MAKE THE ELECTION CONNECTION VOTING IS POWER! REGISTER TO VOTE HERE From the book Election Connection: The Official Nick Guide to Electing the President $7.95 PB ISBN 0-8118-4175-8 85 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, www.chroniclekids.com Viacom International Inc. All rights reserved. Nickelodeon, Rugrats, Nickelodeon Rocket Power, The Wild Thornberrys, SpongeBob SquarePants, Hey Arnold, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Fairly OddParents, and all related characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. Rugrats, Rocket Power, and The Wild Thornberrys created by Klasky Csupo, Inc. SpongeBob SquarePants created by Stephen Hillenburg. Hey Arnold created by Craig Bartlett. Fairly OddParents created by Butch Hartman.
MEDIA TEAM STRATEGY SHEET This team s job is to present the election process to the voters (kids in class), so they can decide which candidate will make the best president of the class. The media component of the election can be as low-tech (using handwritten newspapers, and in-person news broadcasts ) or as high-tech (using computers and video-equipment) as you wish. Have the media team decide how they ll organize and cover the campaign. Review chapter 6 in Election Connection with them and discuss how negative and positive reporting and advertising can affect a political campaign. What s your news medium? Newspaper? TV show? Website? All three? Get the news! Interview the candidates, find out what they stand for. Interview voters, find out what they re looking for in a president. Prepare a news story that compares the candidates platforms and slogans. Get creative! Create political cartoons about each candidate. (See pages 48 49 in Election Connection for ideas.) Be roving reporters. Now that you re election experts, give the quiz below to the grown-ups in your school (principal, other teachers, school workers), and see how much the people who can vote in local and national elections know about the election process. Compile the results and present them in your news show. You ve made the Election Connection and probably know a lot more about elections now than many grown-ups do. Quiz a grown-up. See if they know what you know! How often is the presidential election? What are two requirements to run for president? When is Election Day? What happens on January 20 following the election? What are the symbols for the Republican and Democratic parties? What is the difference between the electoral vote and the popular vote? Who was the first person you ever voted for in a presidential election? What s the voting age in your state? How many electoral votes are there in your state? What are two requirements to be able to vote in your state? Are you registered to vote? If not, do you know where you can register?
MAKE THE ELECTION CONNECTION IN YOUR CLASSROOM! Bring the electoral process to life for your students by staging a presidential election. This hands-on classroom kit encourages students to think both critically and creatively as they write, draw, debate, evaluate, persuade, and make choices. Let s get started! Register to vote Hang this poster in your classroom, and have each student register to vote by signing his or her name in one of the boxes. Remind students that no one can vote unless he or she is registered! Form Teams Divide the class into 3 to 5 groups. Media Team: One group will be the media team. They will be in charge of monitoring and reporting the election. The media team will Create a newspaper, magazine, television show or website to document the election process. Organize and host the debates. Sample debate questions are included on the student pages. Encourage the class to create their own questions. Campaign Speeches: Right before the election, have each political party deliver a campaign speech to all voters. One member of each party should deliver the speech. The Election Create a ballot box or voting both (an old refrigerator box makes a great voting booth!). Each student who has registered can vote. For greater interest, stage both a popular and electoral vote, and then compare the results of the two. Popular Vote: Each student writes his choice for president on a slip of paper and deposits it in a ballot box. Political Parties: Two to four other groups (depending on the size of your class) will form political parties. These teams will be responsible for selecting candidates and running the campaigns. Create slogans, posters, ads, banners, bumper stickers, etc. Write speeches. Participate in a debate. The Campaign Encourage students in each group to think critically about the candidate they ve chosen. (How can they use their candidate s character traits to best advantage? How can their opponent s character traits be used against him or her? How does their candidate s personality affect the party platform? What makes their character the best candidate?) Electoral Vote: Refer to the map of the U.S. on pages 60 61 of the Election Connection. On separate pieces of paper write each state and its number of electoral votes, and place in a container. Each student draws a state from the box, and is given that many votes for his choice. Be a Voting Buddy Okay, your students are too young to vote for real. But you can encourage them to help someone else vote! Do they know a grown-up who hasn t registered to vote yet? Encourage that person to register. Let s Party! Celebrate the election with cupcakes, balloons, confetti and more. For party and craft ideas, go towww.chroniclebooks.com/nickelodeon/ The Debates: Host debates to allow students to compare the candidates strengths and weaknesses. Choose 2 to 4 students from each political party to represent their candidate in the debates.
THE GREAT DEBATE Now that the candidates have been selected and the campaigns are underway, it s time to let the political parties show their stuff. Political Parties: Choose 2 to 4 members of your party to be the debate team and answer questions for your candidate. Media Team: Prepare a list of questions to ask the candidates. Here s a list of questions to get you started, but you might want to add more of your own. You can even create questions based on issues relating to your school. After the debate, you will tally the votes and declare a winner. Voters: The rest of the students in the political parties are the voters. Watch and evaluate the debates, using the information below. The Debates Each voter writes down a question for the debate team. The questions are put into a debate box. What are some pressing issues in your school or community? Be creative! Here are a few ideas just to get you started. You can use these, and make up your own, too. Should wheels (skateboards, scooters, etc.) be allowed on school grounds? Can the cafeteria food be improved, and if so, how can this be done? Should candy and other sweet treats be allowed in school? What is your advice to kids who are embarrassed to be seen with their parents? How often should students receive homework? And should homework be assigned during vacations? Should grown-ups be required to take classes? Why do you think it s important for us to vote? What new clubs or organizations would you like to see at the school or in the community? Who would you pick as your running mate and why? Have voters take turns pulling one question at a time from the debate box and read it out loud to a debate team. Those on the team discuss how their candidate would answer the question. Then a spokesperson for each team answers the question out loud to the rest of the class. RATE THE DEBATE Create a chart to rate the candidates. How did your candidate do? Does your candidate have some weak areas that need brushing up? What were some key issues your candidate said that might end up in your newspaper or on television? You can use the categories below for your chart or create your own! The whole class can participate. Candidate s name / Were they prepared? / Did they make eye contact? / Good choice of language? / Did they actually answer the questions? / Did they resort to name calling and other no-nos? Judge each candidate s sincerity, organization, eye contact, language, and how well they answered the questions. Rate each category: 1 = I d rather listen to a dentist s drill / 2 = Wake me up when it s over / 3 = Now I m listening / 4 = Got my vote! Take away one point each time a candidate used name calling or negative words toward another candidate. Tally the votes. Who do you think won the debates? Report it on TV and in your newsletter.
POLITICAL PARTIES CAMPAIGN STRATEGY SHEET Which cartoon or other character would make the best president of your classroom? This team s job is to create a successful political campaign for its candidate. Sharpen your brains, unleash your creativity and let s go! Choose Your Candidate: Which character do you want to represent your party? Think carefully, consider each character s positive and negative traits. What s Your Party? Choose a name for your party, and come up with your party platform. What do your party and your platform stand for? Refer to pages 32 36 in Election Connection for information on political parties. Make a Lasting Impression: Create a button and bumper sticker. What will get people s attention? What will help sell your candidate to the voters? Refer to pages 42 43 in Election Connection for templates. Put It in Writing: Words are powerful tools in an election. Sharpen your writing skills (and your candidate s campaign) with the following activities. Prepare a political speech for your candidate that outlines everything your character stands for, and why he or she will make the best president for your class. Choose one member of your party to deliver the speech for your candidate. Create an advertising campaign for your candidate. Write an ad for the newspaper on why your candidate should be elected. Make posters featuring your campaign slogan.