Active Citizenship

Students talk about the 2012 election and President Obama's statement in his acceptance speech that "democracy does not end with our vote." Students then consider the issues that are most important to them, research the issues, and figure out how to take action on them. 

Students discuss the most important issues for them in the presidential election and research these issues as homework. Then they stage a mock debate with teams playing the roles of the candidates, the moderators, fact-checkers, reporters and audience.   

Active citizenship involves more than voting. Here, a few activist organizations are briefly profiled for students; questions and other suggested classroom activities follow.