Going one day without seeing at least one piece of propaganda for the 2016 election in today’s society is almost unheard of. Most adults already have formulated opinions on today’s election, but it is rare that young students get involved in politics. History teacher Caryn Brogan’s Government and Politics class decided to change this on November 3. The class traveled to Woods Road Elementary School to inform a class of third graders about government, rules, and rights of citizens.

“I was so proud of all of my students,” Brogan said. “They really worked hard to prepare and had so much fun teaching the 3rd graders.  It was such a unique opportunity to be able to share our ideas and work together with the elementary students.  I hope we get to collaborate with them again before the semester is over.”

The class divided into many stations, each with a different objective, and had the third graders rotate between activities. One station was designed to discuss the difference between rights and rules in the classroom and at home. This gave the children an idea of how they should act to be good citizens. Another activity was decorating voting pins for either the students to give to their parents to wear while voting, or for the students to wear when accompanying their parents to the polls. The third station was Election Bingo. The high school students would give a definition of a word, and the third graders would have to try to find the word on their board. This taught the children commonly used political words they may hear on TV or through people talking. Following this station, the students would move to the “Meet the Leader” station. In this station, they would draw themselves as president, and write down 5-6 adjectives describing what they thought a good leader would possess. The final station was a presidential poem activity, where the students would write a poem stating what they would change if they were president. This gave the kids an opportunity to express what they feel they would like improved in our country from the opinion of a third grader.

“They were so excited to see us and asked us all about high school. It was so cute,” senior Dakota Seidel said.

Brogan made sure to express to her students that they were going to Woods Road to teach the children about the election, not to discuss their political views, or specific candidates. Along with information about government, they also answered questions about daily gym class, and the lack of recess in the high school. It allowed the third graders to connect with the high schoolers and feel comfortable voicing their opinion in a less intimidating situation.

“The kids were very cute and excited to learn about politics,” senior Nick Pezza said. “It is important to teach younger kids about basic politics so they can realize what they want and deserve in future government.”

It is so important to teach our youth about the government and allow them to decide what they want in a leader. The decisions we make when we are young will pave the path of our own futures, and it is vital that younger generations get involved. Thanks to Brogan’s Government and Politics class, we are one third grade class closer to having a very informed next generation of voters.