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Voting Vanguards Book Creation

Why does our right to vote matter? Who fought for us to have that right and why? How can we stand up for the rights and voices of those who aren’t counted and recognized?

Case Study at a Glance

In this case study, students will analyze the role of their own voice through voting, discussions, debates, and other means and consider the way that is scaled into our government and democracy. Students will work with a professional author and designer/illustrator to create a professional-quality book.

Case Study Planner

Author: Jake Chernikoff

School: South Hill

Level: 3rd Grade

Questions

Guiding Questions

  • How does voting determine whose voice matters most?

  • What is the history of voting rights in the United States and how does that history inform our own perspectives and actions?

  • How can we be change makers and teachers through the creation of our book or otherwise?

ICSD Anti-Marginalization Focus Questions

  • How can I advocate for others?

  • How do we stand up for ourselves and others' rights? How do I speak up about it?

  • What role do I have in my community?

  • How has my history influenced my community?

  • Hard History: How have structures been created and perpetuated to given certain people more power? What is the thread that runs from slavery, through civil rights and up to today for the oppression of certain people in our country?

Student Product

A professionally published book of biographical profiles of “voting vanguards” from throughout history written and illustrated by the students in partnership with a guest author and illustrator.

Spring 2020

Our Vote is Our Voice:
Stories of Heroic Americans Who Fought for Our Rights

"Every day for a series of weeks in May and June, students signed on to meet as a class, to do their math and spelling, their keyboarding, cursive and reading, but also to create a book. They researched, interviewed, took notes, wrote, revised, edited, conferenced in teams, illustrated and fueled this project with their joy and ambition. With their faces and voices all lined up on our computer screens, they published a book. They published a great book, and an important book..."

- Jake Frumkin Chernikoff, Teacher

Our Vote is Our Voice

Click to download