Learning Activity: Compose a "Political Contact List"

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(CNN Student News) -- Students will use the results of the 2006 midterm elections to create their own "Political Contact Lists."

Procedure

After Tuesday's elections, have students consult CNN.com and local media resources to determine their U.S. House and state legislative districts and their national, state and local elected officials. (Note: Students can also find their U.S. congressional districts by visiting the House of Representatives Web site (http://www.house.gov/) and providing their zip code. They will have to consult local government Web sites for help in finding city, county and state district boundaries.) Direct students to find information on the results of Tuesday's races in their state and localities. Have each student use the information that he or she finds to create a personal "Political Contact List." Each list should include the following information:

My congressional district number

My representative in the U.S. House of Representatives

My senators

My governor

My state legislator(s) (List each and indicate respective house)

My local chief executive (such as mayor, county commissioner)

Other local elected officials (council reps, commissioners, county officials, school board members) who represent me

Have students share their findings and check one another's lists for accuracy. Remind students that newly elected officials typically assume their offices in January, but this could vary locally.

Then, lead a class brainstorm to generate a list of current issues important to your community. They can be local, statewide and/or national in scope. Write all the issues on the board. Review the list and ask students: If you wanted to make your views known about one of these issues or to start a change in policy, whom from your list would you contact, and what is the best way to do that in each case?

Have students work in groups to decide exactly whom they would contact for each issue and how they would do this. Direct a spokesperson for each group to share the group's findings with the class. Conclude with a discussion about the different levels of government (federal, state, local) and each level of government's role in students' lives. Have students keep their "Political Contact Lists" for future reference and use. Encourage them to share it with others, including parents, teachers and administrators.

Correlated Standards

Civics

III. How does the government established by the Constitution embody the purposes, values and principles of American democracy?

A. How are power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution?

2. The American federal system. Students should be able to evaluate, take, and defend positions on issues regarding the distribution of powers and responsibilities within the federal system.

1. To achieve this standard, students should be able to explain how the federal government system provides numerous opportunities for citizens to participate through its dispersal of power among and between

National, state and local governments

Branches and agencies of the national, state, and local governments

The National Standards for Civics and Government (http://www.civiced.org/912erica.htm ) are published by the Center for Civic Education (http://www.civiced.org/index.html)

Social Studies

VI: Power, Authority and Governance

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance.

The Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands/ ) are published by the National Council for Social Studies (http://ncss.org/).

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