OBJECTIVE
Students investigate elections and the voting experience.

MATERIALS
The Vote: Making Your Voice Heard - Linda Scher

• Read to your class the paragraph on page 37 beginning, "The U.S. government is the only western democracy that doesn't..."
• Ask, Why do you think this is the case in America? Do you think the government should come up with ways to get more people to vote? Why or why not?
• Ask, What did the author mean when she commented that the government might need to find new ways to keep voting from becoming a "spectator sport."
• Next, ask your students to divide into groups of two or three and brainstorm ways that prevent Americans from becoming voter "spectators."
• Have your students share their ideas with the class.
• Read The Vote: Making Your Voice Heard by Linda Scher

• What are the qualifications to vote today? Do you think those are good qualifications? Why or why not?
• "Voting is the foundation of democracy." What does that mean in your own words?
• How has voting changed in America over the years? What do you think of these changes?
• How and where do you vote? What does voting accomplish for yourself and others?
• Why do some people not vote even if they have the right? How do you feel about that?
• How do you think wise decisions are made in casting a vote?
• Why do you think the author named her book, The Vote: Making Your Voice Heard?

• Have your students create a collage that answers the following five questions (each question is a chapter heading from the book):
  -  Who Can Vote?
  -  How Has Voting Changed?
  -  How and Where Do You Vote?
  -  Who Votes and Who Doesn't?
  -  How Do You Use Your Vote Wisely?
• Divide your class up into groups of five so that each student can prepare one question for the collage.
• Give your students time to meet and determine who is responsible for which question.
• Provide enough time for students to collect articles, pictures, etc. (Encourage your students to draw an image if they cannot find what they are looking for in magazines, newspapers, etc.)
• On the day of creating the collages, break your students up into their groups and make sure you supply them with enough glue, scissors, etc. (The students should have their pictures, drawings, and other clippings ready, so they can easily work together to create a group collage.)
• Have your groups present their collages to the class identifying how they answered the questions through their artwork.

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