As part of the Global Learning Initiative better known as GLIDES, TequestaTraceMiddle School will soon participate with a variety of student technology based projects within www.weripple.com. The social science department and in particular U.S. History, has agreed to contribute a three part Moviemaker documentary about the voting process in America. Mrs. Ramirez and her classes will discuss and document the history of voting. Mrs. Barrios and her classes will discuss and document the present of voting. Finally, two of my classes will explore and envision the future of the voting process in our country.
The process
Students have been divided into mixed ability groups of four. Using still and video cameras in combination with software applications such as: Inspiration, Audacity, Moviemaker and Picasa, students will create a 3-4 minute documentary exploring the future of voting.
As students prepare their documentary, they should ponder about the importance of making sound choices in the electoral process. Students should explore what could have happened if presidents like:George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy had never made it to office. How would the office of the presidency be different if Washington had not been elected? Would the Louisiana Purchase have come to fruition without Thomas Jefferson? What would have happened to the Union without Lincoln? How would we have overcome the Great Depression and what would our involvement in WWII have looked like without Roosevelt? Would we have reached the moon without Kennedy? Think about other cases and look at what history teaches to try to foretell what can happen in the future.
