RECOMMENDED RESOURCESCLASSROOM ACTIVITIES If you use any of these resources, let us know at #EducateToParticipate Any Elections Middle School State and Local Elections High School Voter Information & Registration Standards and Research Studies ANY ELECTIONS Mikva Challenge's Elections in Action The Elections in Action curriculum engages students in learning about campaigns and elections by having them explore their own ideologies, learn about the candidates and get involved in electoral politics through a variety of scaffolded actions. NCSS' Digital Library The teachers’ Digital Library has many different resources for teaching about elections and voting. The C3 Framework provides significant opportunity to discuss active and engaged citizenship. NCSS provides many resources on how to best implement the framework and examples of successful use. Facing History and Ourselves' Fostering Civil Discourse Fostering Civil Discourse is a guide for teachers on how to create meaningful classroom discussion on difficult topics and current events. This guide provides activities and tips for implementing effective teaching strategies and navigating partisan politics. Other pieces by Facing History and Ourselves on voting include Should the Voting Age be Lowered? and Should Non-Citizens be Allowed to Vote in Local Elections? NAMLE's Core Principles of Media Literacy Education The National Association for Media Literacy Education's core principles outline the central goals and methods for effective teaching on media literacy. NAMLE provides numerous resources for teaching on elections and civics that are in line with these principles on their website. iCivics' Activate People make the greatest impact on their local community when they activate! In this game, you'll use your passion to campaign for an issue. But keep an eye on your resources as you grow your organization from a few friends to a national movement! (... and don't forget to engage your elected leaders to raise support for your cause.) Generation Citizen's Beyond the Ballot With this two-class lesson plan, channel students' energy around federal elections into an exploration of their local political communities and their roles within those communities, even before students have the opportunity to vote. Mikva Challenge's 5 Lesson Plans on Elections Mikva Challenge put together a collection of five lessons to teach about elections. These lessons are designed to give students the chance to "do civics." These lessons were created for high school students, but can be modified to fit grades 6-12 as part of the full, adaptable Elections in Action curriculum. STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIONS PBS NewsHour Extra #MonitoringTheMidterms Classroom Series Check out NewsHour Extra's #MonitoringTheMidterms classroom series for the latest on the 2018 Elections. Lessons in this series include Do Midterm Elections Matter?, Down-ballot Voting and the Role of Local and State Elections, To Vote or Not to Vote, and Decoding Media Bias. Additional lessons can be found on the NewsHour Extra website and under the #MonitoringTheMidterms tag. Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute's Midterm Elections Matter Midterm Elections Matter is a lesson plan designed for grades 8-12 to teach students about midterm elections and how they work. This lesson includes information for all the different kinds of elections that take place during the midterms and why these races are just as important as the presidential election. MIDDLE SCHOOL iCivics' Represent Me We're voting on a lot of legislators during the midterms, but do we really understand what they do? Take on the role of a legislator from a diverse constituency. Your goal is to consider your voters' backgrounds before deciding what bill to sponsor in Congress. Can you meet everyone's needs and get re-elected? iCivics' Voting Matters Kick off the election season with this activity designed to teach students how registration and voting work in their state. Remember that National Voter Registration Day is in late September (September 25, 2018). Inspire your students to encourage their loved ones to register to vote with the flyer maker exercise. |