The Race Is On

Presidential elections renew our interest in national debates. We read the editorials and reports, listen to the speeches and debates, and follow the candidates from the convention halls to the campaign trail. For educators, it’s a chance to teach history in the making: the issues are critical, the stakes are high, and the energy is palpable. In classrooms candidates and party platforms are being hotly debated and mock elections are taking place.

For Curriculum Connections, of course, the opportunity to showcase new titles on election topics and American history is irresistible. Publishers’ lists are long with books and multimedia resources on individuals who have played a role in our nation’s history, the election process, voting rights, symbols of Americana, and the issues that affect our daily lives and international standing as we head to the polls. You’ll find a number of outstanding resources on these topics in this issue, both in the graded sections and our feature articles.

In a year that has seen a female presidential contender in the primaries and a woman vice presidential candidate, Jennifer Prince’s “The Road to the White House” is particularly germane. Her discussion of recent titles featuring such formidable American women as Dolley Madison, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Chase Smith, and Hillary Clinton reminds us that women have always played a role in presidential politics.

In “Lincoln’s Legacy,” Barbara Auerbach brings us up-to-date on our nation’s beloved 16th president. Her selections range from picture book treatments focusing on one event or episode in Abraham Lincoln’s life (including one slightly tall tale) to nonfiction titles that evidence the range and quality of biographical material available to young readers. Along with inviting introductions to a host of brand-new titles, there are abundant ideas on how to use this material in the classroom to stimulate discussion, prompt personal connections, and spur literacy and math activities. These books will be especially valuable now as we encourage students to think about the qualities a presidential candidate should bring to the office and early next year as we gear up for the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth in February 2009.

Indentured servitude, slavery, the Civil War, World War II on the home front, and segregation are just some of the institutions and eras that form the backdrop of recent historical fiction for young adults considered in “The Extraordinary Lives of Ordinary People” by Joyce Adams Burner. These exceptional stories filled with realistic characters will add to lessons across the curriculum and encourage readers to think about how national and world events impact their lives and the lives of others.

And while most of our students won’t be voting in November, conversations about responsible citizenship, political debate, and historical interpretation are central to every child’s education. In “The World According to Zinn,” Jennifer M. Brown speaks to the historian Howard Zinn, author of A Young People’s History of the United States, about these and other topics.

As you and your students count down the days until the November election, be sure to share the resources in this issue. It’s never too early–or too late–to promote informed citizenry.