Elections 2004

Become an Informed Voter!

 

Introduction:

You are on your way to becoming an informed, responsible citizen.  Read here to learn what it means to be a responsible citizen.  One of our most important civic duties is to choose the leaders who make decisions about how we live in our communities, our state and our nation.  Choices are made through a process called elections, where potential leaders present their ideas to the public and ask for votes to support them.  Those candidates who get the most votes win the election. Elected officials work for the good of the community, state or nation. 

 

 

Background information:

Look at the following webpages about our federal, state and local government leaders.

 

Federal Election: President of the United States

 President George W. Bush

Senator John Kerry

 

State Election:  Governor of the State of North Carolina

Patrick Ballentine

Governor Michael Easley

 

Mayors:

Town of Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly

Town of Cary Mayor McAlister

 

 

Tasks:

Your first task is to make a folder or binder for your work.  Put every written activity you do in this folder or binder.

 

 

 

 

Know your leaders! Do one of the first 2 following tasks to learn more about state and national leaders.  Then complete the 3rd one.

Objective 1.02: To recognize local, state and national leaders, past and present, who demonstrate responsible citizenship.

 

Use Kidspiration to create a web about our current president, George W. Bush.  Include 5 or more interesting things you’ve learned about him.  Then, click here to read about past U. S. presidents. Choose one past president and use Kidspiration again to create a web about him.  Type your name and date on your webs and print them out.  Compare by using a Venn diagram or making a list of similarities and differences.

OR

 Use Kidspiration to create a web about our current governor, Mike Easley.  Include 5 or more interesting things you’ve learned about him.  Then, click here to read about past N.C. governors. Choose one past governor and use Kidspiration again to create a web about him.  Type your name and date on your webs and print them out.  Compare by using a Venn diagram or making a list of similarities and differences.

 

George W. Bush and Mike Easley are currently serving as president of the United States and governor of North Carolina.  However, we must decide if these men should remain in office or be replaced by their opponent in the November elections.  From what you know about these candidates, choose your winner. Create a poster that will show people why they should vote for this person.  Be creative.  Use illustrations and persuasive language in your poster.  Remember that a colorful poster will attract the attention that your candidate needs.

 

 

 

 

It is important to vote in elections!  Complete the following activities to find out why.
Objective 1.03:  To identify and explain the importance of the civic responsibility of voting in elections.

 

Read “Inside the Voting Booth”.  Think about why it is important to vote in elections.

 

Who is allowed to vote in United States elections?   Are the rules the same in every state?  You will learn the qualifications for voting in North Carolina and one other state. On your own paper, draw a Venn diagram to show how the qualifications are alike and different. To learn about the voting qualifications, click here. 

 

Find out how one vote made a difference in some historical decisions.  Think about the following questions:

If a person has the ability to vote, do you think that it is important for that person to exercise that right?  Why or why not?  Write at least one paragraph that explains how you feel.  Click on each date on the timeline in “What a Difference One Vote Makes” to read about some decisions that were made by only one vote!  Be ready to discuss these decisions.

 

Some groups of Americans had to struggle for the right to vote.  You will read about 5 ways groups were kept from voting.  After reading, pick the one you feel is most unfair.  Create a “Before and After” picture by folding a piece of construction paper in half.  Use pictures or words to show what it was like before on one side and after that voting rule was changed on the other side.  Read “Step Into a Time Machine”. 

 

 

 

 

What do our leaders do?

Objective 1.04:  Explain the need for leaders and describe their roles and responsibilities.

 

Imagine that you are the president of the United States.  What would your day be like?  Follow this link to experience a possible day as president.  President for a Day

 

 

 

 

What have some leaders accomplished?

Objective 7.01:  Identify the deeds of some local, state and national leaders.

 

You will choose to read about 5 American leaders and decide what their most important deeds or accomplishments were.  After reading, draw a timeline placing each of the 5 leaders by birth date.  Include what you think their most important accomplishments are.  Hint:  The most important accomplishments are mentioned in the very first paragraph!  When you get to the site, you will need to click on “United States Leaders” on the left. 

Link to United States Leaders.

 

 

You will not vote until you are 18 years old. However, click here to read about some things you can do right now to be a responsible citizen.  In November, you will have an opportunity to vote at Baucom.  While your vote will not count in the real election, we will find out whom Baucom picks for president and for governor. 

 

 

 

Evaluation: 

 

See your teacher for this.

 

 

 

Now that you are an expert on the candidates and the election process, here are some other suggested activities that you will want to try:

 

  1. Imagine that you are given the opportunity to interview one of the candidates that you read about.  Make a list of questions that you would want to ask this candidate.

  2. Find an adult that you could interview.  Talk to this adult about the issues  they think are important when they are voting in local, state, and national elections.  Write at least one paragraph that describes your discussion with this adult.  It would be fun to videotape, tape record, or use the digital camera during your interview.

  3. A candidate needs to make sure that they are dressed to impress.  Illustrate a picture of yourself as an adult running for either a local, state, or national election.

  4. Compare the clothing of a leader from the past with the clothing of a present leader.

  5. Candidates are very busy people.  Select a candidate that you read about and create a schedule you think they would follow on a normal workday.

  6. Once officials have been elected, design a schedule for one of the elected officials.

  7. If you were running for a local, state, or national office, what would be some of the issues you would like to focus on.  Write a paper about one of these issues.  Tell why you think this issue is important.

  8. Use a Venn diagram to compare yourself to one of the candidates that you read about.

  9. If a person has the ability to vote, do you think it is important to exercise that right?  Why or why not?  Write at least one paragraph that explains how you feel.

  10. Write a speech.  Go to a speechwriting site.  Select a candidate who interests you.  Imagine that this candidate has asked you to write a speech for a group of nine-year-old children.  Write a speech for the candidate that includes issues that you think are important to kids.  Share this speech with some of your classmates.

 

Teachers, for more information and activities you may want to use with your students, visit the Kids Voting site.

 

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