Voting Rules! Civic Education Program
FACT SHEET
About Voting Rules!
- A free curriculum-based, civic education program for Grades 5 and 10 in Ontario.
- A program featuring dialogue-driven lesson plans, engaging activities and clear information on democracy, elections and voting in Canada and Ontario.
- A graphic novel approach was structured to be both engaging and immediately consumable for a younger audience.
- Each program includes lesson plans for teachers that culminate in the administration and delivery of a mock election.
- The program will be customized in accessible formats for students or teachers with disabilities. Customization will be based on each individual's request.
- The program is being piloted in 800 classrooms across the province and will be launched after a review of teacher feedback.
How was Voting Rules! developed?
- With keen attention to the needs of different learning styles and best practices in education to create a program students will find accessible, engaging and easy-to-use.
- With guidance from CoEd Communications, a not-for-profit educational communications company that specializes in the production and promotion of free, quality, curriculum-based education resource material for the Canadian school system.
- Written by Marian Reimer Friesen and Nick Brune, both recipients of the Governor General's Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History.
- Based on extensive primary research: focus groups, and surveys with teachers across Ontario.
- With close consultation of an advisory panel of twelve teachers in Ontario.
Why Voting Rules!
- Consultations with Ontario primary and secondary teachers and students revealed a real need for dynamic, easy-to-use, and informative materials that can help engage young minds and initiate a dialogue on democracy and voting.
- Teachers indicated they were not aware of electoral programs and did not have sufficient materials to teach what they saw as complex curriculum.
- Elections Canada and Elections Ontario want strong curriculum resources in the hands of Ontario's teachers, built with Ontario students in mind.
Civic education - why it's important
- Parents and teachers are the most important sources of early civic learning, imparting skills and knowledge as well as a sense of democratic responsibility. Civic education programs that encourage discussion in the home are particularly effective.
- There is a significant difference in political knowledge levels between the youngest electors and older electors – and this knowledge gap has been growing over time – it is much larger today than it was 30 or 40 years ago. Bridging the knowledge gap is key to creating engaged and informed citizens.
- Participatory or hands-on experiences such as mock-elections or simulated debates can help foster a deeper understanding of the political process and the public responsibilities associated with citizenship.
- A number of studies have found a link between civic education to higher levels of political knowledge and increased intention to vote.
Roles of Elections Canada and Elections Ontario
- Both Elections Canada and Elections Ontario have public education mandates and thus, a role to play, particularly in ensuring that the electoral process is accessible and that voters know how, where and when to vote.
- Voting is both a right and a responsibility. Elections Canada and Elections Ontario are doing their part to help ensure that the voters of tomorrow are informed and engaged about voting, as a right and a responsibility of all citizens.