California Educator

August/September 2020

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Election Education Programs Online • PBS Learning Media's The Election Connection has videos, activities and lesson plans about the history of elections, voting rights and how the presidential election works, including an interactive Electoral College map that allows students to predict their own scenarios. There's even a youth media challenge for middle and high school students! pbslearningmedia.org/ collection/election-collection • C-SPAN Classroom Campaign 2020 is a comprehensive home for presidential election information and teaching resources, including how the candidates compare on the issues, historical videos, and lesson plans on everything from candidate ads to foreign election interference. sites.google.com/view/ c-span-classroom-campaign-2020/ lesson-plans • Gamif y the election at iCivics election headquarters, which features election-focused civics games on the race for the White House, the duties and responsibilities of the president, and the fight against "fake news." This free-with-registration site also features lesson plans, helpful infographics, and online "webquests" to connect civic concepts to the real world. icivics.org/election PBS Learning Media Jayson Chang with deliberate open-mindedness, facilitating discussion with- out making his thoughts the centerpiece. "My students don't know my political standpoint," Humble says. "My goal is not to get them to follow my way of thinking — I want them to follow their hearts. My goal is to teach, not to preach." Chang strives to provide a safe space for his students to express their opinions and examine controversial issues that they might not otherwise have a chance to discuss. "All sides should be heard," he says. "My goal in the classroom is to teach students how to think, not what to think." e ultimate goal, Shrock says, is giving students the tools they need to be good citizens and understand how the system works, and inspiring them to be brave to use their voices to make change. "I want them to go on to vote and be good members of their communities," he says. "I want them to understand there's a pro- cess to make change in their community. And I believe in it." Giving students a safe space to examine difficult issues and express their opinions is a major piece of civic education. 52 cta.org Teaching & Learning

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