Mrs. Whittaker’s first Grade class erupted with cheers as their special guest drew tally marks on the white board.
As a part of the PYP unit who we are, Lausanne first graders are exploring the community, and received a visit from Up the Vote 901 volunteer, Janet Lo.
Up the Vote 901 is non-profit that helps advance initiatives for voting and increased political involvement in Memphis and Shelby County, while helping register, educate and empower citizens to improve social and political conditions locally.
During the visit, students learned about the importance of voting and making an informed decision and participated in a mock election.
Mrs. Janet held up two stuffed animals that represented candidates named Tammy Tiger and Henrietta Hedgehog during the mock-election. She then read off a campaign speech for both stuffed animals and told the class it was up to them to decide who wins.
To start the election, students were handed future voter registration cards that they had to fill out and turn back in. After turning in the registration cards, the class received voter ballots and got to check either the Tammy Tiger box or Henrietta Hedgehog box.
Once all students finished filling out their ballots, Mrs. Janet tallied each vote on the white board so the class could follow the election results.
“We’ve discussed in class how decisions in our community are many times made by voting on people who represent what we believe in,” said first Grade teacher Tabatha Whittaker. “Mrs. Janet’s presentation and interaction completely matched our goal for the unit. It was engaging, connected with our students and brought learning about a big subject right to their understanding level.”
The students had fun participating in the activity, and as for the election results, Henrietta Hedgehog defeated Tammy Tiger 26 to 16.