Teacher field guide
Civic learning
Your ballot is more local than your feed.
What’s actually on your ballot, and where do you find out?
National races dominate feeds, but many decisions that shape students’ lives, like school boards, judges and local measures, appear lower on the ballot. Knowing how to find your own official ballot and deadlines matters whether you’re voting soon or learning how the system works before you can.
What students make
Matching sheet plus a poster
The civic idea
Words that do the work.
- Sample ballotPapeleta de muestra
A preview of the contests and measures for your specific address and election.
Dec finds a school board race and a transit measure below the headline race.
- Voter guideGuía para votantes
A publication explaining or recommending choices; it may be neutral or take positions.
A creator’s guide explains some races and recommends others. Mateo separates the facts from the picks.
- RegistrationInscripción electoral
Signing up to vote where required; rules and deadlines vary by state.
Gia tells friends to check their own state’s deadline, not hers.
- PreregistrationPreinscripción
In many states, signing up at 16 or 17 so you’re registered when eligible.
Anika, 16, checks whether her state lets her preregister.
- JurisdictionJurisdicción
The area an official or body has authority over.
Mateo asks which office controls what he cares about before choosing a candidate.
- Twenty-Sixth AmendmentVigésima Sexta Enmienda
The 1971 constitutional amendment setting the voting age at 18 for all U.S. elections.
Dec is 17. Some states let 17-year-olds vote in a primary if they’ll be 18 by the general election.
Dec doesn’t need us picking for him. He needs his own ballot and a registration check before November. Honestly, so do I.
The evidence
Handle the case file.
Every artifact comes with a question. The captions are the lesson.
FORMFor the November general election
Illustrative sample ballot
POSTPosted three weeks before the election
Creator’s voter guide
CHATSunday, 6:30 p.m.
Gia’s group-chat reminder draft
Use it in your tools
Take it into class.
Share it, schedule it or edit it in the apps your school already uses.
In the real world
This isn’t just a story.
Real reporting, clips and research on the same question. The crew is fictional; these are not. Each link opens the original in a new tab.
The workshop
45 minutes, block by block.
5 min
Your feed vs. your ballot
TeacherShow a feed full of one national race. Ask: what else might be on the ballot?
StudentsList guesses.
CheckLists include local offices.
10 min
Read a sample ballot
TeacherHand out an illustrative sample ballot with federal, state and local contests.
StudentsCircle one local office and one measure.
CheckStudents find the school board race and a local measure.
8 min
What does the office do?
TeacherModel looking up an office’s responsibilities.
StudentsMatch three offices to three issues students care about.
CheckMatches are accurate (e.g., school board → school budgets).
10 min
Guide vs. ballot
TeacherShow a creator’s voter guide.
StudentsHighlight checkable facts in one color, recommendations in another.
CheckStudents separate facts from picks.
9 min
Official checklist
TeacherShow Vote.gov and the age guide; emphasize rules vary.
StudentsWrite a personal checklist: election office, registration, deadlines, sample ballot.
CheckChecklist uses official sources only.
3 min
Exit
TeacherAsk: if you can’t vote yet, what’s one way to take part?
StudentsWrite one.
CheckAnswer names a real route.
Differentiated routes
One case. Seven ways in.
Each route changes what students read, make and prove, not only how long it takes.
Middle school
Grades 6–8: Match offices on a sample ballot to the everyday things they decide, then make a poster for families about finding their own ballot.
- Sources
- An illustrative sample ballot and one-line office descriptions.
- Product
- Matching sheet plus a poster
- Raises the rigor
- Add a note about why a friend’s ballot might differ from yours.
Supports
- Office-to-issue matching cards
- Frames: “The __ decides __. To find your ballot, __.”
- Vocabulary: ballot, office, measure, register
- Group work
Success looks like
- Matches at least three offices accurately
- Points to official sources
- Nonpartisan
- Explains address-based differences
High school
Grades 9–10: Write a nonpartisan explainer on one local contest: what the office does, what’s on the ballot, and where to verify.
- Sources
- Illustrative sample ballot, office descriptions and USA.gov page.
- Product
- Explainer, 250–350 words
- Raises the rigor
- Compare how two guides describe the same measure.
Supports
- Explainer template
- Fact vs. opinion checklist
Success looks like
- Accurate office description
- Neutral language
- Official sources cited
- Compares two guides fairly
High school
Grades 11–12: Create a first-time voter guide for your state with an adult’s help, using only official sources.
- Sources
- Vote.gov, your state election office and your county sample ballot.
- Product
- Guide, 500–600 words
- Raises the rigor
- Include preregistration, primary rules for 17-year-olds if any, and how students away at college can find out where to register.
Supports
- Guide template
- Source checklist
Success looks like
- Accurate for your state
- Official sources only
- Nonpartisan
- Addresses students’ situations
High school
Honors: Argue whether the voting age for local elections should be lowered to 16.
- Sources
- Case materials plus one teacher-selected article on cities that allow 16-year-olds to vote locally.
- Product
- Argument, 600–700 words
- Raises the rigor
- Address arguments about maturity and civic habit.
Supports
- Claim/counterclaim chart
Success looks like
- Clear, qualified thesis
- Accurate facts about existing examples
- Addresses counterarguments
- Considers implementation
Pre-AP
Pre-AP: Closely observe an illustrative sample ballot’s structure and write an evidence-based explanation of what Dec will actually be deciding.
- Sources
- The illustrative sample ballot and one-line office descriptions.
- Product
- Observation grid plus explanation (200 words)
- Raises the rigor
- Discuss with a partner which contest matters most for students, then defend your choice in writing.
Supports
- Ballot observation grid: level, office, term, what it controls
- Question stems: “Which office affects Dec’s school?”
- Explanation frame
Success looks like
- Accurate reading of the ballot
- Office descriptions are correct
- Nonpartisan
- Defended with evidence
AP English Language
AP Lang: Rhetorically analyze a voter guide aimed at young people.
- Sources
- A teacher-selected nonpartisan or advocacy guide.
- Product
- Analysis, about 500 words
- Raises the rigor
- Explain how the guide builds trust with first-time voters and where it shifts from informing to persuading.
Supports
- Rhetorical situation grid
- Commentary stems
Success looks like
- Thesis on purpose and strategy
- Analyzes specific choices
- Identifies the inform/persuade shift
- Commentary explains effect
AP U.S. Government
AP Gov: SCOTUS comparison: compare Baker v. Carr (1962) with Reynolds v. Sims (1964). Explain how each shaped the “one person, one vote” principle and why district lines help determine which contests appear on a person’s ballot.
- Sources
- Oyez summaries of both cases and the case’s sample ballot.
- Product
- SCOTUS comparison response, about 350 words
- Raises the rigor
- Connect to the Twenty-Sixth Amendment and explain how it expanded the electorate.
Supports
- SCOTUS comparison template
- Vocabulary: justiciable, apportionment, redistricting
Success looks like
- Accurate facts and holdings
- Explains the relationship between the cases
- Connects to ballots and districts
- Nonpartisan
AP Seminar
AP Seminar: Team inquiry: “Why do young people vote less in local elections, and what would change that?” Members research turnout data, registration rules, civic education and youth-led efforts, then present to student council.
- Sources
- Case plus teacher-approved sources on youth turnout.
- Product
- Individual research report (800–1,000 words) plus 8-minute team presentation
- Raises the rigor
- Recommendations must be nonpartisan and legal for students under 18.
Supports
- Lens assignments
- Data tracker
- Presentation storyboard
Success looks like
- Accurate data
- Several perspectives
- Synthesized, nonpartisan recommendations
- Feasible for students
School pathway
Pre-IB: Write a comparative analysis of how the official sample ballot and a creator’s voter guide present the same election: what each includes, leaves out and asks the reader to do. Then write a reflection on the question: how can a voter know what a candidate or measure will actually do?
- Sources
- The illustrative sample ballot, the creator’s voter guide, Vote.gov and one official description of a local office.
- Product
- Comparative analysis (450–550 words) plus a 250-word reflection
- Raises the rigor
- Explain why an official ballot can be accurate and still leave a voter unable to decide, and what a responsible guide would add.
Supports
- Comparison grid: purpose, author, what is included, what is recommended
- Fact-versus-pick highlighter key
- Reflection stems on prediction and evidence
Success looks like
- Compares the two texts by purpose and effect
- Separates checkable facts from recommendations
- Stays nonpartisan throughout
- Reflection names the limits of predicting what officials will do
Middle Years
IB MYP: Investigate “How do local elections shape daily life?” and create an infographic for classmates.
- Sources
- Case materials; global context: Fairness and development.
- Product
- Infographic plus reflection
- Raises the rigor
- Compare how voting age or registration works in one other country.
Supports
- Statement of inquiry frame
- Infographic template
Success looks like
- Focused question
- Accurate content
- Thoughtful comparison
- Nonpartisan
IB Diploma
DP Lang & Lit: Write a guided textual analysis of a teacher-selected voter guide aimed at young or first-time voters, responding to the guiding question.
- Sources
- One teacher-selected voter guide aimed at young people, balanced across the class with guides from different organizations, and the case’s sample ballot for context.
- Product
- Guided analysis, 600–800 words, written in 75 minutes
- Raises the rigor
- Analyze how design choices such as headings, icons or checkmarks do persuasive work that the sentences do not state.
Supports
- Guiding question printed above the text
- Annotation layers: address to the reader, layout and hierarchy, the move from fact to recommendation
- Checklist of conventions for voter guides as a text type
Success looks like
- Responds directly to the guiding question
- Analyzes language and design with precise references
- Locates and explains the shift from informing to persuading
- Sustains an organized line of analysis in clear academic language
IB Diploma
DP Global Politics: Rehearse an engagement project on youth participation in local elections: frame a nonpartisan political issue, such as why young people vote less in local contests, map the actors (election office, schools, parties, youth organizations, candidates), plan ethical, nonpartisan engagement with an election office or youth civic group, and analyze how turnout affects the legitimacy of local decisions, comparing voting age or registration in one other country.
- Sources
- The sample ballot, Vote.gov’s guidance for people 18 and under, one source on local turnout and one official source on voting rules in another country.
- Product
- Engagement-project proposal, 600–800 words, with an actor map
- Raises the rigor
- Evaluate two different definitions of legitimacy, one based on procedure and one based on participation, using the local example.
Supports
- Actor map: formal authority, resources, influence, voice
- Nonpartisan engagement plan with consent and safety notes
- Legitimacy prompts: does turnout change whether a decision is accepted?
Success looks like
- Frames a nonpartisan political issue about participation
- Maps actors and their sources of power accurately
- Plans ethical, nonpartisan engagement
- Uses legitimacy precisely and compares fairly with another country
Access for every learner
- Provide an illustrated sample ballot with offices color-coded
- Read office descriptions aloud
- Spanish vocabulary: papeleta, inscripción, elección, medida
- Many election offices provide Spanish materials; show where
- Reduce to matching two offices
Extension
- Find your county’s sample ballot for the next election
- Research the history of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment
Annotated student work
What a draft shows us.
Write a group-chat message helping friends get ready for the election.
First draft
Guys the election is coming up and it’s a big one!! 1Registration closes on the 14th so do it now. Here’s the voter guide I use, 2it tells you exactly who to vote for so you don’t have to research. Also 3drop your addresses and I’ll check if you’re registered for you. 4Only the big race really matters anyway, the rest is small stuff. My cousin in another state said the same deadline works for her too, so just use mine. 5Let’s go vote!!
- 1Evidence That’s your state’s deadline. Friends in other states may differ.
- 2Gap A recommendation isn’t the ballot. Share the official sample-ballot link too.
- 3Audience Don’t collect friends’ private information in a chat.
- 4Gap Local offices often decide schools, transit and policing.
- 5Strength Great energy. Pair it with a route to official info.
Revised
Election reminder: registration deadlines and voting options depend on your state, so check yours at vote.gov, which links to your state’s election office. You can also look up your sample ballot for your own address there. It shows everything you’ll vote on, including school board and local measures, not just the big race. If you use a voter guide, check the facts it gives and remember its picks are someone’s opinion. Under 18? Many states let you preregister, and some let 17-year-olds vote in primaries. Check your state’s rules. No need to share your address here.
Assessment
One-page rubric.
Mark the evidence you see. Leave room for a comment and a next step.
| Criterion | Beginning | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence | Copies one person’s deadlines. | Mentions official sources vaguely. | Points to official sources for each person’s state. | Points to official sources and explains why rules differ. |
| Reasoning | Treats a guide as the ballot. | Mentions the ballot but not local contests. | Separates ballot, guide and registration. | Explains why local offices matter to the audience. |
| Audience & purpose | Collects private info. | Generic hype. | Useful, private, nonpartisan. | Includes people not yet eligible. |
| Revision | No change. | Adds a link. | Replaces copied deadlines with official routes. | Explains how each change helps friends in different situations. |
Evidence I saw
Next step
Standards
What this case teaches, by the book.
CCSS 6–8 3
RI.6.7Students combine a sample ballot’s layout with written office descriptions.RH.6-8.8Students separate facts from opinions in a voter guide.W.8.2Students write a checklist explaining how to find official election information.
CCSS 9–10 3
RI.9-10.6Students analyze a voter guide’s point of view and rhetoric.RH.9-10.6Students compare two guides’ treatment of the same measure.W.9-10.2Students explain what an office does and where to verify it.
CCSS 11–12 3
RI.11-12.7Students integrate a sample ballot, office descriptions and a guide to evaluate a contest.RH.11-12.6Students evaluate differing views of a ballot measure by assessing claims and evidence.SL.11-12.2Students integrate multiple sources to inform a nonpartisan explainer.
C3 Framework 4
D2.Civ.1.9-12Students distinguish the powers of local, state and national offices on the ballot.D2.Civ.2.9-12Students analyze the role of voters and changes in who can vote over time.D2.Civ.2.6-8Students explain specific roles played by citizens, such as voters.D3.1.9-12Students select official election sources by authority.
AP English Language 3
Rhetorical Situation (RHS)Students analyze how a voter guide addresses first-time voters.Claims and Evidence (CLE)Students separate checkable facts from recommendations.Style (STL)Students write neutral, precise civic information.
IB MYP 3
Individuals and Societies A: Knowing and understandingStudents explain offices, ballots and eligibility accurately.Individuals and Societies B: InvestigatingStudents investigate their own sample ballot with an adult.Individuals and Societies C: CommunicatingStudents communicate a nonpartisan checklist.
IB DP 2
Global Politics — key concepts: power and legitimacyStudents analyze how local elections confer authority.Theory of Knowledge — Knowledge and politics (optional theme)Students ask how we know what a candidate or measure will do.
Take it off the page
Find your official election information.
- With a trusted adult, visit vote.gov and choose your state or territory
- Check eligibility, preregistration and registration rules for your age
- Find a sample ballot for your address and circle one local office
- Learn what that office does before researching candidates