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Activities and Resources

Here's the Ticket!

• Have students track the election polls each week to notice any variation. What might be the reason for any changes? Visit Gallup and CNN to see recent polls.

• Get to know the Veeps! The media is abuzz with talk of vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. The two contenders will face off in a debate on October 2 in Oxford, Miss. Don’t wait to find out their views on this year’s important election issues. Divide students into two groups, one for Biden and one for Palin. Have students research the candidates’ views and positions on the war in Iraq, the environment, the economy, and energy resources, among others. Ask: Where do the candidates stand? How are they alike? How do they differ? Have students write debate questions and the candidate’s possible answers. For more information, go to biden.senate.gov and gov.state.ak.us.

• Celebrate Constitution Week Sept. 17-24! Included in your issue 2 bundle is the poster “Party Like It’s 1787.” It depicts Howard Chandler Christy’s famous painting “The Signing of the Constitution,” which currently hangs in the U.S. Capitol. The poster points out interesting facts about 10 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention. (Only 39 of those delegates appear in the painting. Christy didn’t include the three delegates who didn’t sign the document or the 13 who left the convention.) Have students research one of the delegates on the poster. Have them choose one interesting fact about that delegate, write it on a small sticky note, and place it on the poster. Read more about the painting, and check out an interactive version.

Looking for Smart Stuff? Click here to download issue 2's edition (PDF).

Answers to the issue 2 SmartStuff are listed on Page 2 of the Issue 2 Teacher's Guide that accompanies Current Events magazine.

• Keep up with daily election news at CNN www.cnn.com/POLITICS and The New York Times www.nytimes.com/pages/politics.

• Learn about the U.S. government and election process at Ben's Guide: bensguide.gpo.gov.

TEACHER'S PAL:

• Learn more about social networking at Social Networking 4 Teachers: socialnetworking4teachers.wikispaces.com.

• Read about social networking in schools and other educational technologies at Tech News World: www.technewsworld.com.

• Find classroom activities relating to social networking and Internet safety for middle school students at CyberSmart: www.cybersmart.org/info/social_net.asp.