KIDS VOTING USA K–2 CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

KIDS VOTING USA

K–2

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

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K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

KIDS VOTING USA

1ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

INTRODUCTION TO THEME

The intent of this theme is to educate students about elections, from gaining an appreciation of the power of

voting to studying the candidates and issues to understanding the registration process and participating in an

election. The theme’s activities fall under four main learning objectives:

• Students will develop an appreciation for the power and influence of voting.

• Students will learn how to study the candidates and issues relevant to an election.

• Students will understand what is involved in the registration and voting process.

• Students will learn how to stay involved with civic affairs after an election.

GENERAL ACTIVITIES

CONCEPT 1: MY VOTE GIVES ME POWER

The Odd Vote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Voting Chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Yes Or No Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

CONCEPT 2: I STUDY THE CANDIDATES AND ISSUES

Which Hand? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Three Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Election Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

CONCEPT 3: I REGISTER AND VOTE

Kids Voting Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Voting Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Marking A Ballot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Pencil Flags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

CONCEPT 4: I CONTINUE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Marking The Winners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

The Wish Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

OVERARCHING QUESTIONS

Questions for Concept 1: My Vote Gives Me Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Questions for Concept 2: I Study the Candidates and Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Questions for Concept 3: I Register and Vote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Questions for Concept 4: I Continue to Make a Difference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

LITERATURE CONNECTION ACTIVITY

Duck For President by Doreen Cronin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

CULMINATING ACTIVITY

I Go To The Polls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

2ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

My Vote Gives Me Power

OBJECTIVE

Students learn how to vote and implement

the results.

MATERIALS

No materials are necessary for this activity.

GET READY

 Be prepared to create a tally chart on either

the whiteboard/chalkboard or a flip chart.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Ask your students, Is there only one way to

vote? How do people vote for the President of

the United States? How do you think people

voted before there were machines? How do we

sometimes vote in class?

 Say, Let’s vote in an odd way today.

 Demonstrate these three ways to vote:

 Agree: wave both your hands in the air

 No opinion: Fold your arms across

your chest

 Disagree: put both thumbs down and

stamp your feet

 Make statements to vote on based on the

interests of your students, such as: Candy should

be outlawed. School should be half a day.

 Invite students to make statements to be voted

on, like: I like spinach. Red is my favorite color.

 Conclude by voting on a statement that can be

tallied and implemented immediately, such as:

We are going to vote on whether to have math

early in the day or later.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Do you like voting this way? Why or why not?

# Did your friends vote the same way you did?

Does this matter?

# Are there times when a vote should be private.

Why?

# On the final vote, did your vote give you any

power? How?

MORE!

Vote, tally, and implement as many decisions

as possible during the week. Help your

students understand the power of their votes

through action and discussion.

VOTE QUOTE

“By mutual confidence and mutual aid great

deeds are done, and great discoveries made.”

– Homer, The Illiad

THE ODD VOTE

(15 minutes)

3ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

My Vote Gives Me Power

OBJECTIVE

Students vote, tally, and implement the vote.

MATERIALS

Construction paper; Yes/No Sign handout; tape

GET READY

 Cut a small strip of construction paper to

make a link for each child. Each strip of

construction paper will be a link in a chain.

 Cut apart the Yes/No Sign handout.

 Pin the Yes sign and the No sign to a bulletin

board so you can attach the students’ links as

they vote.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Say to the children, Have you and your friends

ever had to make a decision about something

that was hard to agree on? Maybe you were

deciding what to watch on TV or where to eat.

How did you finally make the decision? Voting

is a fair way to make decisions.

 Help the class choose an issue to vote on (such

as snacks, activities, or recess time) that can be

implemented immediately. State the issue as a

question to be answered “Yes” or “No.”

 Give your students the strips of paper.

(You may ask them to write their names on

them or you can explain the concept of a

secret ballot where voting is confidential.)

 Explain that one link on a voting chain

represents one vote.

 Let each student link his/her “vote” under the

Yes sign or No sign.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Is the longest chain under the Yes sign or

under the No sign? Let’s count.

# Can you see your own voting link?

# Would the chain look different if you had

not voted?

# What might happen if you could vote as many

times as you wished rather than once?

# What do the results of our vote mean to us?

# Was this a fair decision?

MORE!

The class could vote on other issues during the

week in this way or in others.

VOTING CHAIN

(20-30 minutes)

4ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

YES/NO SIGN

VOTING CHAIN

YES

5ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

My Vote Gives Me Power

OBJECTIVE

Students vote and tally the results.

MATERIALS

Yes & No Cards handout; popsicle sticks

GET READY

 Copy and cut out the Yes card and the No card

from the Yes & No Cards handout.



Attach the two cards to popsicle sticks, if desired.

INSTRUCTIONS

 As a class, brainstorm 10 to 15 statements that

can be judged with a vote of yes or no. Have

fun with this list. Some suggestions are:

I like broccoli. I like the color blue. I wish I

could fly. School should be all year round.

It was okay for Goldilocks to go inside the

bears’ house. All whale killing should be

stopped. There is too much violence on TV.

 Either designate a student leader or lead the

activity yourself.

 Announce the first issue to be voted on.

 Hold up the Yes sign and point to one side of

the room. Have students wishing to vote Yes

go to that side of the room.

 Hold up the No sign and point to the other

side of the room. Have students wishing to

vote No go to that side of the room.

 Continue to do the same thing for the rest of

the statements.

 Hold a final vote that can be implemented

directly such as, “We will do math next.”

 Tally each vote, write the results on the

blackboard, and implement the vote.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Did the same people vote “Yes” on every issue?

Did the same people vote “No?”

# Did any of your friends vote “Yes” when you

voted “No,” or “No” when you voted “Yes”?

How did that make you feel?

# Did you think about changing your vote to be

on the same side as a friend?

# Would you have voted differently if this had

been a secret ballot?

# Might a secret vote be important sometimes?

When?

# Which vote gave you power? What power did

it give you?

# How does voting give adults power?

MORE!

During the next week, vote as often as possible

on issues that can be implemented in the

classroom so students can see the direct

relationship between their votes and their lives.

YES OR NO GAME

(15-20 minutes)

6ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

YES & NO CARDS

YES OR NO GAME

YES

7ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

I Study the Candidates and Issues

OBJECTIVE

Students gather information before making

a decision.

MATERIALS

Small prizes, such as stickers or pieces of

candy (preferably something you can hide in

one hand)

GET READY

 Make sure you have the small prizes ready and

that there is enough for your entire class.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Say to your students, Each of you can guess

which one of my hands is holding a prize. You

will have a better chance at guessing correctly

if you ask for information first. Information

will help you make a better decision.

 Call your students one at a time to guess

which hand holds the prize.

 Ask each member of your class if they would

like some information. If they do, give a clue

such as: Choose the hand closest to the window

or The hand moving up and down is empty.

 Allow children who choose the wrong hand to

try again later.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Did information help you make a good choice?

# Can information help you make a good choice

when choosing a leader?

# Where can you find information about people

who want to be our leaders?

MORE!

Encourage students to bring in information

they find on the election such as newspaper

articles, pictures, cartoons, bumper stickers,

etc., and display them on a Kids Voting

bulletin board.

VOTE QUOTE

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a

state of civilization, it expects what was never

meant to be.” – Thomas Jefferson

WHICH HAND?

(15 minutes)

8ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

I Study the Candidates and Issues

OBJECTIVE

Students study each other carefully to improve

information-gathering skills.

MATERIALS

No materials are necessary for this activity.

GET READY

 Divide your students into teams of two.

 Have students in the pairs face each other.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Say to your students, Perhaps you have lost

some money or a toy in a room that you often

play in. When you did, you probably looked

around the room much more carefully than

ever before. When we need to, we can observe

or study a person or thing very carefully.

In this game you will practice observing

carefully. (All teams will play simultaneously.)

 Tell the students to look at each other carefully.

 When you say, Three changes, direct them to

turn back-to-back and make three changes in

their appearance: change their hair, untie their

shoelaces, tuck in their shirt, etc.

 When they have made the changes, say, Face

each other.

 Ask the students to identify the changes their

partners have made.

 Students can play several times, changing

partners occasionally.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Did you get better at observing another person?

# Do you think we should carefully observe a

person who wants to be our leader? Why?

# How can we get information about a person

who wants to be our leader?

# What information do we need to know about a

person who wants to be our leader?

# Who is currently looking to be our leader?

# What information do you have about them?

How can you find out more?

MORE!

Encourage your students to bring to class

any election paraphernalia they find. Ask

them to look in magazines, newspapers, and

mailed brochures. Pin this information to a

bulletin board.

THREE CHANGES

(15-20 minutes)

9ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

I Study the Candidates and Issues

OBJECTIVE

Students share election-oriented information

they gather from the media by constructing a

bulletin board of articles and pictures.

MATERIALS

Colored pencils and crayons; Election Bulletin

Board handout

GET READY

 Gather colored pencils and crayons.

 Prepare a bulletin board in the classroom that

can be used for election information.

 Prepare a note on the back of the Election

Bulletin Board handout to go home with the

children that explains the assignment: With

parents or guardians, each student will look for

one article or picture about the election, and

attach it to the paper. (Students may alter-

natively draw a picture about the election.)

 Sample note to families: Our class is making

a special Kids Voting bulletin board and each

student will help by attaching an article about

the election to this paper. Please help your

child to find an article or picture by the end

of the week. If you cannot find one together,

the student can draw a picture about the

election instead.

 Duplicate one handout for each student, with

the picture of people talking on one side and

the note to families on the other.

INSTRUCTIONS

 After you pass out the handout, ask the students

to write their names above the caption bubble.

 Look at the picture together. Say, People are

talking to each other in this picture. Who are

the people talking? (“a lady who is cleaning

her house,” “an old man,” etc.) Give your

students some time to color in the people.

 Say, Have you been hearing people talk about

the election at home or on television? One of

the most important things people can say

about the election is to remind each other:

“Vote!” Let’s write that word in our bubble so

it looks like everyone is saying it.

 Write V-O-T-E on the board for your students

to copy.

 Explain that the students can post their papers

on the Kids Voting bulletin board when there is

a picture/article about the election attached to it.

 Tell the students that the letter on the back of

the handout is asking their families to help

them find or draw a picture.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Where will you look for a picture about the

election? Who will help you to find one?

# If you can’t find a picture, what kind of picture

could you draw? (A ballot, a voter = person

holding a ballot, a candidate = person

running or office, etc.)

ELECTION BULLETIN BOARD

(5 minutes a day for two weeks)

10ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

ELECTION BULLETIN BOARD

11ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

I Register and Vote

OBJECTIVE

Students understand the importance of

registering to vote.

MATERIALS

Voter Registration Cards handout; Registration

Badges handout; lined paper

GET READY

 Copy enough Voter Registration Cards for your

students.

 Prepare three Registration Badges – cut them

out from the handout. If possible, print them

out on colored paper.

 Put two or three tables or desks together at the

front of the room.

 For more information, see “Elections” in

the Appendix.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Say to your students, Have you ever signed up

for swimming lessons or school? If so, you

probably had to go in before the first day of

class and sign up. Another word for signing up

is “registering.” Before you can vote you must

 Assign three students to be the registrars for the

class. Give each registrar a Registration Badge.

 Give each registrar a stack of Registration

Cards and a registration sheet. (The registra-

tion sheet could be a piece of lined paper

folded down the middle.) Have the registrars

sit at the desks/chairs you put together.

 Instruct the students to come to the

tables/desks three at a time to fill out their

Registration Cards and sign the registration

sheets. (Have the students sign their names on

the left side of the registration sheet.)

 Each student goes to one registrar who helps

them through the registration process, so it is

important that the registrars know how the

process works.

 Have the registrars switch roles with students

who have already registered so that they have a

chance to register.

 Tell your students that you will send the

Registration Cards home with them the day

before the Kids Voting election so they can

take them to the polls.

 Save the registration sheet for the Voting

Simulation activity.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Why do we register?

# What could happen if people voted without

registering?

MORE!

As an alternative to classroom registration,

help coordinate a school registration day for

both students and parents. Invite a deputy

registrar for parents and let students register

for the Kids Voting election at the same time.

KIDS VOTING REGISTRATION

(20-30 minutes)

12ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

VOTER REGISTRATION CARDS

KIDS VOTING REGISTRATION

Voter Registration

Student

Teacher

School

Voter Registration

Student

Teacher

School

Voter Registration

Student

Teacher

School

Voter Registration

Student

Teacher

School

13ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

REGISTRATION BADGES

KIDS VOTING REGISTRATION

14ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

I Register and Vote

OBJECTIVE

Students vote in a simulated polling place to

become familiar with the voting process.

MATERIALS

Polling Place Diagram handout; Ballots handout;

material for a ballot box and voting booth

GET READY

 Choose an issue that will impact the students

rather quickly. For instance, vote on what to

play at recess or how to determine seating or

something fun like, What tastes best:

a chocolate chip or peanut butter cookie?

 Prepare ballots from the Ballots handout or

determine a way to vote on blank pieces of paper.

 Prepare a simple ballot box and voting booth.

 Arrange a corner of the classroom to resemble

a polling place as shown in the diagram.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Explain the duties of the precinct workers

(see handout) and assign students to role play

the part of the workers. Seat them as shown

in the diagram.

 Give one of the judges the registration sheet

derived from the Kids Voting Registration

activity.

 Give the clerks lined paper to record the voters

as they come in.

 Hand the ballots to the other judge.

 Seat the marshal by the ballot box.

 Ask a student to demonstrate by casting the

first vote.

 Let each student go through the voting process.

 Instruct the marshal to tally and announce

the vote.

 Implement the vote.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Who can go into a polling place?

# Have you ever gone with your parents? If yes,

what was it like?

# How do adults know where to go to vote?

# If they don’t know, how can they find out?

# Can everybody vote?

# Have you voted at the Kids Voting booth

before? What was it like?

# Where will you go to cast your Kids Voting

vote this election?

# Are there any rules in a polling place?

# What do you think are good manners for a

polling place?

VOTING SIMULATION

(30 minutes)

15ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

POLLING PLACE DIAGRAM

VOTING SIMULATION

At the polls there are usually: one inspector; two judges — one

Republican, one Democrat; two clerks — one Republican, one

Democrat; and one marshal.

As you enter you will generally meet:

A judge with the register, a list containing the names of

registered voters in the precinct, who will ask your name,

find it in the register, and ask you to sign beside it

Two clerks, one for each party, who will add your name to a

list to witness that you have voted

Another judge, who will hand you your ballot, and help you

understand how to cast your ballot

A voting booth

The marshal, who will take your ballot and place it in the

ballot box

The inspector, who oversees the polling place and assigns all

the workers their duties

Poll workers have other duties. For

instance the marshal makes sure that

the law is kept. She watches that no one

campaigns within 150 feet of the polls

and she checks to see that everyone in

line when the poll closes gets a chance

to vote.

You, the voter, will:

1. Sign in by writing your name in

the register

2. Take a ballot from a judge

3. Go to the booth and vote

4. Return your ballot to the marshal

16ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

BALLOTS

VOTING SIMULATION

BALLOT

VOTE FOR ONE

BALLOT

VOTE FOR ONE

BALLOT

VOTE FOR ONE

BALLOT

VOTE FOR ONE

BALLOT

VOTE FOR ONE

BALLOT

VOTE FOR ONE

17ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

I Register and Vote

OBJECTIVE

Students study and mark sample ballots.

MATERIALS

Sample Kids Voting Ballot

GET READY

 Copy a sample Kids Voting Ballot for each

student. (If you have not received them, check

with your Kids Voting contact person.)

INSTRUCTIONS

 Study the ballot with your students.

Identify the pictures and issues you feel

they can understand.

 Ask your students to pretend they are at the

polls and have them mark their ballots.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# How did you decide who to vote for?

# How do grown-ups decide who to vote for?

# Where do they get their information?

# What can you do if you don’t know who to

vote for? (Ask for help from a parent or

guardian; listen to the commercials on TV

or the radio; etc.)

# Where will you go to mark a Kids Voting ballot?

MORE!

Encourage your students to take their ballots

home and discuss the candidates and issues

with their families.

VOTE QUOTE

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a

state of civilization, it expects what was never

meant to be.” – Thomas Jefferson

MARKING A BALLOT

(15-20 minutes)

18ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

I Register and Vote

PENCIL FLAGS

(20-30 minutes)

OBJECTIVE

Students advocate voting.

MATERIALS

Pencil Flag Format handout; old newspapers

and magazines (optional); scissors, tape,

and glue

GET READY

 Copy and cut a Pencil Flag Format for

each student.



Gather old newspapers and magazines (optional).

 Gather scissors, tape, and glue.

 Write the word VOTE on the board.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Tell your students that they can help our

country by reminding others to vote. Explain

that this project will help them remind others.

 Instruct your students to find and cut the

letters V, O, T, and E from magazines and

newspapers (or use the letters on the format).

 Help them paste the letters on the flag format.

They can then add designs and color.

 Help them tape/fasten the flags to their pencils.

 Have your students use the flags at school for a

few days, then tell them to take them home to

remind adults to vote. They could stick the

pencil flags in a plant or flower arrangement

(with permission) or just use them as pencils.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# When is election day?

# What word is on your flag?

# Why should we vote?

# Who can you remind to vote with your

pencil flag?

# Who can you remind to take you to vote?

MORE!

As a grade level or whole school project, have

classes make flags large enough to be read

from the street and hang them in front of the

school to remind the community to vote.

19ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

PENCIL FLAG FORMAT

PENCIL FLAGS

20ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

I Continue to Make a Difference

MARKING THE WINNERS

(5-10 minutes)

OBJECTIVE

Students monitor the returns to stay

politically active.

MATERIALS

Kids Voting Ballot

GET READY

 Prepare monitoring ballots by writing the

following on a sample Kids Voting Ballot:

Place a check by the candidate or issue that is

ahead at your bedtime. Circle the candidate or

issue that has won or is ahead just before you

leave for school.

 Make a copy of the monitoring ballot for

each student.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Read the instructions you wrote on the ballot

to the students.

 Instruct the students to take their monitoring

ballots home and watch the returns on TV.



Ask them to bring their ballots back the next day.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

For election day:

# Which candidates/issues do you think will win?

# How might you feel if a person you voted for

does not win?

# What can you do if a person you voted for does

not win?

For the day after elections:

# Who won? Who is the leader of our (country,

state, city, school board, etc.)?

# Why do you think they won?

# How can we support our leaders?

# Do you have any sad or happy feelings?

# Did the people at your house talk about the

elections? Would you like to share what

they said?

# Now that we have voted, how else can we help

our country?

MORE!

As a class, write a letter of congratulations to a

winning candidate or a letter of consolation to

a losing candidate. Let all the students sign

their names. Send it by e-mail if possible.

21ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

I Continue to Make a Difference

OBJECTIVE

Students make wishes for their country

regarding changes they would like to see.

MATERIALS

Star Cards handout; art supplies (crayons,

markers, etc.); yarn; a hole puncher; scissors

GET READY

 Find a large, bare branch and place it in a pot

filled with pebbles, or design a large tree out of

paper on the bulletin board. (Alternatively find

a bare tree outside for this activity.)

 Copy and cut apart a star card for each student.

 Gather: one 8-inch-long piece of string or yarn

for each student; crayons, markers, or colored

pencils; scissors; and a hole puncher.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Instruct your students to cut out the star card,

fold it in half, and color or decorate the cover.

 As they are working, ask them to think of a wish

they would like to come true for our country.

For example: I wish we could lower crime rates.

 Help them draw or write their wish on the

inside of the card and sign their names.

 Help them punch a hole in the corner and tie

string through the hole.

 Hold a ceremony so the students can tie their

cards to the tree. They may read or describe

their wishes as they place them on the tree or

students may discover the wishes on their own

at a later time.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Can wishes come true?

# How can our wishes for our country come true?

# Is there anything a young person can do to

help these wishes come true?

# Does this Kids Voting activity count as

helping? If so, why?

# If we practice self-discipline and patience in

our classroom, might that help?

# Can you think of anyone who had a wish or a

dream for our country and made it come true?

Tell us about it.

MORE!

Brainstorm and vote on a wish for our country

that your class can make come true, such as a

cleaner school or park. Work together to make

it happen!

THE WISH TREE

(30-45 minutes)

22ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

STAR CARDS

THE WISH TREE

“How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment.

We can start slowly changing the world. How lovely

that everyone great and small can make a contribution.”

– Anne Frank

“How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment.

We can start slowly changing the world. How lovely

that everyone great and small can make a contribution.”

– Anne Frank

23ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

MY VOTE GIVES ME POWER

# What is a vote?

# What does voting do?

# Does voting make a difference? How?

# What is an election?

# What is the purpose of an election?

# What power does voting have?

I STUDY THE CANDIDATES AND ISSUES

# What does it mean to study something?

# What is a candidate?

# What does a candidate hope to do?

# Do you know any candidates in this election?

# What is an issue?

# Can you give an example of an issue?

# What issues are important to you?

# Why is it important to study the candidates?

# Why is it important to study the issues?

I REGISTER AND VOTE

# What does it mean to register?

# What do you think you do when you register?

# Why is it important to register?

# Do you need to register before you vote?

# Why is it important to vote?

# What do you accomplish when you register and vote?

I CONTINUE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

# What does it mean to make a difference?

# Does voting make a difference?

# What else can you do to make a difference?

# Do candidates make promises? Can you give me an example?

# Do all candidates keep the promises they make once they are elected?

# What can you do to make sure that candidates keep their promises when they are elected?

# What do you think is important to do once an election is over?

OVERARCHING QUESTIONS

24ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

OBJECTIVE

Students investigate elections and the

voting experience.

MATERIALS

Duck For President - Doreen Cronin

PRE-READING ACTIVITY

 Have your students start thinking about the

story Duck For President before you start

reading it. Tell your class that they will be

constructing a story similar to the one they are

about to read by each contributing a sentence.

 Say, Today we will be reading a story about a

duck that runs for president. Let’s make some

guesses about what might happen by making

up a similar story of our own. I will start with

the first sentence and then everyone else will

contribute a sentence.

 Say, There once was a duck that lived on a

farm that ran for president…

 Have each student contribute a sentence to

the story.

 After your class creates their own story, read

the book and point out any connections the

story has to the one your class made up.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Why did Duck first run to be in charge of the

farm? To be governor? To then be president?

# How did Duck win those elections?

# What does it mean to campaign? What is

an election? What does it mean to register

and vote?

Why did Duck head back to the farm in the end?

# Why is voting important? What does it

accomplish?

ACTIVITY

 Invite your students to be creative about the

story by asking them to imagine one of the

speeches Duck gave.

 Say, Twice in the story Duck gave speeches that

only other ducks could understand. What do

you think Duck was saying in these speeches?

 Ask your students to deliver speeches of their

own to the class. Tell them they need to

include the words “Vote” and “Election” in

their speech and they should list the promises

Duck would have made to the other ducks.

Encourage your students to be creative.

 Break up your students into groups of two so

they can practice their speeches and help each

other perfect them.

 Invite students to share their speeches with

the class. Your class should respectfully quack

when each person is done delivering his/her

speech.

LITERATURE CONNECTION ACTIVITY

Duck For President

by Doreen Cronin

25ELECTIONS AND VOTINGGrades K-2

K–2

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

OBJECTIVE

Students engage in an authentic voting

experience.

MATERIALS

Election materials supplied by your Kids

Voting USA affiliate

GET READY

 Have your students’ voter registration cards

handy. (They should have filled them out

during the Kids

Voting Registration activity.

If your students did not participate in this

activity, consider doing it with them prior to

their casting their votes.)

INSTRUCTIONS

 Tell your students, Now that we know what

voting is and why it is important, let’s use our

right to vote and make a difference!

 Give your students back their registration

cards prior to their voting experience so they

can take them to the polls.

 Have your students participate in your local

Kids Voting USA affiliate election. If you are

not sure who your contact person is (whether

a grade-level chair, school principal, etc.) visit

our Web site: www.kidsvotingusa.org and click

on “Affiliate Network.” It will give you the

contact information for your local Kids Voting

USA affiliate. They should be able to give you

the information you need.

 Have your students reflect, either verbally or in

written form, both on their voting experience

and on how they plan to continue to make a

difference in their community.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# How did it make you feel when you voted?

# Does voting give you power? How?

# How do you think it would feel if you were not

allowed to vote?

# Do all people vote who are able to?

Why do some people not vote? How do you

feel about that?

# Why is it important to study the candidates

and issues?

# What are good ways to learn about the

candidates and issues?

# What does it mean to register? Why is

registering important?

# Is voting the only way you can make a

difference? What else can you do to make

a difference?

CULMINATING ACTIVITY: I GO TO THE POLLS

(Time varies)

DEMOCRACY AND

THE PEOPLE

KIDS VOTING USA

K–2

1DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

INTRODUCTION TO THEME

The intent of this theme is to provide an understanding of and a context for American democracy and

citizenship, from the rights and responsibilities of students in their local, state, and national communities to

the world beyond. The theme’s activities fall under four main learning objectives:

• Students will understand the principles that make a government democratic.

• Students will understand how America fits the model of a democracy.

• Students will learn the rights and responsibilities of an American citizen.

• Students will learn the context of American democracy within the world.

GENERAL ACTIVITIES

CONCEPT 1: WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?

Pinwheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Who’s The Leader? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CONCEPT 2: DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA

The President’s Hats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

If I Were… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

What’s For Kids? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

CONCEPT 3: A CITIZEN’S RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Car-Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

“I Can Vote” Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

CONCEPT 4: DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD

Friends Afar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Democracy In The Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

OVERARCHING QUESTIONS

Questions for Concept 1: What is Democracy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Questions for Concept 2: Democracy in America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Questions for Concept 3: A Citizen’s Rights and Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Questions for Concept 4: Democracy in the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

LITERATURE CONNECTION ACTIVITY

D is for Democracy: A Citizen’s Alphabet by Elisa Grodin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

CULMINATING ACTIVITY

Democracy And Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

2DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

What is Democracy?

OBJECTIVE

Students discuss how a democracy is powered

by the people that participate in it.

MATERIALS

Pinwheels Pattern handout; fasteners, hole

punchers, scissors, crayons/markers;

plastic straws

GET READY

 Copy a pinwheel pattern for each student.

 Set out fasteners for each student.

 Gather a hole puncher, scissors, and crayons

or markers.

 Buy plastic straws, flatten them at one end,

and punch a hole to use them for stems.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Instruct your students to decorate their

pinwheels as they wish. Then tell them to cut

on the heavy lines of the pattern and fold on

the lines as indicated.

 Help them stick the fasteners through the

pinwheels and the stems. Be sure they keep

the fasteners loose enough so the pinwheels

will turn.

 Ask your students to hold the pinwheels still

(without blowing on them) to see if they turn.

 Then ask them to power the pinwheels by

blowing on them.

 Suggest to your class that the pinwheels and

our government are alike in that they both

need a source of power.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Did the pinwheels turn without your power?

# Does the government work without our power?

# We power the pinwheels with our breath. How

do we power our government? (With our vote,

by running or helping someone else run for

office, writing letters, serving on committees,

paying our taxes, etc.)

MORE!

Use fluorescent crayons and a black light on

the pinwheels. Also, have your students vote

on an issue that can be implemented quickly

so they can feel the power their vote gives

them. Possible issues might be room arrange-

ment, recess game, a class assignment, etc.

PINWHEELS

(20-30 minutes)

3DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

PINWHEELS

PINWHEELS PATTERN

4DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

What is Democracy?

OBJECTIVE

Students identify leaders that direct or guide us.

MATERIALS

No materials are necessary for this activity.

GET READY

 Say to your students, Before I became a

teacher, I studied so I could better help you

learn. In a democracy, our leaders study the

problems of our country so they can help us

solve them.

 Say, In democracies we have leaders who make

decisions. They are allowed to make these

decisions, however, only because we gave them

the permission.

 Say, We are going to play a game about

leadership.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Have your students stand in a circle.

 Have one student volunteer to briefly stand

outside the room (so they don’t know what the

class is doing).

 Select another student to be the leader.

 Tell the leader to make motions such as

moving hands, tapping feet, nodding head, etc.

 Instruct the other students to do whatever the

leader does. Call the volunteer student back in

the room.

 Ask the volunteer student to stand in the

center of the circle, attentively watch his/her

classmates, and try to identify the leader. When

the student discovers the leader, start the game

over with two new students.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What was the leader’s role in this game?

# What do the leaders of our community, our

state, and our country do?

# Can you name some leaders in your home,

school, or community?

# Were you ever a leader before you played

this game?

# Have you ever followed a leader?

# Are there certain ways leaders should act?

What makes a good leader?

VOTE QUOTE

“The whole of government consists in the art

of being honest.” – Thomas Jefferson

WHO’S THE LEADER?

(15-20 minutes)

5DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

Democracy in America

OBJECTIVE

Students examine the jobs of the president to

discuss components of American democracy.

MATERIALS

The Hat Patterns handout; The President’s

Work handout; small boxes

GET READY

 Copy and cut apart The Hat Patterns handout.

Place each hat on the front of an open box.

 Divide your class into groups of three.

 Copy and cut apart a set of The President’s

Work cards for each group of three.

 Read “The Office of President” in the Appendix.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Prepare your class for the activity with a

discussion about the powers and duties of the

president and define any words that might be

new to them. Specifically, go over what the job

titles mean: head of state, chief diplomat, etc.

 Give each group a set of cards.

 Instruct each group to discuss each card,

decide which responsibility goes to which hat/

job, and place the cards in the correct hat box.

 When all the cards are in the hat boxes, tell

your students that they are going to see what

everyone else thought.



Invite students to draw the cards out of the boxes.



You can keep track by posting them on the board

or by taping them to the front of the boxes.

 Go over which duties belonged to each job:

Answers:

 Head of State: Officially visits other

countries

 Chief Diplomat: Helps settle problems

among other countries

 Chief Executive: Carries out laws

 Commander-in-Chief: Defends country

during war

 Party Chief: Heads political party

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What do you think is the most important job

of the president? Why?

# Which hat would you like to wear? Why?

# Which hat would you not like to wear? Why?

# What characteristics do you think a president

should have?

MORE!

Develop a similar activity for the governor

or mayor.

THE PRESIDENT’S HATS

(20 minutes)

6DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

THE HAT PATTERNS

THE PRESIDENT’S HATS

7DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

THE HAT PATTERNS

THE PRESIDENT’S HATS

8DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

THE PRESIDENT’S WORK

THE PRESIDENT’S HATS

HEADS POLITICAL PARTY

HELPS SETTLE PROBLEMS

AMONG OTHER NATIONS

CARRIES OUT LAWS

DEFENDS THE COUNTRY

DURING WAR

OFFICIALLY VISITS

OTHER COUNTRIES

9DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

Democracy in America

OBJECTIVE

Students consider the power of American

democracy in action, making decisions as an

elected leader would.

MATERIALS

If I Were… handout; additional lined paper;

scissors, glue

GET READY

 Copy an If I Were… handout for each student.

If possible, use colored paper.

 Have additional paper available for students to

write on.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Ask, In America can our leaders do whatever

they want? Listen to student responses.

 Next, ask, What types of leaders do we have in

America? (president, vice president, governor,

senator, etc.) What are the jobs of these

leaders?

 Tell your students to imagine they were just

elected to office. Ask, What office would you

want to hold? Governor? Senator? Mayor?

President?

 Provide each student with an If I Were…

handout. Tell them to use this handout to

brainstorm ideas of what they would do if

elected to office.

 Allow your students to write their ideas on the

handout. You can have the students work with

each other to come up with ideas.

 Students can additionally cut out the position

they want from the handout and either glue or

tape it to what they write (see handout).

 Allow students to share their work.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What were some of the best ideas that we

heard?

# Did the ideas sound like they would be good

for everyone? (Remember, leaders need to do

their best for everyone.)

# Think about the office you wrote about.

Can you name a power this leader has?

# Could you actually become this leader?

What could you do to become a good leader?

IF I WERE…

(20 minutes)

10DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

IF I WERE…

Governor Mayor

President Senator

11DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

Democracy in America

OBJECTIVE

Students investigate the services provided

directly to children by their government.

MATERIALS

Telephone book; drawing paper, markers, crayons

GET READY

 Consult the telephone book’s government

pages to write down the names of programs in

your town which provide services directly for

children: Parks and Recreation, Pools,

Museums, Libraries, Bicycle Registration, etc.

Post these on your board.

 Gather sheets of paper, crayons, and markers.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Say, In America, our government plans and

organizes activities and services for the

children in our communities.

 Point out to your students that they take

advantage of city services in many ways. Ask,

Who has a library card? Who plays in the

park? Who is part of a soccer league?, etc.

 Ask each student to choose a city service

he/she likes to use and to draw a picture of

him/her using the service. (Examples:

swimming in the city pool, reading books at

the library, visiting the children’s museum, etc.)

 Instruct your students to share their drawings

with each other.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Did any two or three people choose the same

city service?

# How does the town pay for the swimming

pool, library, soccer field, etc.?

# How does voting affect city services for kids?

MORE!

Invite the director of parks and recreation or

the museum or library director to speak to

your class about programs for children.

WHAT’S FOR KIDS?

(20 minutes)

Thanks to former Tempe, Arizona Mayor Neil Giuliano for assistance with this lesson.

12DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

A Citizen’s Rights and Responsibilities

OBJECTIVE

Students practice being responsible and

articulate their responsibility to vote.

MATERIALS

No materials are necessary for this activity.

GET READY

 Arrange to work in a room with a large open

space.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Explain to your students that they are going

to play a game in which they need to be

responsible.

 Help your students pair off and decide who will

be the drivers and who will be the cars.

 Ask the drivers to stand behind the cars with

their hands on the cars’ shoulders.

 Have the cars shut their eyes.

 Tell the drivers to steer their cars by pulling

gently, with their hands, on the cars’ shoulders.



Instruct the drivers to begin when you say “green

light” and to stop when you say “red light.”

 Play for a few minutes, and then have the pairs

change positions.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What does it mean to be responsible?

# What were the drivers responsible for?

# What were the cars responsible for?

# What happened if one person was not

responsible?

# Why should people be responsible to vote?

# Why should people be responsible in

everything they do?

# What can happen if people are not responsible?

MORE!

Suggest to your students that they play this

game and talk about responsibility with those

at home.

VOTE QUOTE

“Politics is just another word for your future.”

– Unknown

CAR-CAR

(15 minutes)

13DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

A Citizen’s Rights and Responsibilities

OBJECTIVE

Students recognize that voting is a right and

privilege that makes a difference.

MATERIALS

“I Can Vote” Song handout

GET READY

 Either learn the song yourself or find someone

to teach it to your class.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Teach your class the song.

 Use it in a program with hand movement

and marching.

 Help your students make red, white, and blue

decorations.

 Have your students wear red, white, and blue.

 Have your class perform for their parents/

guardians or for the school.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What makes America a special place to live?

# Does one vote make a difference? Why?

# Can kids make our country better? How?

“I CAN VOTE” SONG

(15 minutes)

14DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

“I CAN VOTE” SONG

I Can Vote

“I CAN VOTE” SONG

Brightly Words & Music by

Cathy P. Shepherd

1558 W. 1st St., Mesa, Arizona (602) 962-4759

Optional descant I can vote. I’ll make a diff - ‘rence

1. I am young and I’m learn - ing a - bout the world I see, I am

2. I am one, just one per - son but one and one make two. You will

with my vote, you’ll see the diff - ’rence. I am

us - ing my know - ledge to make a bet - ter me. I can help keep my coun - try free

see what a diff - ‘rence that one or two can do. When you mul - ti - ply peo - ple the

young but I can vote.

keep its lib - er - ty. I will stand for the right and vote wise and care - ful - ly.

won - ders nev - er cease, As we build for the fu - ture, work - ing to keep our peace.

15DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

Democracy in the World

OBJECTIVE

The class contacts students overseas to learn

about a different country.

MATERIALS

Appropriate letter-writing materials: lined

paper, pens/pencils, envelopes, etc.

GET READY

Arrange for a pen pal from another country to

exchange information about their country.

 Write to: World Wise Schools

990 K Street N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20526.

 Look for pen pal opportunities on the

Internet. A good Web site to visit is

www.stonesoup.com/main2/penpal.html.

INSTRUCTIONS

 As a class, correspond with a class from

another county.

 Have your students brainstorm some questions/

ideas that they want to include in their letters.

 Encourage your students to ask questions:

How is your country different from the United

States? Do you know people who vote? How

old do you have to be to vote? What is the

name of your current leader?

 Continue to correspond with this class

throughout the school year.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# How is our government similar to other

countries’ governments?

# How is it different?

# What did you learn that you liked most about

the other country?

# Were there any things you did not like?

FRIENDS AFAR

(Time varies)

16DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

Democracy in the World

OBJECTIVE

Students explore aspects of another democracy.

MATERIALS

Newspapers, magazines, periodicals; scissors

GET READY

 Tell your students that there are other

democracies in the world besides the United

States. In fact, there are many countries where

people have the right to vote.

 Inform your class that they are going to learn

about another democratic country.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Tell your class they are going to collect

information on another democratic country.

 Have your students vote to decide what

country they want to learn about. Provide

some ideas if necessary: France, Australia, etc.

 Once the class has chosen a country, start

collecting magazines and newspapers that

contain articles and pictures about the

country. If at all possible, find articles that are

written for children.

 Dedicate a bulletin board in the classroom to

the articles and pictures.

 Bring these magazines and newspapers into

school and show your students how you found

the articles. Show them how you cut them out

and attached them to the bulletin board.

 Read aloud what some of the articles say and

explain what some of the pictures show. Make

connections between the country the class

selected and America — explain how the

country is a democracy.

 Encourage your students to bring in any

materials they can find on the country. They

may want to ask their parents/guardians for

help finding these items.

 Give your students time to make a

contribution (it may take some time for them

to find appropriate/related material). Announce

intermittently any updates to the bulletin board.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What makes the country we learned about

a democracy?

# How is this country like the United States?

# How is this country different than the

United States?

DEMOCRACY IN THE PRINT

(30-40 minutes)

17DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?

# Have you heard the word “democracy” before? Where and when?

# Do you know what a government is?

# Who has the power in a democracy? The leader or the people he/she leads?

# How are decisions made in a democracy?

# Sometimes people don’t agree with the decisions that are made. Should everyone still have to

stand by those decisions? Why or why not?

# If you did not live in a democracy, what do you think you would be missing?

# How can you, as students, participate in a democracy?

# Does everyone you know understand what a democracy is? What can you do to help others

understand democracy?

DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA

# Who makes the decisions in America?

# What do adults do to contribute to our country?

# What does our government do for us?

# How do you support your country?

# What can you do to make our country better?

# What types of people make good leaders? Good presidents?

# What do you think is the best thing about living in America?

A CITIZEN’S RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

# Do you know what it means to be responsible?

# How are you responsible? Give me an example.

# What does having a right mean?

# Can you think of an example of a right?

# What do you think the freedom of speech is?

# What does the word “freedom” mean to you?

# Do you think kids have enough rights?

DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD

# Can you tell me the names of some other countries?

# Do you think all countries are the same?

# What do you think are some differences between countries?

# Can you give a reason why many countries have become democracies?

# Why do you think so many people from other countries want to live in America?

OVERARCHING QUESTIONS

18DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

OBJECTIVE

Students understand the concept of democracy

and how it applies to America.

MATERIALS

D is for Democracy: A Citizen’s Alphabet -

Elisa Grodin

PRE-READING ACTIVITY

 Tell your students that they will be learning

about democracy. Explain that a democracy is

a government where all citizens have a voice.

 Let your students know that each letter of the

alphabet is represented in this book by a word

that has something to do with democracy. For

example, W is for George Washington.

 Have your students guess what the different

letters stand for. Don’t reveal what they

actually stand for until someone guesses

correctly. Remind your students that all their

guesses need to be about democracy in America.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What do you think were some of the most

important words discussed in the book? Why

do you think those words are so important?

# How would you describe a democracy?

# How is America a democracy?

# What can you do to make sure your voice is

heard?

# The last pages of the book say, “We Want You

To Get Involved?” Involved in what? What do

they mean?

ACTIVITY

 Play a memory game with your students. After

reading them the book (you may want to read

it for a second time before you play), ask your

students to recall each page’s key word.

 Go alphabetically through the book saying, A

was for… B was for… letting your students

finish the statements.

 Cover the key words on each page (so the

students don’t see it) and make sure you hold

up the pictures for your students to see. The

pictures on each page should jog their

memories, but you can always give clues such

as, No “D” is not for dog, “D” is for our type of

government.

 Keep the book available in your classroom and

encourage your students to look at it when

they get a chance.

 Consider playing the memory game again after

some time has passed.

LITERATURE CONNECTION ACTIVITY

D is for Democracy: A Citizen’s Alphabet

by Elisa Grodin, Illustrated by Victor Juhasz

19DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

OBJECTIVE

Students learn the characteristics of a

democratic society and how they can improve

where they live.

MATERIALS

Ways I Can Participate in Our Democracy

handout

GET READY

 Copy the Ways I Can Participate in Our

Democracy handout so you have a copy for

each student or make a transparency of it for

an overhead projector.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Ask students, How many have heard of the

word “democracy”? Does anyone know what it

means? What other words do you think of

when you hear “democracy”? List your

students’ ideas on the board.

 Read to your students the following definition:

A democracy is a society where the people are

involved in making many of the decisions

about what happens.



Ask students, How do people in the United States

help make decisions about the government,

schools, laws, and other important aspects of

our lives? (Possible answers include attending

public meetings, writing letters to public

officials, running for public office, and serving

on a local board. If students do not mention

voting, make sure to tell them that it’s one of

the major ways citizens help make decisions).

 Ask students, Is democracy just for grown-ups?

Does it have anything to do with kids? Accept all

responses. Then ask, How many of you ride a

bike? Wear pajamas? Use a local park? Drink

water? Breathe the air? Explain to your students

that the laws made by our local, state, and

federal governments determine what is acceptable

and what isn’t with these and many other

situations. The government affects most of our

everyday activities, including the fact that students

are required, at this moment, to be in school!

 Use the Ways I Can Participate in Our

Democracy handout on an overhead projector

and ask students to identify the things that

kids can do to participate in our democracy.

Have a discussion with the class after

completing the handout. Are your students

surprised that they can contribute to our

democracy in so many ways? While elementary

school students are not old enough to vote,

they can still influence how adults vote and

otherwise contribute to improving society.

(Instead of using an overhead projector, you

can copy the handout for individuals or

groups, depending on their reading abilities.)

 After completing the handout, ask your

students to choose a class activity. (Have your

students vote by ballot or by a show of hands.)

The class should come up with a plan to carry

out one of the ideas on the handout: recycling,

donating food, etc.



The class should carry out this plan and document

it with photos and writings. The class can create

a bulletin board showcasing the work they did.

CULMINATING ACTIVITY: DEMOCRACY AND ME

(45 minutes in class, additional time out of class)

20DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

K–2

DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE

CULMINATING ACTIVITY: DEMOCRACY AND ME (continued)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What is a democracy?

# Can anyone share how they participate in our

democracy?

# Do you think we made a difference in our

community? How?

# Do you think it is our responsibility to help

our community? Why?

# What other ways will you be able to participate

in our democracy when you are an adult?

21DEMOCRACY AND THE PEOPLEGrades K-2

DEMOCRACY AND ME

WAYS I CAN PARTICIPATE IN OUR DEMOCRACY

Directions: Circle the ideas listed below that are ways kids can help their community.

Picking up trash Writing to an elected official

Following the laws Voting in public elections

Listening to or reading the news Donating money

Attending a public meeting Talking to an adult about voting

Visiting someone who is lonely Writing a letter to a newspaper

Talking to friends about a Calling the mayor about a

community problem community problem

Speaking at a public meeting Distributing flyers

Raising money for a good cause Making get well cards for

in the community children in the hospital

Volunteering at a nursing home Creating artwork that teaches

Donating food or clothing Recycling

Can you think of any other ways kids can participate in democracy?

Write them here…

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

KIDS VOTING USA

1ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

INTRODUCTION TO THEME

The intent of this theme is for students to learn how to evaluate information and to intelligently form,

communicate, and act on the decisions they make.

The theme’s activities fall under four main learning objectives:

• Students will learn how to gather and weigh information and form an opinion.

• Students will learn how to clearly and effectively communicate their position with others.

• Students will learn how to work together effectively.

• Students will consider how they can have an impact in their community.

GENERAL ACTIVITIES

CONCEPT 1: GATHERING AND WEIGHING INFORMATION

I Heard, I Think, I Know… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Making Inferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

It’s News To Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CONCEPT 2: COMMUNICATING YOUR POSITION

Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Spokespeople For Kids Voting USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

CONCEPT 3: WORKING TOGETHER

Zoo Animal Cages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Two On A Crayon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Match Community Helpers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

CONCEPT 4: HAVING AN IMPACT

If Elected… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Postcards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Targeting Problems In My Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

OVERARCHING QUESTIONS

Questions for Concept 1: Gathering and Weighing Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Questions for Concept 2: Communicating Your Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Questions for Concept 3: Working Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Questions for Concept 4: Having an Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

LITERATURE CONNECTION ACTIVITY

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

CULMINATING ACTIVITY

What’s The Problem? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

2ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Gathering and Weighing Information

OBJECTIVE

Students learn how to form opinions and make

good decisions.

MATERIALS

Magazines, books, newspapers, and/or access to

the Internet

GET READY

 If your classroom is not equipped with the

Internet, find a classroom/resource room that is.

 Make sure you have access to varied forms of

media: newspapers, books, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS

Setting Up the Research

 Tell students that a good decision is well

thought out and based on information from

many sources. Say, Good decisions are based

on information. What are good sources of

information? (Newspapers, the Internet, books,

magazines, etc.) These are great places for

finding information on anything we want.

 Ask students to brainstorm an issue or topic

that impacts their lives and that they would

like to know more about, i.e. the environment,

education, etc. Tell them they can be specific:

rainforest destruction, seat belts on school

buses, etc.

 Vote to determine a subject for the class to

research.

Conducting the Research

 Conduct research on the subject the class

selects. Research the topic using: books,

Internet sites, magazines, videos, etc.

 Share the research in its many forms with

your students.

 Say, Now that we have learned about _____,

does anyone want to share how they feel

about it (share an opinion)?

 Listen to responses and encourage students to

explain why they feel the way they do (prompt

them to mention the research sources).

 In the case of an election, ask students to share

why they made the decisions they have made.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# How do we make good decisions?

# Why do you think it is important to gather

information from many different places?

# Can you believe everything you hear and see?

Why or why not?

MORE!

Encourage students to bring in information on

the subject as they see it in newspapers, etc.

Create a bulletin board to document the

information as it comes in.

I HEARD, I THINK, I KNOW…

(30-45 minutes)

3ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Gathering and Weighing Information

OBJECTIVE

Students learn to make inferences from the

information they are presented with.

MATERIALS

No materials are necessary for this activity.

GET READY

 Tell the class that you can learn a lot about a

situation by the decisions people make and the

actions they take.

 Tell the class that it is important to be aware of

people’s actions, especially those of our elected

officials. Give the example of a politician who

makes lots of promises to get elected but never

delivers on them. In this case, actions speak

louder than words.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Tell students that they are going to play a game

similar to Charades. Explain the concept of

Charades if they are not familiar with it.

(Charades is a game played with teams. An

individual from one team “acts out” a phrase

without speaking while their teammates try to

guess what the phrase is. The objective is for

your team to guess the phrase as quickly

as possible.)

 Tell students that some of them will act things

out in front of the class without talking. The

rest of the class will try to guess what the

student is acting out.

 Choose student volunteers and give them

specific actions to perform in front of the class.

Choose actions that lead to rational

conclusions, such as yawning = being tired.

 Give the students hints if they need help

performing their assigned actions.

 Give each student about twenty seconds to act,

and then have the class guess their action.

 Some other ideas for actions are:

smiling = being happy, shivering = being cold,

wiping forehead = being hot, and so on.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# How were you able to make correct guesses

when everyone was acting silently?

# Why is it important to look not only at what

people say but also what they do?

# Should you base your opinions on actions

alone? Is that a smart decision, or is it better

to pay attention to both what a person says

and what they do?

# Give an example of a decision you made

recently. Say, What can you tell by the

decision I made?

MORE!

Have students come up with their own ideas to

act out silently and have the class continue to

guess what they are.

MAKING INFERENCES

(30 minutes)

4ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Gathering and Weighing Information

OBJECTIVE

Students learn how to distinguish the different

parts of a newspaper.

MATERIALS

Two copies of a local or national newspaper

GET READY

 Obtain two copies of a local or national

newspaper.

 Leave one newspaper intact and prepare to cut

the other.

 Identify a few articles or advertisements from

the newspaper you have selected to cut; you

are trying to find examples of the different

components of a newspaper. For example,

locate and cut out an article from the sports

section, an article from the news section, and

also an advertisement.



Photocopy these articles so that you have

multiple sets of them. (You will be breaking your

class up into groups of three or four so make

sure to have a set of articles for each group.)

 Make labels for the different newspaper

clippings. (For example, have one label say

Sports Article, another Advertisement, and one

News Article.) Make sure you have a set of

labels for each group of students as well.

 If possible, laminate the labels and articles

and/or advertisements.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Have a discussion with your class about news-

papers. Explain to your students why people

read them. Also make sure you describe various

newspaper components: advertisements, sports

articles, news articles (local, national and

international), travel articles, cooking articles,

and so on.

 Using the newspaper you left intact, show your

class an example for each section you discuss.

For example, say, This is an advertisement

because it’s about a product that’s on sale.

This is a sports article because it’s about a

baseball game.

 Break your class up into small groups of three

or four. Give each group the set of articles/

advertisements you laminated as well as the labels.

 Have the groups figure out which article or

advertisement fits which label.

 Go over the correct answers with your class

and ask the groups to provide explanations for

how they matched the clippings and labels.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What did you learn about a newspaper that

you didn’t know before?

# Why is it important to understand what the

different parts of a newspaper mean?

# Why do we have newspapers?

IT’S NEWS TO ME

(30 minutes)

5ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Communicating Your Position

OBJECTIVE

Students learn to communicate effectively

with another person.

MATERIALS

No materials are necessary for this activity.

GET READY

 Tell the class that they are going to play a

game that involves good communication.

 Inform the class that this activity will involve

them moving around, but there will be no

running.

 Arrange for as large a space as possible.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Help your students divide into pairs. Designate

one student in each pair to be the robot and

the other student to be the robot operator.

 Tell the robots that they will be moving around

the room with their eyes closed. They will be

directed by their operator and may only go in a

straight line until their direction is changed by

their partner.

 Tell the robot operators that they can give

directions to the robots, but cannot touch

them. For example, they can say, Go slower,

Turn left, Turn right, Turn around, etc.

 Tell the robots that they should walk in place if

they hit an obstacle or another robot. They

should wait for directions from their operator

before moving again.

 Give the pairs about 60 seconds to wander the

room/space as described.

 Ring a bell or blow a whistle to stop all robot

action. Have the robots tell the operators one

thing they did well and one thing they could

do better next time. Then have the operators

do the same thing, and tell the robots one

thing they did well and one thing they could

do better next time.

 Have your students try their roles again for an

additional 60 seconds.

 Have the pairs discuss what worked better the

second time.

 Next, have them swap roles: the operators take

a turn at being the robot and the robots take a

turn at being the operator.

 Repeat the sequence one more time as

described above.

 Finally, ask the pairs to talk about what made a

good robot and a good robot operator. After a

few minutes, open up the discussion to the

whole class.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# How did it feel to be the robot operator? Was it

hard to communicate with the robots? What

made a good operator in this game?

# How did it feel to be a robot? Was it hard to

take directions from the operator? What made

a good robot in this game?

# In real life, have you ever felt anything similar

to this game? When was that? Why was it similar?

# What are some characteristics of good

communication?

# Was this game hard or easy? Why do you feel

that way?

MORE!

Suggest that the students play the game during

recess and at home. Have them ask any adults at

home what it means to be a good communicator.

ROBOTS

(20 minutes)

6ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Communicating Your Position

OBJECTIVE

Students advocate voting throughout their

school and community.

MATERIALS

Materials vary depending on how your students

advocate voting.

GET READY

 Tell your class that they have the opportunity

to be spokespeople for Kids Voting USA.

Inform them that they will be able to share

their knowledge about voting and democracy

with the school.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Ask, What messages do you want to share with

the rest of the school? How can you share

your passion for voting and democracy with

other students? How can you influence other

people to vote?

 Students may come up with their own

messages as well as how to disseminate them,

but you can mention these ideas as a start:

 Make posters that celebrate democracy.

 Make signs to encourage classes and

students to participate in the election.

 Bring in daily information for an election

bulletin board.

 Visit classrooms encouraging students

to vote.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What was the message you communicated to

the school? How did you

communicate this

message (signs, posters, etc.)?

# Was it hard to convince people to vote?

If yes, what made it so hard?

# How were you best able to communicate your

message to the other students? Do you think

you were effective in sharing your message?

SPOKESPEOPLE FOR KIDS VOTING USA

(30 minutes)

7ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Working Together

OBJECTIVE

Students learn to cooperate while creating

edible zoo animal cages.

MATERIALS

1 half of a graham cracker per child;

1 container (more depending on class size) of

white frosting; 1 animal cracker per child; 3

licorice/Twizzler

pieces per child; plastic

knives for spreading frosting

GET READY

 Split your students up into groups of four.

 Make sure there are enough graham crackers,

white frosting, animal crackers, and

licorice/Twizzler

pieces per child.

 Have each child wash their hands extremely

well, as they will all be handling food.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Tell your students that they will be making

treats they can eat, though they must work

together in their groups to make it happen.

 Assign each student in each group to be in

charge of one item for creating zoo animal

cages. One child will receive all of the graham

crackers, one will have the frosting, one will

have the animal crackers, and the other will be

in charge of the licorice/Twizzlers

 Model for your students how to create the zoo

animal cages. First, lay a half of a graham cracker

flat. Next, spread the frosting on a graham

cracker. Then, place an animal cracker on top

of the frosting. Finally, place three pieces of

licorice or three Twizzlers

vertically along the

graham cracker as the animal cage’s bars.



Give the groups a minute to discuss how they will

build the zoo animal cages

. They should

deter-

mine that the student with the graham crackers

needs to give everyone in their group a graham

cracker. Then, they should determine that the

person with frosting should next distribute a

large clump of frosting on each graham cracker

and that each group member should spread the

frosting on their cracker with their plastic knife.

They should determine that the person holding

the animal crackers should then distribute

them to his/her group members. Lastly, they

should determine that the person with the

licorice/Twizzlers

should give three pieces to

each group member to complete the cages.

 Have your students build their zoo animal cage

treats. Confirm that each group is working

cooperatively.

 When the class has completed their zoo cages,

have your students walk around the room to

see the other groups’ zoo animal cages.

 Finally, allow your students to eat their zoo

animal cages.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What was the best part about making the zoo

animal cages?

# What was the most difficult part about making

the zoo animal cages?

# Was it hard working in a group to create your

cages? Why or why not?

ZOO ANIMAL CAGES

(20 minutes)

8ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Working Together

OBJECTIVE

Students learn to cooperate and work together.

MATERIALS

Construction paper and drawing materials;

a music playing device

GET READY

 Help the students divide into pairs.

 Gather crayons and construction paper.

 Setup a music source for the activity.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Give each pair a crayon and a piece of white

construction paper.

 Explain that both partners will hold the crayon

simultaneously and draw a picture together

while a three or four minute song is played in

the background. Tell the students that pairs

cannot decide what picture to draw before the

activity nor can they talk while they draw. This

exercise is about silent cooperation.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Did you enjoy working together?

# Was cooperating difficult? Why or why not?

# Did the cooperation produce anything that

surprised you?

# How did you decide who would lead and who

would follow?

# Was it hard to lead? To follow? Do you think it

is sometimes hard for adults in our country to

be our leaders? How?

MORE!

Now that the class is familiar with the activity,

you can have them try the exercise again

(same pairs or different).

TWO ON A CRAYON

(10-15 minutes)

From Tribes, A New Way of Learning Together, by Jeanne Gibbs, CenterSource, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

9ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Working Together

OBJECTIVE

Students work together to match community

helpers (policeman, bus driver, garbage man,

etc.) to the tools they use to do their jobs

(police badge, garbage can, school bus, etc.).

MATERIALS

Match Community Helpers handout (contains

Helpers and Tools cards)

GET READY

 Duplicate the Helpers and Tools cards onto

card stock.

 Cut the cards so that you have 10 Community

Helper cards and 10 Tool cards.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Hold up each card and say aloud what the

picture shows: “gavel,” “fire fighter,” etc.

Have your students repeat after you.

 As you hold up and name the cards, ask the

children what each worker does and how the

tools are used: “What does a judge do?”

“What do you do with the badge?”

 Hand one card to each student.

 Each child will seek the student with the card

that matches his/hers.

 Encourage the children to talk out loud to

each other about mismatches, as they look for

their matches: “No, the bus driver doesn’t use

the garbage can.”

 When all the matches are made, ask the pairs

to show and explain their matches: “The fire

fighter uses the fire hose to put out fires.”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# You had to cooperate to match the cards.

Was it difficult to work together?

# How can you make the jobs of the community

helpers easier? What can you do to help the

bus driver? the garbage worker? the police

officer? etc.

# What do you do to be a community helper?

# Is there anything else you can do to be a

community helper?

MORE!

Have your students look for pictures in the

newspaper that show community helpers.

MATCH COMMUNITY HELPERS

(15-20 minutes)

10ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

MATCH COMMUNITY HELPERS

CONSTRUCTION WORKER MAYOR

LIBRARIAN FIREMAN

MATCH COMMUNITY HELPERS

BUS DRIVER DOCTOR

11ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

MATCH COMMUNITY HELPERS

JUDGE SANITATION WORKER

POLICE OFFICER MAIL CARRIER

12ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Having an Impact

OBJECTIVE

Students write a suggestion for their community

n a “campaign button” which also acts as a

reminder for parents and guardians to vote.

MATERIALS

If Elected… handout; tape; markers, colored

pencils, crayons, etc.

GET READY

 Duplicate If Elected… Buttons.

 Gather colored pencils, marking pens, etc. for

decorating the buttons.

 This activity works best close to an election,

preferably a mayoral election, but it is not

essential.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Say, Let’s pretend that each one of you is a

candidate for mayor, and you need to do one

important thing for our community. What

would that be? (Possible student responses:

make the community cleaner, create more

parks, support the police, and so on.)

 Tell students to write or draw their idea on the

button handout. Remind your students to think

of an improvement that would benefit the entire

community. (Students can draw a picture of

what they would do if they do not have a strong

ability to write.)

 Give students time to color and cut out the

buttons as well as to write their ideas. Make

adhesive tape “hinges” to attach the buttons to

their shirts.

 Have students share their suggestions with the

class by forming an “Inside Outside Circle” to

read each other’s ideas. (It also makes good

reading practice.) Children form two

concentric circles and turn to face each other.

After reading the partners’ buttons, one circle

moves clockwise to the next person and the

new pairs read each others’ buttons. Proceed

until perhaps five pairs have shared.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What were some of your suggestions?

Who would benefit from these improvements?

# Is there a way that you can help your

suggestion come true? What can you do?

# How might voting make your suggestions for

our town a reality?

IF ELECTED…

(20-30 minutes)

CAMPAIGN BUTTON

13ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

IF ELECTED…

14ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Having an Impact

OBJECTIVE

Students prepare postcards to send to their

parents or guardians.

MATERIALS

Sheets of cardstock; crayons, markers, paper

cutter, scissors

GET READY

 Prepare “postcards” by cutting sheets of card-

stock in half on the paper cutter or with scissors.

 Gather crayons and markers.

 Bring in some stamps to show students how

often political figures are used. (They may

choose to draw a president on their own

“stamps” too.)

INSTRUCTIONS

 Say, We receive reminders in the mail to visit

the dentist or to meet at a restaurant for a

birthday treat. Today, you are going to create

a reminder about an upcoming election or an

issue important to your family.

 Have your students draw a picture and write a

message about the election or issue on one

side of their “postcard.” The message can be as

simple as “Vote!” or “Recycle!” or they can write

a longer message. Tell them to draw a stamp

on the other side, to address it to the recipient

of the postcard: “Mom” “Dad” “Tom” etc., and

to sign or write their own name as well.

 Remind students to deliver their postcard

when they get home.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What are other ways we can send reminders to

adults? (Letter, e-mails)

# How can we remind other students at our

school to vote, recycle, etc.?

# How are we helping our town if we deliver our

cards and messages?

POSTCARDS

(20 minutes)

15ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Having an Impact

OBJECTIVE

Students learn about different problems in the

local community, choose one, and brainstorm

ways they can make a difference.

MATERIALS

No materials are necessary for this activity.

GET READY

 Arrange to have someone from the community

come to your class and speak about local

community needs and problems.

INSTRUCTIONS

 For homework one night, ask students to talk

to their parents/guardians about what they

think are the most important community

needs and/or problems. Have students share

their findings with the class while you add

them to a list on the board. Then have your

students come up with any additional ideas to

add to the board.

 The next day, have someone from the

community come to your class to speak about

local community needs and problems. This

could be a public official such as the mayor or

a city council member or someone who works

for an umbrella social service organization such

as United Way. Ask the speaker to talk with the

class about current community problems.

Encourage your students to ask questions so

they can learn how/why the problems

originated and what they can do to help.

 Have each student select what they think is the

most important problem. Have them consider:

a) What issue interested me the most?,

b) What issue matters the most to me, my

neighborhood, and my community?

c) What could I do to help solve this problem?

 Have your students share their problems and

solutions with the class. For example, if a

student selects too much trash in the community

as a problem, some solutions include recycling,

encouraging others to not litter, and throwing

away trash in parks and playgrounds.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# What are some of our community’s needs

and problems?

# When have you noticed some of these

problems in our community?

# What are some solutions to these problems?

Why do you think these are good solutions?

# What are some of the sources of these

problems? How do you think they started?

# What can we do as individuals to help prevent

these problems?

# What can we do as a class to help prevent

these problems?

MORE!

Have your students share things they do to

address community problems. Encourage them

to make class announcements when they do

something to help the community.

TARGETING PROBLEMS IN MY COMMUNITY

(30-45 minutes)

16ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

GATHERING AND WEIGHING INFORMATION

# Why is information important?

# What are sources of information?

# Is everything you hear true?

# How do you decide if something is true?

# What is a decision?

# How do you make decisions?

# What makes some decisions good and other ones bad?

# Tell me about a decision you have made? Do you think it was a good decision, why or why not?

COMMUNICATING YOUR POSITION

# Have you ever told anyone how you felt about something that was important to you?

# Is it always easy to say how you feel?

# What do you think is a good way to share an opinion with someone else?

# Do people always agree with you?

# What do you do when someone disagrees with you?

# Do you know what it means to communicate?

# What makes a good communicator?

WORKING TOGETHER

# What does it mean to work well with others?

# Is it always easy to work with others?

# What can be difficult about working with others?

# What does it mean to be a good listener?

# Can it be fun to work with other people? How?

# Is there a time when you had to work with other people? How did it go?

# What advice would you give someone who needs to work with other people?

HAVING AN IMPACT

# What is a community?

# Are there any problems in your community?

# Do you think adults are the only people that make a difference in your community? Why or why not?

# Are there things that you can do to help your community? What are some ideas?

# Do you think it would be hard to create change in your community? If so, what do you think

would be hard about it?

# Was there a time you did something good for your community? Please tell me about it.

OVERARCHING QUESTIONS

17ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

OBJECTIVE

Students learn what it means to create positive

change in their community.

MATERIALS

Miss Rumphius - Barbara Cooney

PRE-READING ACTIVITY

 Take your students on a “picture walk.”

Turn from page to page through the book,

asking your students what they see and what

they think is happening in the story.

 After going through the book, have your

students make predictions about the story’s

plot. Ask, What do you think this book is about?

Who do you think the main character in the book

is? Did you see anything that looked familiar?

Did you see anything that looked confusing?

 Read Miss Rumphius and make sure to

reference the students’ predictions during and

after reading it.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Why do you think Alice’s grandfather told her

that she needed to do something to make the

world more beautiful?

# Where did Miss Rumphius get the idea to

spread flower seeds everywhere?

What difference did it make that Miss Rumphius

had spread the seeds?

# People called her crazy for spreading the seeds

around town. How does that make you feel? Why?

# Is it always easy to do good things? What can

make it difficult?

# Do you think the flowers will go away if Miss

Rumphius does not continue to plant them?

Who else could spread the seeds?

# Think about Miss Rumphius. Can one person’s

good intentions and actions make a difference?

# What can you do to make your community a

better place to live?

ACTIVITY

 Have your students think of ways they could

make their community a better place to live.

 Keep track of these ideas by writing them on

the board.

 Tell your students to draw a picture that

represents what they can do to improve their

community. Remind them of how Miss

Rumphius made her town more beautiful.

 Have students share their pictures with the

class and explain the change they would bring

to the community.

 As a class, decide on one thing you can do to

improve your town, school, or even your

classroom community.

 Carry out this project and invite parents and

community members to come and celebrate it.

LITERATURE CONNECTION ACTIVITY

Miss Rumphius

by Barbara Cooney

18ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

OBJECTIVE

Students choose and complete a service activity

designed to address a local community problem.

MATERIALS

Depends on the service project selected

GET READY

 Prepare newspaper articles that discuss

community problems: trash, hunger, etc.

 Consider things that will determine the nature

of the service-learning project: money,

transportation, supervision, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS

 Have your class brainstorm problems in the

community. You may want to bring in a local

newspaper, or newspaper articles, and read

sections of it to your class.

 Keep track of the problems mentioned by your

class by writing them on the board.

 Tell your class that they are going to address

one of the problems, but they first need to

choose a problem. Have them select the

problem by a show of hands or a similar

democratic process.

 Now that you have a problem for your class to

address, ask your students to come up with

possible solutions to the problem. (These ideas

represent possible service projects.) List these

ideas on the board.

 In order to identify the correct project for your

class, encourage your students to consider the

following questions:

 How much time do we have for the

service activity?

 What kinds of support do we need

(money, transportation, adult

supervision) and where can we find

this support?

 Which ideas are likely to have the

greatest impact on the problem?

 Which ideas do we most want to do?

Note: It is important as the teacher that you

“veto” any ideas that the students are

advocating but that you find unacceptable or

unreasonable. Be sure to explain to the

students why that idea will not be included in

the final list.

 Vote on a service project idea for the class to

complete. (If you and your students are

ambitious and have the time, you could choose

more than one.)

 Make arrangements to carry out the project,

including contacting the people and/or organi-

zations needed for its success. Allow enough

time for your class to complete the project.

 After completing the service project, have

students reflect on their experience in writing

or discussion.

 To conclude the experience, celebrate students’

efforts to make a difference. This could be as

simple as a popcorn party, extra recess, or a

pizza picnic to as involved as a public event in

the community with guest speakers and

student awards.

CULMINATING ACTIVITY: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

(45-60 minutes in class; time varies out of class)

19ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPGrades K-2

K–2

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

# Was it hard to come up with a service project

for the class? Why or why not?

# What was hard, easy, fun or difficult about the

service experience?

# Did the class make a difference?

# Were we able to influence public opinion

regarding the problem?

# What did we learn from this experience and

how could we apply that learning to future

efforts to improve our community?

MORE!

If the service idea chosen didn’t involve

influencing public opinion about the issue, you

might also want to include one of the

following activities:

 Writing a letter to the editor or a public

official in the community about the

problem

 Organizing a public display with facts,

artwork, and any other information

you can think of

CULMINATING ACTIVITY: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? (continued)