5 Ideas to Explore Civics and Government in the Classroom for Election Day
While most K-12 students won’t be old enough to cast a vote on election day, it’s never too early to start exploring what it means to be an active citizen and learning about how the U.S. government works. Here are a few ideas spanning social studies, government, and civics that we’ve gathered for you to weave into your instruction leading up to election day (or any day!):
Learn the Branches of Government
In this blog, social studies teacher Nicole Jamerson breaks down how to teach about the branches of government at four different grade bands, as early as PreK. Nicole provides ideas for engaging activities, such as modernizing the founding documents, introducing current events, and navigating government websites. She also provides a list of helpful online resources that students can explore. Nicole says,
“The job of a teacher is to educate your students and let them think critically coming to their own conclusions.”
Teach Habits for Democracy
Being an active, responsible member of a democracy requires critical thinking and digital literacy. As technology and media change, those skills must evolve, too. Eighth-grade American History teacher Tyler Pare argues that teachers should help students develop habits to become informed, critical thinkers — especially as they grow up in a media environment rife with misinformation and information overload. Tyler writes:
“While there is a good chance that we will not be able to break the dependency our students have on social media and their “tech,” what we can do is equip them with a habit-forming strategy to process information so that they may become curious, discerning, and responsibly active citizens.”
Tyler provides actionable strategies to foster these habits, including practicing argumentative skills and learning to support claims with evidence in writing exercises.
Explore Current Events with Civic Engagement Questions
Bringing current events into the classroom can be difficult, especially during an election cycle. Robert W. Maloy and Torrey Trust, Teacher Education professors at the University of Massachusetts Amhurst, created an instructional design framework to help teachers bring current events into the classroom in a way that is meaningful and engaging for students without becoming too stressful or overwhelming. The “Investigate, Uncover, Engage” framework asks students to explore important topics and propose solutions to issues. At the center of the strategy is empowerment. The authors write:
“The key, as in each of these examples, is for current events in class to include not only student and teacher discussions but different forms of student action and engagement. As they investigate and act, students feel empowered and involved, building essential skills and informed understandings for their place as active members of our democracy.”
Learn more about the framework and find resources to use in your classroom in this blog:
Promote & Practice Citizenship
In Dr. Peter Levine’s blog on practicing and promoting citizenship in the classroom, you’ll find several discussion topics and activities that are perfect for navigating an election cycle in the classroom. Dr. Levine writes:
“The purpose of social studies education is to prepare students to take informed action in their communities and our democracy — throughout their lives.”
Students can practice taking informed action through civics projects and simulations, develop global competency by learning to understand their own background as an asset, and strengthen media literacy skills by learning how media sites function. Dr. Levine also provides teachers with tips for selecting topics to help students practice engaging in difficult conversations.
Use Fiction to Teach Civic Empathy
American History teacher Tyler Pare also offers a unique take on civic education with ties to social and emotional learning. In his blog, he discusses fostering in students a type of empathy called “political imagination,” which would “allow students to step outside their own political interests and goals and consider the interests and goals of others with the same earnestness that they show their own.”
Tyler advises using fiction to foster this type of empathy because reading about fictional characters in fictional worlds gives students the opportunity to feel, experience, and consider the complex emotions and experiences of other people. Tyler says:
“By reading fiction, students will develop the empathy needed to make the greatest possible use of their career readiness skills for the political community at large because they can imagine themselves in the position of another member of their community.”
You can weave this into your instruction by simply posing writing prompts or discussion questions about the feelings, choices, and motivations of a class read or students’ independent reads.
Finally, if your students are feeling anxious about the outcome of the election, the dynamics in their community, or just overwhelmed by political advertising, read how learning about the history of the U.S., and how the government works, can ease that anxiety.
For more on social studies, civics, and government education, see:
https://medium.com/inspired-ideas-prek-12/search?q=social+studies
