Election 2004: Materials for Teachers, Grades 1-12

Posted by on October 8, 2004

[posted from Public Education Network newsblast]

TEACHERS URGED TO BRING 2004 ELECTION INTO THE CLASSROOM

A new web-based resource for teachers will help bring the 2004 elections into classrooms nationwide. “Growing Voters and Election 2004: Complete Materials for Teachers, Grades 1-12,” includes free downloadable lesson plans, activities, websites, rubrics and more. Any teacher can access the curriculum online. Teachers will find a broad range of original, ready-to-use lesson plans and activity-based curricular materials designed to help them integrate the 2004 election immediately into their classrooms. Units include one in which students mount a “Civic Lemonade Stand,” another in which they research and produce Why Vote pamphlets and set up voter information/registration tables in their communities, and others in which students learn graphing skills by plotting poll results. The Growing Voters curriculum was developed and compiled by classroom teachers from around the country under the direction of Lesley University Professor Jo-Anne Hart. All of the materials are organized around essential questions, accompanied by well-developed rubrics and aligned to national standards. The units can be used in parts or as a whole and are designed to foster collaboration within and between classes, grades, schools, districts and states. In addition to the lesson plans, the site also contains a list of links to free, fully vetted web-based resources that teachers and students will find valuable in teaching and learning about the 2004 election. The technology required for these lessons and activities is fairly basic: Internet access, and basic Microsoft Office tools such as Word, PowerPoint and spreadsheets.

http://www.lesley.edu/election04