Voting: The Root of Democracy

In this dramatic guide, a group of "less than stellar" students work with the class "brain" in putting together a social studies project on the importance of voting. As they begin discussing the topic, they discover that voting is a vital part of their democratic heritage for many reasons, as evidenced in the struggle that immigrants, women and minorities underwent to win the right to vote in America--a struggle that, in many parts of the world, continues. Applying principle to a practical real-world example, the students become involved in a local mayoral race to save the school landmark lunch tree. Using stills, re-enactments, and newsreel footage, this solid title gives a quick overview of the importance of voting in a democracy, a civic right that looms large in the national consciousness in the wake of the most recent every-vote-counts presidential election. Although recommended for intermediate, junior high and high school students, the material is really more geared to intermediate and junior than high school audiences. Recommended. Aud: I, J, P. (L. Stevens)