Session 1, Read and notice: Two ways to decide
Week 20 big question: Who makes a shared rule?
Start with a story (optional) The Laddoo Code — Read it hereRahul and Ritvik invent a paper code to keep their laddoo note secret.
Some groups let all the people vote on a choice.
Who gets to choose how a game begins at your pretend club? Some members want to say “ready,” while others want a gentle tap. After hearing both ideas, everyone thinks about which one would work. Then each member votes on the rule they want to use. When the people vote on the choice themselves, it is direct democracy.
We can pick a representative to make rules for us.
Now the club must share a play space with several other clubs. They need rules that work for all the groups using it. Each club elects a representative, someone chosen to act for the group. These people listen to members before meeting to make the shared rules. In representative democracy, people choose others to listen and decide for them. Those chosen should explain their choices and answer to their groups.
A fair vote needs clear choices and respect for all.
You can try both ways with small, safe choices at home or school. Who will pick the order of cleanup jobs today? Everyone might vote, or a class council they elect might decide. These small choices make no laws for the whole country. But a fair vote still needs clear choices. It also needs time to hear each other’s reasons. And no winning group can take away someone’s rights or safety. Even if your choice loses, you still belong in the group.
Grade 1 · Source card
Voters choose Dalip Singh Saund
Voters in California chose Dalip Singh Saund for Congress in 1956. He was the first Asian American chosen as a voting member of Congress. He came from a Punjabi Sikh family in India. A representative helps make choices for the people who chose them. Choosing that person is not the same as voting on each choice. Show both ways with your club model.
Dalip Singh Saund, about 1961. U.S. Congress / Wikimedia Commons; public domain.
Image source · Public domain (United States)
Voters choose a person. Show who chooses a representative. Tell one job that person does.
Sources for this card
Grade 1 · Source card
Voters choose Patsy Mink
Voters in Hawaiʻi chose Patsy Takemoto Mink for Congress in 1964. She was the first woman of color elected to Congress. She was Japanese American. She helped write Title IX. This law is about schools that get money from the United States government. It says they must treat girls and boys fairly. Her work shows one job of a representative: helping make laws. Who chooses the people who speak for your club?
Patsy Takemoto Mink, about 1994. Library of Congress, 2022638134 / Wikimedia Commons; public-domain item. Source crop.
Image source · Public domain (United States)
A representative and their work. Show who chooses a representative. Tell one job that person does.
Sources for this card
Show what you notice
- When all of us vote on a rule, who decides? When we pick a representative, who votes on the rule?
- What should happen before a vote? How can everyone take part fairly?
Answer your waypointact it outtell or dictatewrite