Team Kirkwood Literacy Program

Why We Should Vote

Inspired by the Tennessee 2018 midterm elections, Team Kirkwood developed the Why We Should Vote literacy series to educate young people about our democracy and the importance of voting.

To start, we straw polled our fourth grade students to gain information about what they knew about voting, their parents’ or guardians’ attitudes about voting, and if any adults in their households voted. To our surprise, many parents and other adults did not vote. The reasons we heard included:

• “They have to work.”

• “They just don’t.”

• “They can’t.”

It was clear to us that the students did not know the history behind the struggle to secure the vote for Blacks or women, or that voting underpins our democracy. Research shows that early education is crucial to engage young voters, and with this mandate we created a series to encourage students to become lifelong civic minded and responsible adults who will vote in every election.

By the end of the program, students were impassioned about voting and impatient to turn 18 so they could participate in elections!

Fourth grade future voters display their mock-voter registration cards, standing in line for classroom elections.

Program Materials

Lillian’s Right to Vote by Jonah Winter & Shane W. Evans: Students read a story inspired by the life experiences of Lillian Allen, who was 100 years old when she cast her vote for the first African-American president of the United States, Barack Obama. The story depicts the changing political status of African Americans during and immediately after slavery, through the 21st century. Activities include locating slave markets and cotton plantations in Alabama, to provide geographical and historical context for the exercise of important rights.

Mama Went to Jail for the Vote by Kathleen Karr: Students learn about the suffragette movement and its campaign to secure women’s right to vote. We explore a map of the United States to see where women marched to understand the scope of the effort, and discuss the fight for gender equality.

If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier: Students learn about the political process, and review, complete, and submit mock-voter registration forms to “register” as Tennessee voters. They then hold an election for classroom officers, complete with campaigns and election booths.

To learn about bringing Why We Should Vote to your learning space, contact us.