spot the Fakery (game) Objective: tell real from made-up/manufactured. Activity: game round — real headline vs. fake; discuss the tells (all caps, "everyone says," no source). Tie-ins: ORIGIN Influence module (junior-safe examples). Takeaway: "Lots of loud posts isn't the same as true."

S3 — How we decide together Objective: basic civics — how a group/community makes decisions. Activity: run a mini class-vote on a fun question; talk rules, fairness, taking turns. Takeaway: "Communities have rules so decisions are fair."

S4 — Make a mini fact-guide Objective: create and present. Activity: pick a simple topic, find two trustworthy sources, make a one-page guide, share it. Takeaway: "I can make something true and useful."

Teen track (~13–17)

S1 — How civic institutions work Objective: map local vs. state vs. federal, branches, and where citizens actually plug in. Activity: trace a real local decision from idea to outcome; identify participation points. Takeaway: "I know where a citizen's voice actually enters the process."

S2 — Trace a claim to the source Objective: lateral reading and primary-source checking. Activity: take a viral claim, find the primary document, compare to how it was reported. Tie-ins: Fact Guides; Know the Source explainer. Takeaway: "I can follow a claim back to where it started."

S3 — Recognizing coordinated influence Objective: understand astroturfing, distraction, and manufactured trends (age-appropriate). Activity: analyze anonymized examples for timing, sameness, and single-source virality. Tie-ins: ORIGIN Influence module. Takeaway: "Engagement counts aren't public opinion."

S4 — Build a local explainer Objective: apply it. Activity: build a short, non-partisan explainer or civic tool on a local issue; present. Takeaway: "I can inform people without spinning them."

Adult / educator track

S1 — Institutions & productive participation Objective: a working model of civic processes and how to engage constructively. Activity: case walkthrough; map real participation levers.

S2 — Advanced source evaluation Objective: lateral reading, provenance, and evaluating evidence quality. Activity: fact-check a complex claim as a group; document the method.

S3 — The information environment Objective: how influence operations shape feeds (from Know the Source). Activity: discuss mechanics and defenses; separate skepticism from nihilism.

S4 — Teaching it forward Objective: run these sessions yourself. Activity: practice-facilitate a junior/teen session; get feedback. Takeaway: educators leave able to deliver the Civics Lab.

ETHICS LAB

Build and use technology responsibly. Provenance, consent, and child-safety by design. This is the throughline every learner touches first.

Junior track (~8–12)

S1 — Fair, honest, kind online Objective: basic digital ethics. Activity: scenarios — "what's the kind/honest thing here?" role-play good choices. Takeaway: "How I act online matters."

S2 — Ask first (consent, simply) Objective: permission and boundaries. Activity: "is it okay to share/post/use this?" sorting game. Takeaway: "I ask before I use or share other people's stuff."

S3 — Where things come from Objective: provenance, simply. Activity: trace where a photo/app/story came from; why it matters. Tie-ins: ORIGIN (kid-level). Takeaway: "Knowing where something comes from helps me trust it."

S4 — My build code Objective: draft simple personal rules. Activity: each kid writes 3 rules they'll follow when making/posting things. Takeaway: "I have my own rules for doing the right thing."

Teen track (~13–17)

S1 — Rules that protect people Objective: responsible disclosure and authorized use — why the rules exist. Activity: dilemma cards; debate the responsible move. Tie-ins: Ethics & Authorized-Use Agreement. Takeaway: "Skill without ethics is a liability."

S2 — Privacy & your data Objective: what you share, who gets it, and why it matters. Activity: audit an app's permissions; discuss "provable, not promissory" privacy. Takeaway: "I decide what I give up, on purpose."

S3 — Provenance thinking Objective: know where your tools, models, and information come from. Activity: use ORIGIN to see model/source origins; discuss what changes when you know. Tie-ins: ORIGIN console; Know the Source. Takeaway: "I check the source of my tools, not just my facts."

S4 — Dilemmas + personal build code Objective: apply judgment. Activity: work real dilemmas (privacy, disclosure, child-safety); write a personal build code. Takeaway: "I know the standards I hold myself to."

Adult / builder track

S1 — Ethics of building Objective: child-safety by design; privacy provable, not promissory. Activity: red-team a product idea for harm; design safeguards in.

S2 — Authorized use & disclosure in practice Objective: operationalize the rules. Activity: write a responsible-disclosure and authorized-use policy for a real project.

S3 — Provenance & engineered content Objective: what happens when people engage manufactured content, and how to build things that don't exploit that. Activity: analyze a feed mechanic; propose an ethical alternative. Tie-ins: ORIGIN; Influence module.

S4 — Write a team build code Objective: leave with something usable. Activity: draft a build code for your team/org; commit to applying it. Takeaway: builders leave with a standard they'll actually use.

Materials checklist (pilot)

Notes

Gates: McAuliffe (names/marks) · counsel review of minor-facing materials · child-safety-first throughout.

Working draft — clears McAuliffe (IP/TM) and Olson (commercial) before public use.