Integration ideas

Lead2Feed’s Free Student School Leadership Program and $500K Prize Money

Posted on: October 18th, 2012 No Comments

 

Rand McNally Education is excited to support Lead2Feed, The World Hunger Leadership Challenge.

The Lead2Feed  school leadership program was created by the Lift a Life Foundation, YUM! Foundation, and the USA TODAY Charitable Foundation to encourage high school students to hone leadership skills through launching a service-learning project that solves hunger issues.

The program includes a 10–lesson, standards-based curriculum on the topic of leadership based on the book, Taking People With You, by David Novak, which will be provided to participating teachers. The lessons are easy to implement and require minimal teacher preparation.  Students will work in teams to study leadership qualities, identify a hunger-related problem, develop a solution and execute their plan.  The electronic edition of USA TODAY will also accompany the curriculum as a resource.

$500,000 in prizes will be awarded to winning teams for their hunger charity, as well as teacher incentives along the way for the top team winner and runner-up.

For middle and high school teacher registration, please go to www.lead2feed.com.

Lead2Feed and Play the Election

Will 2012 Mess with Texas?

Posted on: October 12th, 2012 No Comments

 

Texas has supported the Republican presidential candidate in every election since 1980. The GOP now has a stranglehold on many of the top positions in the state’s government, and it dominates the state legislature.

 

However, prior to 1972, the Democratic Party ruled Texas for the better part of a century. As the state gradually shifted to the Republican Party, native Texans were elected to the top posts in the United States. The last two Republican presidents, George Herbert Walker Bush, and his son, George W. Bush, were both Texas politicians.

 

2012 will mark the first time since 1976 that a Bush will not be on the ticket or in office for a presidential campaign. Without the presence of a Bush involved in the election, and with Texas’ population rapidly changing, is 2012 the year Republicans lose their grip on the state and its 38 electoral votes? Let your class decide by playing Texas Tradition, found in Games Central. Full lesson plans and activites are included in Teacher Resources.

Dear Mr. President Essay Contest

Posted on: October 11th, 2012 No Comments

 

Dear Mr President Essay ContestWith the debates upon us and the election drawing near, politics and governmental policy has become a daily discussion in many classrooms. Now is the chance for your students to build critical writing skills, weigh in with their thoughts on the most important issues of the day and earn a trip to DC!

Dear Mr. President is an essay contest for aged 13-20 in which they write a letter to the president telling him which issues you believe are the most important for him to address in the upcoming term.  Applications will be accepted until November 27th - but there is no time like the present! While the election is top on everyone's mind, submit your students essays today.   For details and contest rules, visit our Dear Mr. President program page.

Back-channelling the Debate

Posted on: October 3rd, 2012 No Comments

 

Play the Election ClassroomAccording to the Commission on Presidential Debates, tonight's debate calls for six 15-minute time segments, each of which will focus on one of the issues listed below.  All debates start at 9:00 p.m. ET and run for 90 minutes.

The Economy - I
The Economy - II
The Economy - III
Health Care
The Role of Government
Governing

As an extra credit activity, consider "backchannelling" the debate with the class. Using Twitter, simply use a hashtag to specify your class (e.g.#nameofclass).  During the debate, use twitter to ask students prompting questions about the discussion, and encourage them to respond and debate the facts.  Using the Hashtag at the end of each of your posts will allow all participants to easily search for the full twitter conversation.  It's a great way to keep students engaged and model appropriate use of social media in education.

 

 

The Election, State-by-State

Posted on: October 1st, 2012 No Comments

 

Play the Election OverviewWednesday night's Presidential Debate will focus on domestic policy, covering issues such as the economy, healthcare, the role of the government and governing, and is sure to have a signficant impact on the outcome of the election.

Domestic and state level policy are critical issues in this election  -- but do your students have an appreciation for how widely views and laws differ from state-to-state? To help students build an understanding of state-level issues and concerns, try this activity:

Assign students 6-15 states of their choice to research. Using the Play the Election Electoral Maps as a guide, instruct students to record their research in their election journal and use the information to support their predictions of who will win each state. Research should include:

  • The state’s voting history for presidential elections
  • Specific census data
  • Issues that may be important specifically to that state
  • Analysis of which candidate will win the state (based on information available as of today) with supporting documentation to support their argument.

Find details about this activity and many  others in the Teachers Resources section of Play the Election.