K-12 Teaching Resources

 

The EU Center of Excellence actively seeks to disseminate and increase knowledge about the EU for teachers in high schools and at the college level.

We participate annually in the Wisconsin Council of Social Studies conference, hold workshops for teachers interested in bringing the EU into the high-school classroom, and actively work with the state of Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction to promote EU awareness in education.

If you are a teacher or a student who would like to know more about how to integrate the EU into your teaching or learning, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Resources for the classroom

There are already many useful resources connecting the EU and the classroom. Please see the hyperlinks below to reach some of these. 
  • EU Lesson Plans (Grades 9-12). A modular series of 10 European Union lesson plans designed to support History and Social Studies curricula at the high school level (and can be adapted to Middle School). Each lesson can be used either as a stand-alone unit or as part of the series. Developed by educators, the lesson plans are continually updated to reflect new developments in the European Union and are accompanied by PowerPoint presentations. Download the promotional flyer. The lesson plans are available at www.eurunion.org.

  • EU Simulation Modules. These modules, created by the UW-Madison EUCE, are intended for use in grades 6-12. On each simulation website you will find materials for holding an in-class simulation of the EU policy-making process. Material is geared towards middle and high-school levels, but may well be used at the college level as a general introduction to the EU. Two modules have been developed so far:

    - The EU Chocolate Directive

    The chocolate simulation is a novel way to teach students about the European Union and some of the important issues its members must deal with as the EU becomes increasingly integrated. Student teams represent a member country, develop a position regarding chocolate regulation and scheme to reach the best outcome for their country.

    - Parental Leave Policy in the European Union

    For more information about either of these modules, please contact the Outreach Coordinator.
  • Teaching Resources from the European Union Studies Association (EUSA)

Tips for doing research in Brussels

If you are interested in onsite research, Mark Pollack has written an excellent Practical Guide to EU Research in Brussels

Online resources

For more in-depth research on the European Union from the comfort of your home or office, the following sites are a great place to start:
  • The UW-Madison's Memorial Library has a terrific European Union Guide

  • European Research Papers Archive

  • EuroInternet (Information Resources Related to European Integration on the Internet)

  • On-line Archive of European Integration http://aei.pitt.edu
    "An electronic repository and archive for research materials on the topic of European integration and unification. The AEI collects two types of materials: certain types of independently-produced research materials and official European Community/European Union documents."