• Teach the history of voting and voting rights. See Lesson Packet 30 here.

• Use current events, issues, and upcoming primaries to teach basic skills.
• Hold a voter register drive so students can vote in the primaries.
• Teach media literacy — how to think critically about what politicians say and how the media reports it. Here are some resources:
  • A three-page resource from The Change Agent covering the basics of media literacy
  • The News Literacy Project — for educators and everyone — includes tools like Rumor Guard and Checkology.
  • An excellent four-page PDF put out by Connecticut Public Television, “Guide to Fakes and Facts.”
  • This learning module put out by MIT called “Media Literacy in the Age of Deep Fakes.”
  • A mini-lesson from Facing History: “Learning to Navigate Generative AI: Media Literacy Strategies“
  • This collection of News and Media Literacy lessons from Massachusetts PBS.

• Teach and debate the ballot questions in your state/area.
• Study the issues, the electoral process, (including the Electoral College) and the role of money in elections.
• Teach about how democracy requires action and how civics education can go beyond voting. Find more civics resources on the NELRC website.
• Feature students’ voices about issues that matter to them by integrating Change Agent materials into your teaching.

• Train your students to become Voting Ambassadors using this Change Agent Lesson Packet (#30) in Google Slides.
• Teach about Voter Suppression vs. Fraud using this Change Agent Lesson Packet (#24) in Google slides.
• Learn about the candidates and map their positions on issues. Use this grid to show where political parties stand on key issues.
• Practice formulating questions and writing letters to candidates to learn more about their positions on issues.
• Do another big voter registration push!
• Engage those who can’t vote. Here are some ideas.
• Engage with community organizations working on elections; invite in guest speakers.
• Hold a mock election.

Why should you join VERA?

• Our lives are directly affected by who is elected. The people we elect make the laws we have to live by.
• Voting is one of our most basic civil rights and responsibilities.
• The elections are a teachable moment to study representative democracy and explore civic participation.

What does it involve?

Joining VERA means making a program or class commitment to:

• teach about representative democracy, voting, and topical election issues
• encourage and help eligible students and staff register to vote, get to the polls, and vote
• encourage non-eligible students to talk to family members and friends who can vote
• participate in a program-wide mock election
• exploring ways to take action in and shape civil society

• We have a host of teaching resources for you to explore.
• Workshops and webinars are available for your state. Contact us.

Join adult educators from all the NELRC states help adult learners exercise their voice and choice inside and outside of the classroom. Recruit your colleagues! With your help, we can build a more participatory democracy!

More questions? Email Cynthia Peters at cpeters@worlded.org.