Lesson Plan - 13 Ways to Get Involved in the 2020 Election

About the Article

Learning Objective

Students will read about civic involvement and create a plan for getting involved in an election.

Curriculum Connections

• Elections

• Civic Engagement

• The First Amendment

• Media Literacy

Key Skills

Social Studies:
• Understand the importance of elections
• Apply civic ideals as part of citizen action
• Analyze a map

English Language Arts:
• Analyze causes and effects
• Use domain-specific vocabulary
• Research and gather information

Key CCSS Standards

RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.4, WHST.6-8.4, RI.6-8.1, RI.6-8.2, RI.6-8.4, W.6-8.4, SL.6-8.1, SL.6-8.6

1. Preparing to Read

Engage and Build Vocabulary

Ask students to respond to this prompt: What does it mean to be a good citizen? How do you think people should participate in our system of government? Choose two adjectives that describe a good citizen. Explain your choices. You might share responses by creating a word cloud. Then use the Skill Builder Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms federal, constitution, editorial, register, ballot, First Amendment, petition, and city council.

2. Reading and Discussing

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently. As they read, ask students to mark or highlight the two or three actions that are most appealing to them.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• What are three ways young people can get involved in this year’s elections? (Key Details)
Sample response: One way young people can get involved is by volunteering for a campaign. They might help contact potential voters by phone, mail, or text. Another way to participate is by watching a debate with others and then discussing what was said. A third way to get involved is by writing to or calling an elected official to share ideas or opinions about key issues.

• How is the pandemic affecting this year’s presidential election? (Cause and Effect)
Donald Trump and Joe Biden are campaigning differently because of the pandemic and social distancing guidelines. They’re hosting more online events and having less in-person contact with voters. Also, many states have made voting by mail easier because of Covid-19. Some people are worried that the Postal Service may have trouble handling tens of millions of mail-in ballots.

• How does the map on page 21 support the article? What information does it give about your state? (Text Features)
The map supports the article by giving information about some of the state and federal races taking place. It shows how many governors, U.S. senators, and U.S. representatives will be elected in November. (Responses to the second question will vary.)

3. Skill Building

Boost Civic Participation

Use the Skill Builder Take Action! to guide students to choose one way to get involved in the election. It will help them plan and reflect on their involvement.

Assess Comprehension

Use Quiz Wizard to assess students’ comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.

Printable Lesson Plan

Text-to-Speech