Curriculum Educating for American Democracy Educating for American Democracy (EAD) is the primary inspiration behind Civic Learning Threads. Spools and Threads There are common threads of civic understandings, essential vocabulary and ‘big ideas’ that weave through each world history, U.S. history, economics, and government course. Vertical Articulation We believe common threads running through the social studies course curricula strengthen prior learning and ‘primer learning’.