Voting is an essential part of a citizen’s civic responsibility. The classroom, young citizens’ first civic space, provides a unique opportunity to prepare students for a life of active citizenship. This Civics Week in New York, we invite you to celebrate youth voice, civic empowerment, and the importance of registering to vote with your class and help students understand how they can make a change in their communities.
From lesson plans to interactive games, iCivics has compiled a list of resources to engage students and empower them to become informed active voters:
Just in time for ranked-choice voting to be introduced to New York elections, iCivics has released our new infographic, Rank Your Choice, diving into this unique election system. This printable infographic walks students through the process step-by-step and discusses the pros and cons of ranked-choice voting.
While registering to vote and heading to the polling place is a critical step, doing the proper research on the candidates and the issues that matter is just as important. This game is all about teaching students how to evaluate the candidates, the issues they care about, and the arguments on both sides.
Becoming a voter starts with voter registration. Even if students may be too young to vote, it’s never too early to learn. This lesson plan helps students understand the importance of voting and the process of getting registered.
Beyond the ballot box, there are many more ways for students to take civic action and influence an election. In addition to teaching the voter registration process, this lesson plan also discusses issue advocacy and how to encourage others to vote as well.