(30-40 minutes)

OBJECTIVE
Students explore aspects of another democracy.

MATERIALS
Newspapers, magazines, periodicals, scissors

GET READY

• Tell your students that there are other democracies in the world besides the United States. In fact, there are many countries where people have the right to vote.
• Inform your class that they are going to learn about another democratic country.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Tell your class they are going to collect information on another democratic country.
• Have your students vote to decide what country they want to learn about. Provide some ideas if necessary: France, Australia, etc.
• Once the class has chosen a country, start collecting magazines and newspapers that contain articles and pictures about the country. If at all possible, find articles that are written for children.
• Dedicate a bulletin board in the classroom to the articles and pictures.
• Bring these magazines and newspapers into school and show your students how you found the articles. Show them how you cut them out and attached them to the bulletin board.
• Read aloud what some of the articles say and explain what some of the pictures show. Make connections between the country the class selected and America — explain how the country is a democracy.
• Encourage your students to bring in any materials they can find on the country. They may want to ask their parents/guardians for help finding these items.
• Give your students time to make a contribution (it may take some time for them to find appropriate/related material). Announce intermittently any updates to the bulletin board.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• What makes the country we learned about a democracy?
• How is this country like the United States?
• How is this country different than the United States?

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