High School Curriculum

Close Up complements classroom civic education by bringing it to life so students can experience the material first-hand. Our programs make extensive use of case studies, simulations, role-playing activities, and other demonstrations of the processes of government.

In an effort to help students learn from each other and develop the dispositions essential for democratic self-government, our PIs use specially designed instructional materials to support the facilitation of student discussion, current issues, and peer-to-peer engagement in small group work and simulations.

Close Up helps students build skills of effective citizenship by presenting them with real-world problems of controversial public policy issues. Our PIs are trained to present these issues in a multi-partisan manner, ensuring that students explore all sides of an issue before civilly debating and fairly evaluating the issue.

Close Up’s program schedule is thoughtfully designed to ensure that each site visit builds upon previous activities and discussions. For example, before visiting Capitol Hill to meet with elected officials, students play the roles of representatives, committee chairpersons, and lobbyists in our Mock Congress, which provides them with first-hand knowledge of the structures and processes of Congress.