Sebastian (a lady) Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Does anyone have any interesting books, websites or activities for helping their kids understand the political season? We had a great conversation with our kids a month ago that started with one asking why one candidate said something about himself it was so different from what the other candidate said about him. Morphed into a conversation about tax rates and how fairness often depends on point of view. Topics that would be cool: History of elections Electoral college How to watch a debate Political Cartoons Watching political advertisements History of political symbology (animals, colors, even uncle Sam and the Presidential Seal) Building the backstory/mythology of a candidate (for example war veteran or community organizer or log cabin president) And I suppose that I'd love to find a balanced, historical account of the sequence of events around the 2000 election. One resource that I've been enjoying is My History Can Beat Up Your Politics. There are some discussions on the website, but the real meat is in the podcasts. He uses examples from history to really put current events into context. Very well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted September 29, 2008 Author Share Posted September 29, 2008 Anyone care to take a break from discussing candidates in favor of sharing educational resources on politics and voting? Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Bear Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 ...an email I received from a friend re: her charter school. Parents, Below please find fantastic internet curriculum resources on the election, art lessons and free grammar and writing handbooks! 1) The presidential election is coming up very soon, and now is a great time to help students understand the difference between the popular vote and how votes are counted in the Electoral College system. Please take a few minutes to review the links below. This first link includes a video that explains the Electoral College clearly and with excellent visuals. http://freetech4teachers.blogspot.com/2008/09/electoral-college-teaching-resources.html Electoral College http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/socialstudies/Vote2004/electoral_college.html Elections, Electoral College Elementary and Secondary http://www.pbs.org/elections/kids/educators.html High School Lesson Plan on the Electoral College: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/3468 For grades 3-8 http://www.teachervision.fen.com/elections/lesson-plan/3246.html I haven't looked at the sites yet, but she's always good for resources. :D Hope they're helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 http://www.congressforkids.net/Elections_electoralcollege.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted September 29, 2008 Author Share Posted September 29, 2008 The National Archives has lesson plans and worksheets for historical documents. Todays political cartoons and ads are tomorrows historical artifacts. The analysis sheets can even be typed in online and then printed, so you could list the symbols in a cartoon, or the phrases in a document that you wanted your kids to pay special attention to. Archives Teaching With Documents section also has a few election related lessons: Tally of the 1824 Electoral College Vote Political Cartoons Illustrating Progressivism and the Election of 1912 Woman Suffrage and the 19th Amendment FDR's First Inaugural Address They even have an inagural quiz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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