This Land is Our Land
By Maryann Manning

Democracy comes to life in November when Americans go to the polls to vote. Whether it's a big presidential year, state governor races or local contests, our students are fascinated with the democratic process. We can capitalize on their intrigue as it is fed by information and opinions found in the media and family conversations.

As I'm sure you know, we have much work to do in regard to helping our students become active participants in the democratic process. I'm continually amazed by the statistics that show low numbers for voter turnout and community involvement in America. It's especially disconcerting when one thinks about the attitudes of some young people who don't consider voting or community service a civic responsibility.

As teachers, we can help to change those attitudes in our students. The social studies curriculum offers many opportunities for increasing the amount of reading and writing students do on social studies themes and current events. In addition to increasing literacy, we'll be promoting active citizenship.

Russell Freedman's book, Give Me Liberty!, tracks events from 1773 to 1776.

No student is too young to begin learning about the democratic process and the fact that voting is just one important way to share in the goodness of our country. We must involve our students early as we seize each and every opportunity to teach the democratic process – everything from elections, to the Bill of Rights, to the Constitution and other documents.

A system at work
Fortunately, there are many excellent children's books that help teach aspects of democracy at all levels. One book for intermediate grades, is Give Me Liberty! The Story of the Declaration of Independence by Russell Freedman (Holiday House, 2000, ISBN: 0-823-41448-5). A delightful picture book by Peter W. Barnes and Cheryl Shaw Barnes, House Mouse, Senate Mouse (Vacation Spot, 1996, ISBN: 0-963-76884-0), talks about the Congressional process.

Many of our students don't realize that the right to vote was not always extended to all Americans. The Voice of the People: American Democracy in Action by Betsy Maestro (HarperTrophy, 1998, ISBN: 0-688-16157-X) is a primary-level book about how elections have changed and how democracy is dependent upon people.

Another picture book by Peter W. Barnes and Cheryl Shaw Barnes, Woodrow for President (Vacation Spot, l999, ISBN: l-893-62201-0), is about the election of a mouse. A middle grade book by Linda Ellerbee, Get Real #6: Girl Reporter Rocks Polls! (HarperCollins, 2001, ISBN: 0-064-40760-8), is the story of a middle school student council election.

A young boy teaches his father to write his name on a ballot in Papa's Mark.

Fight for the right
The Day the Women Got the Vote by George Sullivan (Scholastic, l994, ISBN: 0-590-47560-6) documents the suffrage movement in the U.S. For a book about African-Americans in segregated Mississippi during the era of voter registration, try Granddaddy's Gift by Margaree King Mitchell (Bridge Water Books, 2002, ISBN: 0-8167-4011-9). Papa's Mark, by Gwendolyn Battle-Lavert (Holiday House, 2003, ISBN: 0-823-41650-X) is a story of literacy's role in African-American voting rights. Visit www.jimcrowhistory.org for more about African-Americans' struggle to win the vote.

By reading these books, students can begin to comprehend the struggle faced by women and African-Americans in order to be able to vote. You may want to ask your students to interview family members about the 1950s and 1960s, and ask what their families remember about that era. Researching the Voting Rights Act that Congress passed in l965 reveals the nonviolent methods citizens used to gain Constitutional rights.

Changing the world
Because we live in a global society, our students must become aware of the places in the world where women and other disenfranchised people don't have voting rights and other privileges. Feminist Press' "Women Changing the World" series includes books for intermediate and middle school students, such as Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams: Making Peace in Northern Ireland (l999, ISBN: l-559-61200-9), Mamphela Ramphele: Challenging Apartheid in South Africa, (2000, ISBN: l-558-61227-0) and Ela Bhatt: Uniting Women in India. (2000, ISBN: 1-558-61229-7).

We can contribute to our students' understanding of civil rights by collecting articles from newspapers and making a bulletin board of clippings that illustrate the lack of democracy in other countries. Younger children can become aware of the problems; older students can critically examine the writing style, choice of words and the opinions that are expressed in the articles.

NSPME gets kids involved in the voting process.

Get out there and vote!
When I talk about the National Student/Parent Mock Elections (NSPME), teachers sometimes reply, "I don't teach secondary social studies," but the NSPME is actually for all teachers, kindergarten through secondary school. This worldwide project serves all 50 states and Washington, DC as well as 14 countries and territories around the world that are home to Americans.

The project began as part of the NBC Parent Participation TV Workshop back in 1980, and then became a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization devoted to voter education. NSPME has become so large that over one million votes were cast in the 2000 Mock Election. CNN in Atlanta was the National Election Headquarters for the past two elections and AOL has made it possible for participants to vote online.

It's easy to sign up and participate. There's no charge for anything, including the curriculum materials. Enrollment forms are available at www.nationalmockelection.com or at National Student/Parent Mock Election, P.O. Box 36653, Tucson, AZ, 85704. Find out about NSPME today!

One of many excellent resources from Cobblestone Publishing.

Working together
I'm fond of the publications from Cobblestone Publishing Company. If you're lucky enough to have a shelf of past issues, look for "Celebrating Citizenship" (September 2002), "The Two Party System" (November 1988), "Presidential Elections" (October 1980) and "Elections in America" (October 1996). "Voting Rights in America" will be available in March 2004.

The National Council for the Social Studies has many publications devoted to creating effective citizens. You can find out more at their website, which is www.socialstudies.org.

We can kindle our students' interest in democracy as they read and write and participate in the world around them. Let's work together to build a more socially conscious nation, one young citizen at a time.

Maryann Manning is on the faculty of the School of Education, the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

November/December, 2003, Vol.34, No.3