2008 Election Ideal for Classroom Discussion

Our newest Teachable Moment at Walch.com uses the 2008 election as a springboard for discussion. The 10th in a series of free lesson plans, this Teachable Moment helps students explore what it means to be labeled a "Democrat" or "Republican," how those terms came into use, and how political parties function today.

Complete with worksheets, answer keys, online references, and a list of National History Standards addressed, the Teachable Moment gives educators an opportunity to use today's headlines to further informed classroom research and learning. Here's the link:

http://www.walch.com/teachable/teachable_moments_10_billboard_controversy.pdf

We developed each Teachable Moment to supplement your own instructional materials, providing background information and student prompts. The 2008 election is now only a week away, but the lessons it can teach students about how political parties were created, how they define themselves, and what that means for the political process -- these lessons will be as valuable next year and for the foreseeable future.

Time was, political affiliation was unquestioned by many Americans. You were a Republican or a Democrat -- and that was it. Today's students want to know the real meaning behind these terms, and our newest Teachable Moment is a great way to kickstart that discussion.

FCTE, FCTM, GCTM, MCTM

One week ago, at the same time, Walch Education was exhibiting at four educational conferences: the Florida Council of Teachers of English (http://www.fcte.org), the Florida Council of Teachers of Mathematics (http://www.fctm.net), the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics (http://www.gctm.org) and the Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics (http://www.marylandmath.org).

In the South and in the North, talking to language arts teachers and talking to mathematics teachers, we kept hearing the same things:

• Even the textbooks that supposedly align to state standards often miss the mark, leaving the teachers to fill in the gaps
• Hands-on learning is critical
• If it makes a teacher's life easier, it has value
• Test prep drives much of what teachers work on

That last item is particularly noteworthy. Whatever an individual teacher's -- or district's, or state's -- opinion about "teaching to the test," those standardized tests cannot be ignored.

And more are coming. According to Outsell, a research and advisory firm focused on the publishing, information, and education industries, "Starting in 2012, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) will for the first time measure technology literacy and proficiency among K-12 students on a national level."

The materials and programs that garner interest are those that make a teacher's life easier and help prepare kids for tests.

One of our programs that drew a lot of attention was the Station Activities series: http://www.walch.com/search.php?catid=42 We currently have versions addressing Georgia and Florida standards, as well as a national version. These are all for middle school mathematics classes; in a few months, we'll have language arts versions, too.