Raising A.B.C. is designed to help students discover how candidates get elected and how participating in the voting process creates better citizens.  Raising A.B.C.--Kids Get Out the Vote was written by Peggy Wyns-Madison, a former Teachers Network web mentor. 

CAMPAIGN LOBBY

Welcome to the Campaign Lobby! The election race is heating up. The presidential and vice presidential candidates for the major parties have had their debates. News polls release information on how each candidate is influencing voters. Many people in the U.S. are eligible to vote but do not exercise their right. How can you help? 

Voters' Rally 
When the U.S. government tried to convince citizens to volunteer for the armed services, it used a famous character named UNCLE SAM. What character can you use to get citizens to register to vote? 

Review the history of VOTING RIGHTS. Some members of society were not allowed to vote. Create a timeline of the key persons you feel helped make voting available to all citizens. 

View the election movie at BrainPop. Then cast your vote for your favorite candidate. 


Candidate Suites 
Make a poster of your candidate's major campaign promises. 

Create a timeline of your candidate's accomplishments during his political career. 

Illustrate changes in America under your candidate's presidency. 

Select a theme song or write an original song for your candidate. 

Political Gallery 
Have you ever heard the expression "A picture is worth a thousand words"? Artists and cartoonists have used pictures to express ideas, events, and opinions for hundreds of years. In this section of the Campaign Lobby, you have an opportunity to use your artistic talents to create political cartoons. Visit these two sites to view political cartoons: Political Cartoons. Listen to an audio editorial cartoon at The Washington Post. For lesson plans on using political cartoons, try this teacher's guide. 

Today candidates use a good deal of political lingo--soft money, right wing, spin. Use the Electionary and pick a word. Then design an election button to illustrate the term. 

Preview commercials from 1952-2000 at the American Museum of the Moving Image. How does the media affect elections? For a lesson on media and elections, try C-Span in the Classroom.