Jan. 30, 2008: On the Campaign Trail

The Mini Page is a syndicated, four-page tabloid written for young children found each Wednesday in the Rocky Mountain News. This issue of The Mini Page is available through the eEdition Archive to registered eEdition subscribers. Click here to learn about subscribing to the eEdition at no cost to you (for Colorado teachers).

Activities:

1. Pretend you are running for president. Make a poster encouraging people to vote for you.

2. Use newspaper words and pictures to create an "On the Road" collage showing the ways candidates may travel from place to place. Use many different ways to travel. For example, a candidate may even ride a bicycle or motorcycle to an event.

3. Read news stories to find out where different presidential candidates are traveling. Then write their names on the weather map in your newspaper (or another U.S. map) to show where they are campaigning. Why do you think they are in these cities or states?

4. Find items in the newspaper that candidates could use on the road (a) to have fun in between campaign events, (b) to communicate with family members when they are at different events, (c) to eat a healthy diet and (d) to stay fit.

5. Use news stories and opinion columns to compare the positions of a Republican candidate and a Democratic candidate. Use these questions to guide your reading: What are the positions of each candidate on important issues such as Iraq, health care, immigration and/or education? Write a paragraph comparing the two candidates' positions.

This week's standards:

• Students understand the basic values and principles of American democracy. (Civics)
• Students understand the roles of the citizen in American democracy. (Civics)
  
  

(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)