Join the Excitement of the 2008 Election
March 14, 2008

2008 is a great year to be a teacher! The 2008 Presidential Election is generating a lot of energy and excitement in American students. The 2008 YLI Mock Election plans to channel this enthusiasm into civic action by providing students the opportunity to participate in the election process. More than just a day of voting, the YLI Mock Election offers teachers a collection of resources that will engage classrooms across the nation and galvanize young Americans to civic action.

The 2008 Mock Election promises to be YLI's largest and most comprehensive ever. Students will vote online or by paper ballot from October 20 to 30. Teachers will have the option to create unique ballots in order to tailor the activity to meet the needs of their students, while a two-week voting period facilitates scheduling computer access or school-wide election activities.

The YLI Mock Election is a one-stop-shop for teaching about all aspects of the election process. Lesson materials already online include Selecting a President Part 1: Primaries and Caucuses and Selecting a President Part 2: The Nominating Conventions. These fully-developed lesson plans are aligned to state standards of learning and include innovative ways to involve your students with technology. YLI will add new lesson plans throughout the spring and summer to reflect the emerging topics of interest in this year's presidential election.

YLI is adding something new to our Mock Election program this year. The Youth Leadership Initiative will provide tools to facilitate expanding student discussions of the election, the voting process and issues of importance to our nation from the classroom and into the community. YLI's Talking Turkey: Taking the "Dis" out of Civil Discourse will be a series of downloadable resources for discussing topics at the dinner table, at the local coffee shop, or wherever families meet to share time together. The goal is to connect parents and students while discussing issues such as health care, national security, the economy and the environment.

As with all YLI programs and materials, the YLI Mock Election is non-partisan and available to teachers FREE of charge. If you haven't already, sign up now for access to all YLI lesson plans and resources.