Flick on the television or open up a newspaper and you´re bombarded with images of candidates kissing babies, delivering rousing speeches, and roving the countryside to get out the vote. My colleagues and I capitalize on this can´t-be-missed elections media coverage to launch a campaign of our own: a well-rounded study of citizenship. We build excitement by first focusing on the presidential election, crescendo into debating public issues that hit home with kids — such as, should children wear uniforms? — and conclude by taking meaningful action in the community. We don´t merely "do the election" in November. Instead, throughout the fall we link aspects of the National Council for the Social Studies´ citizenship standard to a host of activities.
 
Now you can score a landslide in your classroom with these win-win projects and resources.

• More Than Mock Elections: Especially for Intermediate
• Teaching Kids to Talk the Talk: Primary and Intermediate
• What Did Your Students Learn? A Sample Scoring Rubric
• Election and Citizenship Resources
• Citizenship Books and Activities

Tarry Linquist, Instructor's regular social studies columnist, is a teacher on Mercer Island, Washington, and author of Seeing the Whole Through Social Studies (Heinemann, 1995). She was recognized by the National Council for the Social Studies as National Elementary Teacher of the Year.