Oct. 29, 2008: Election Day 2008
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. Make election trading cards
for your state. Cut out newspaper pictures of candidates for local and
state offices. Paste each candidate's picture on the front of a 3-by-5-inch
card. On the back, put an interesting fact about the candidate.
2. Collect news stories about
the presidential and vice presidential candidates. Put your stories in
a notebook. Underline sentences in the stories that show how the candidate
feels about different issues. If there is a Senate race in your state,
collect news stories about the people running for the Senate and put them
in your notebook, too.
3. Read letters to the editor
that show how people in your community feel about a presidential candidate.
Then divide a piece of paper into two columns. In the first column, write
the reasons people say they support the candidate. In the second column,
write the reasons people say they won't vote for the candidate.
4. Which of the major candidates
(a) was born in a U.S. territory, (b) grew up in Hawaii, (c) is the governor
of Alaska, and (d) represents Delaware in the Senate?
5. Use the Internet to learn
more about the presidential candidates. Select an issue to analyze, such
as health care or education. Go to each candidate's Web site. Examine
the candidate¹s position on your issue. Write a paragraph comparing
the candidates' positions on your issue.
This week's standards:
- Students identify key ideals of the United States' democratic republican form of government. (Social Studies: Civic Ideals and Practices)
- Students understand
the ideas, principles and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic.
(Social Studies: Civics)
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
