In this lesson, students will explore voter turnout in North Carolina and through a short reading, they will learn about the various reasons for depressed voter turnout in the US. Students will then learn about various "Get Out the Vote" (GOTV) efforts to combat low turnout through platforms such as Twitter and various GOTV commercials. As a culminating project, students will create their own GOTV campaigns for the First Vote school-wide election simulation.

In this lesson, students will think critically about advertising messages, techniques, and the importance of designing and pitching advertisements to target audiences. Students will first examine images of historical civil rights propaganda and then work collaboratively with other students to create a slogan or advertisement to motivate youth of varyng ages to vote at the school, local, state, national,or international level.

In this lesson, students will learn about registering and voting in North Carolina, particularly focusing on North Carolina's preregistration law, which allows 16 and 17 year-olds to pre-register to vote. The law was originally effective January 1, 2010 but was repealed in 2013 by NC's Voter Information Verification Act. In July 2016, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a number of VIVA's provisions and reinstated pre-registration for 16 and 17 year-olds. Students will also explore the importance of registering and voting, as well as the reasons for voter apathy. This lesson will culminate with students creating a commercial to encourage North Carolina’s 16 and 17 year-olds to pre-register to vote.

Students gain media literacy skills they need to navigate the media, including how to spot fake news.

This inquiring leads the students through an investigation about our current election process.  The students will receive a broad overview of how the US Presidential election process works.  At the end of the research the students will understand four key components to the presidential election process; being the Electoral College, influence of the media, role of interest groups and PACS, and the role of the voting citizenry. After learning about the election process and the “big players” the students will read through documents, analyze charts and infographics, and watch videos pertaining to the importance of voting. 

In this lesson plan, students examine the evolution of Latino electoral participation with specific reference to the growth of voter participation in South Texas and New York in the 1950s – 70s, as well as the impact of Latino voters in major elections of the early 2000s. Students will explore early efforts to mobilize disenfranchised voters, examine watershed campaigns and elections and consider major issues – including the politics of immigration. They will reflect on the major paradigm shifts that have occurred within the last 60 years. Teachers can complete the entire sequence of activities or choose just one of the activities as a stand-alone lesson.

In this lesson, students gain media literacy skills they need to navigate the media, including how to spot fake news.

In this activity, students in American History: Founding Principles, Civics, and Economics courses will break into teams and act as a Board of Elections, working together to plan, organize, conduct and monitor their school's First Vote election. Students will first learn about what actual state and county Boards of Elections do, and will then think through the various components of an election as they work together to determine their school's own election procedures. While this activity is not required when conducting the First Vote election simulation, it is an excellent way to encourage student ownership of and interest in the project. (If multiple classes/sections of American History: Founding Principles, Civics, and Economics will be completing this activity, teachers should first coordinate how the final election design plan will be selected.)

In this activity, students review various approaches citizens might use to influence the political process and make sure that their voice is heard. A set of discussion questions is provided.

Students gain an understanding of midterm elections and discuss reasons why voter turnout remains low.

Students understand the many important positions in state and local government and that local elections and ballot measures have a great impact on their lives. Students will also analyze the merits of candidates and ballot measures in their local elections.

This resource contains a video which discusses how the principle of one person and one vote emerged from a series of landmark decisions in the 1960's, including Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Sims. The video examines the political environment that led to the decisions and the Court's application of the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause in deciding reapportionment cases.

In this lesson, students consider how the media's coverage of politics is influencing public opinion on politicians and the election process. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students form small groups and analyze a list of topics and discuss whether or not they are newsworthy.

Young people often feel disengaged from the political process and powerless to bring about change. However, history shows us that successful movements have often had youth at the forefront, leading the charge for social justice. In this lesson, students will examine historical and current examples of various movements and protests driven by youth, in the hope that young people will begin to develop political identities themselves.

In this lesson, students explore voting laws in North Carolina and weigh the pros and cons of bills like VIVA.

Students explore voting laws in North Carolina and weigh the pros and cons of bills like VIVA. Based on class discussion and evidence they collect throughout the lesson, students make an informed decision regarding their opinion about North Carolina's election law.

In this two-day lesson plan, students examine the struggle for desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement and a current study that finds that American schools are reverting to segregation. On the first day, students examine the notion of ‘separate but equal’ by reading about the Brown v. Board of Education decision and by researching different events, legislation and organizations that influenced desegregation. On the second day, students assess ways in which race relations have and have not changed since this historic decision, examine the recent ‘resegregation’ study, and propose suggestions for addressing the school segregation issue to local, state or national leaders.

In this lesson, students consider if the negative trend in political advertising has an effect on democracy. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students evaluate ads for federal, state, and local candidates. Then they will collaborate in small groups to write a 30-second script for a political candidate and perform it before the class.

Students will consider the essential question of why voting is an important responsibility for citizens. Students will view film clips, examine primary and secondary sources, and participate in both research and discussion.