FIREWORKS250

Ignite the Spark of America's Founding – Join FIREWORKS250!

Celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation with evidence-based lessons, professional learning, and student activities that foster independence, reflection, and engagement in civics and literacy. Get stipends, free resources, and join the celebration!

We are inviting public school grade 5 teachers to participate in the Spring 2026 rollout. While all teachers who register will have access to the materials, the first 180 grade 5 teachers to register will receive participation stipends after completing all the training activities. Teachers will receive a stipend of $1,000 each, and schools with at least 2 teachers who complete participation activities will receive a gift card of $500. In addition, participating teachers will have the chance to earn an additional $500 stipend by attending all three days of the 2026 summer symposium. All resources will be made available to all registrants for free. New teachers will be selected each year for participation stipends. Registration ends December 15, 2025

America’s 250th anniversary is a special moment in our nation’s history. It calls for a celebration, a deepening of our knowledge of the nation’s founding, and a recommitment to the founding principles articulated in the founding documents. To that end, the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) and the Institute for Governance and Civics (IGC) at Florida State University have developed the FIREWORKS250 initiative (Fostering Independence, Reflection, and Engagement through Wide-Reaching Outreach, Revolutionary Knowledge, and Student-Led Scholarship for America’s 250th Anniversary). Together, we have developed a program to deliver high-quality professional learning that will increase historical content knowledge and enhance teaching strategies. Through these efforts, we will commemorate the nation’s founding and enhance civics and literacy instruction throughout the state of Florida.

FIREWORKS250 will include 22 evidence-based lessons over three years, virtual professional learning seminars to introduce these lessons, an essay contest with supporting podcasts for students in years 2 and 3, and an annual summer symposium for interested teachers in Tallahassee.

FIREWORKS250 Evidence-based Lessons

The FIREWORKS250 lessons will align to Florida’s civics standards and four evidenced-based practices for improving adolescent literacy: (1) provide explicit vocabulary instruction, (2) provide direct and explicit comprehension strategy instruction, (3) provide opportunities for extended discussion of text meaning and interpretation, and (4) increase student motivation and engagement in literacy learning. The lessons will use primary sources from the National Archives (e.g., Preamble to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence) and supporting materials developed by scholars (e.g., essays and videos from the National Constitution Center) to ensure historical accuracy and engagement.

FIREWORKS250 Chats

In 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt introduced the Fireside Chats to communicate complex policies in a relatable, conversational manner, fostering civic engagement. FIREWORKS250 chats will modernize this approach using webinars. Delivered in a conversational format with expert-led discussions, the chats will make civic content accessible for teachers and students using evidence-based lessons and associated resources. There will be 22 chats (7 in year 1, 9 in year 2, 6 in year 3) for teachers provided in a four-part structure: (1) Build knowledge independently using the lesson resources; (2) View a webinar on applying the evidence-based lesson in a podcast-style discussion led by FCRR experts; (3) Reflect on the lesson’s teaching strategies; and (4) Try out a lesson component with students and submit an individual reflection.

Part 1: Build Knowledge

An extensive collection of primary sources and history resources will be used to immerse participants in the historical and civic context for each of the 22 lessons and will include explorations of primary sources from the National Archives, such as the full text of the Declaration of Independence, excerpts from the U.S. Constitution, or the Bill of Rights, and other history resources. These resources will develop a robust understanding of historical and civic content for teaching each lesson plan.

Part 2: Collaborate with Experts

FCRR will lead a 1-hour asynchronous webinar to introduce each evidence-based lesson plan and learn to apply FCRR’s reading strategies to civic content. Guidance will be provided on integrating reading strategies, such as explicit vocabulary instruction, with primary sources and other history resources.

Part 3: Reflect

Participants will individually plan for implementing at least one component of the evidence-based lesson plan with students.

Part 4: Teach and Submit Individual Reflection

Participants will implement one component of the evidence-based lesson in their grade 5 classrooms and then submit a brief individual reflection. The reflection will address four prompts, such as (1) How did students engage with the lesson’s civic content? (2) Which literacy strategy did you implement? (3) Did the lesson enhance civic understanding? Why or why not? (4) What adaptations will you make for the future?

FIREWORKS250 Revolutionary Writers Essay Competition with supporting podcasts for students

Each model lesson will have a writing component that will include an essay prompt. We will develop a FIREWORKS250 essay competition that will allow students to build on the essays written in their class as a part of fostering civic and literacy skills. Students will compete at the class and state levels for prizes each spring ($50 per class and multiple $250 prizes at the state level). Each participating class will select its best essay through a blind competition. FIREWORKS250 will take advantage of the advances in AI and animation software to create short podcasts for students that align with the lessons and motivate the essay prompts through historical figures like Paul Revere.

FIREWORKS250 Annual Summer Symposium

All 180 teacher participants will be invited to attend the annual summer symposium in Tallahassee with a $500 stipend and hotel expenses paid. The symposium will engage participants in primary source documents, such as the Federalist Papers, George Washington’s Farewell Address, and the personal correspondence of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. These documents are invaluable resources for understanding the nation’s founding and the principles the founders sought to enshrine in the Constitution. It’s an opportunity to attend an immersive three-day symposium to enrich content knowledge regarding the nation’s founding and to develop skills in leading seminar style discussions with their students and lesson plan ideas to incorporate founding documents in their classrooms.