Repeat, Repeat!!
Why we should VOTE, Why we must VOTE!
While brainstorming one day, Papa K and I asked ourselves: How can we stress the importance of voting to our students in a way that will encourage them to influence adult friends and family members to become lifetime voters? Our answer: DISCUSS AND ROLE-PLAY THE PROCESS OF VOTING. With this goal in mind, we developed our program entitled "Why We Should Vote." The details of this program are located under the Literacy Lab heading above. Just scroll down to Explore Our Projects, and it is the first program listed under "Civil Rights and Citizenship."
By popular demand, Team Kirkwood presented our “Why We Should Vote” literacy series to a new crop of fourth graders. In the classroom, I started off by reading the book If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier. Afterwards, with the help of the fourth-grade teacher Ms. Wilson, we polled the class to assess whether they would be interested in electing class officers.
Papa K explained the roles and expectations of the four offices including the office of president, vice president, secretary, and sergeant at arms. The students were very eager and excited to get started. Everyone wanted to run for a position, and some even wanted to run for two positions!
Papa K Prepping the Candidates
That lead to a discussion about qualifications and skills. The following activities included selecting candidates, delivering speeches, campaigning, completing voter registration forms, and a voter registration card. Then off to the polls we went!
Some say that a picture is worth a thousand words. The pictures below can best tell the story!
Our Future Leaders—SPEECHES
It’s on NOW!
We Are Registered to Vote, Are You?
You must be at least 10 years old and have not committed a felony. Yes, we talked about what that means.
Registration Cards in Hand!
Time to Vote!!!
Hurry Up Mama K, Tally Up the Votes!
Drum Roll, Please…
Once the votes were counted, we had the pleasure of introducing Ms. Wilson’s 2019-2020 fourth-grade Class Officers: President Anthony, Vice President Leslie, Secretary Ke’Shala, and Sergeant at Arms Maria.
The fourth-grade president and vice president roles for 2018-2019 were filled by two females!
Losing Hurts
Although we had explained that not everyone would be elected into office, the realization didn’t fully sink in until after the results were announced. A few of the candidates expressed disappointment, so Papa K and I tried to ease their pain by relating our own life experiences. I shared that I had once wanted to be a majorette like my best friend Linda, but I was not chosen for the team. Papa K played alto sax and shared how excited he was when chosen to compete for a seat in the All City Band. He did not make it. We explained that feeling sad is okay as long as you don’t sulk too long. Instead, we encouraged the children to use their energy as a launch pad as they work toward middle school. It is our hope that the lessons on speech-making and campaigning will give our students a head start for success in middle school, high school, and beyond.
Next Literacy Lab 2019 in Review Part III: Dreams, Stickman and “Be a Better B