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Kids Voting :: In the Classroom - Education Overview

Education is the power behind Kids Voting Mecklenburg!

Kids Voting offers students in kindergarten through high school a wide range of opportunities for civic learning. Kids Voting's classroom resources include:

Kids Voting USA Classroom Activities K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12
Correlates to the NC Standard Course of Study in K-8 math, language arts and social studies plus high school World History, Civics & Economics and United States History
Educator's Guides, vocabulary and age-specific reading lists
Local curriculum guides
Connections to civic education resources
Opportunities for professional development, civic community activities
Spanish-language student and family activities

Kids Voting classroom activities are designed to facilitate primary and secondary school teachers in addressing civic learning objectives and increasing civic learning opportunities. The resource is comprised of engaging activities that foster group discussion and the use of critical thinking skills.

The goals of Kids Voting classroom activities are for students to:

Cultivate information-gathering and decision-making skills
Integrate civics across the curriculum - including math, reading, writing and social studies
Develop higher-order thinking skills
Develop empathy towards others
Gain a knowledge and appreciation of suffrage, democracy, citizenship, and elections
Understand and participate in the civic life of the community
Achieve academic success

The activities are designed to emphasize self-discovery in a cooperative setting. This is effective because:

Students master and retain knowledge and concepts better and develop problem-solving skills, creativity, verbal skills, and empathy — all of which are important for voters
Group problem-solving provides a model of democracy

In sum, Kids Voting's resources for educators are designed to train students to live as thoughtful, active citizens in a democracy.

Kids Voting Mecklenburg thanks Wachovia, a Wells Fargo company, for helping to underwrite the 2009-2010 classroom curriculum program.