Summary
Elected officials are elected to help their constituents and work on their behalf, but how do we contact them to express our thoughts on issues or ask for help? This lesson explores civil discourse in the context of writing to elected officials. Students will review letters to past presidents, participate in a Card Sort activity, watch an interview with an Oklahoma representative, and write a letter to an elected official of their choosing.
Essential Question(s)
What is civil discourse? How should you write to your elected officials? What are the benefits of civil discourse?
Snapshot
Engage
Students review letters to past presidents and discuss characteristics of effective communication.
Explore
Students participate in a Card Sort to determine which civic issues can be addressed by different elected officials.
Explain
Students watch interviews with Jacob Rosecrants, a representative in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and OKC Mayor David Holt.
Extend
Students brainstorm a list of issues they would like to address with an elected official. Then, students write a letter to address their concerns.
Evaluate
Students revise their letters based on peer feedback and complete a short Exit Ticket.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Presidential Letter Packet (attached; one per student or group)
Card Sort (attached; one set per group)
Teacher – Card Sort Answer Key (attached)
Letter Rubric (attached; one per student)
Paper
Highlighters
Pens or pencils
Internet access
Engage
20 Minute(s)
Introduce the lesson using the attached Lesson Slides. Begin with slides 2-3. Ask students: How should you write to your elected officials? Give students time to process and then ask for volunteers to share out their thoughts. Move to slide 4 and, briefly, go over the lesson objectives.
Next, invite students to read through several letters to the president. Pass out a copy of the attached Presidental Letter Packet to each student. Have students work individually or in groups, depending on your classroom preferences. Have students read through each letter, highlighting or underlining parts of the letters that they feel are effective examples of communication. As students review the letters their packets, display the same letters on slides 5-13.
After students have had some time to work (but are not yet finished), display slide 14. Facilitate a brief class discussion about effective communication characteristics that students see in the letters. What things do students think should be included in letters to elected officials? What things should be left out? Create a class list on the board or a similar space.
Give students time to complete their review. Next, display slide 15, and ask students: What is civil discourse? Give students time to process and again ask for volunteers to share out their thoughts. Write down some of their answers on the board.
Explain to students that they will be learning about civil discourse and how citizens can participate in civil discourse with their elected officials.
Explore
20 Minute(s)
Explain to students that it is important to participate in civil discourse with our elected officials. This goes beyond the president, as the president only has certain powers over certain things. Some problems we might need help solving will require responses from elected officials at the city, state, tribal, or national levels and from various branches of government. Since it is important to know whom to communicate with depending on the problem, let students know they will consider various issues and then think about which elected officials would make the most sense to contact about those issues.
Pass out the attached Card Sort to each student or student group. Explain the Card Sort strategy to students and tell them that there are two types of cards: elected officials and constituent scenarios. Display slide 16. First, ask students to sort the elected officials into the three levels of government: city, state, and federal. After students have sorted the cards, check for understanding to make sure they have the right officials in each group. Use slide 17 to check answers.
Next, display slide 18. Students should read through each card and determine which elected official (or officials) would be the best choice for addressing the constituent concerns in each scenario. Remind students that they do not need to personally agree with the scenario—they should focus on who can best address the constituent’s needs.
After students have completed their Card Sort, ask groups to briefly share out their reasoning. Allow a few minutes for students to re-sort their cards based on other students’ explanations.
Ask students why it is important for constituents to contact the correct elected officials about different issues. Have students share out their responses.
Explain
20 Minute(s)
Display slide 19. Explain to students that they will watch a short video featuring Jacob Rosecrants, a representative in the Oklahoma House who will discuss his career path and talk about the importance of writing or contacting elected officials. If students are unfamiliar with Rep. Rosecrants, read the information in the Teacher’s Note below to students.
Given this information about Rep. Rosecrants, what types of issues would he care about or be able to address for his constituents? Allow time for students to share out their hypotheses.
Remind students of their working definition of "civil discourse" prior to watching the video. Ask students to think of these questions as they watch the interview: What things will he confirm about our civil discourse definition? What might we be able to add?
Finally, invite students to watch two interviews: an interview with Rep. Jacob Rosecrants and an interview with OKC Mayor David Holt.
Revisit the working definition of "civil discourse" from the Engage section of the lesson, and ask students if they have any more to add to their definition or characteristics.
Extend
25 Minute(s)
Explain to students that, so far, the class has reviewed letters to past presidents and has begun to develop a working definition of civil discourse. Next, remind them of the Card Sort and the interview with Rep. Rosecrants. Tell students they will now work to put their understanding of civil discourse into action.
Display slide 20. Ask students to brainstorm a list of issues that they might want to address with one of their elected officials. To keep those issues organized, consider writing their ideas in three columns listed on the board (or similar): "local," "state," and "federal." If applicable to your community, add a fourth column for "tribal."
Once the list has been created, invite students to write a mock letter to one of their elected officials about one of the topics they brainstormed. Hand out the attached Letter Rubric to students and have them review what they will be evaluated on in their letters. The rubric (first page) and letter template (second page) contain sentence starters and examples to help them as they write.
If students struggle with where to begin, ask them to reflect on the letters they saw at the beginning of the lesson and think about what Rep. Rosecrants mentioned in his interview video. The letter should be short, with one to three body paragraphs maximum, depending on the content being addressed by students.
Evaluate
25 Minute(s)
Once students have completed their letters, transition to slide 21. Have students swap letters and rubrics with a partner.
Review the tips for feedback on the slide. Each student should review their partner’s letter and provide feedback: Where does the writer make a particularly good point? If there are any confusing or unclear parts, is there a better word or phrase the writer could use to fix this issue? Are there any typos or grammatical errors? How could the writer improve their letter?
Remind students that they are not "grading" the letters, and they should be offering only constructive feedback to make the letter better. Students can write their feedback on their partner’s rubric and return both items when they are done.
Give students time to complete their revisions before collecting the letters as a formative assessment.
As the lesson comes to an end, transition to slide 22 and have students create an Exit Ticket responding to this prompt: Explain how your letter reflects civil discourse or is an example of civil discourse.
Resources
Elasfar, D. (2018, July 30). Dear Mr. President: Kids have been sending letters to the White House for years. KidsPost. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/dear-mr-president-letters-from-children-throughout-history/2018/07/30/6ed74836-8f4e-11e8-bcd5-9d911c784c38_story.html
K20 Center. (March 2021). K20 ICAP - Dear Mr. President [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/CQKqFpuGlVw
K20 Center. (June 2021). K20 ICAP-Dear Mr. President- Mayor Holt Interview [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/82ZRk_KhHgU
K20 Center. (n.d.). Bell Ringers and Exit Tickets. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/125
K20 Center. (n.d.). Card Sort. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/147
Oklahoma State Legislature. (2020). Representative Jacob Rosecrants: District 46 - Democrat. Member’s Page. Oklahoma House of Representatives. https://www.okhouse.gov/members/District.aspx?District=46