Developed by Meredith Sommers, Holy Rosary ESL volunteer

Following are reproducible handouts and worksheets for ESL teachers to use to help their ESL students understand more about the election process and where to register to vote.

Preparing to Vote

Levels of Government

Learning about Candidates

Making a Choice

Going to the Polls

English Language (EL) Civics Curriculum

Developed by Rosanne Lynch, AmeriCorps VISTA

High Beginning/Low Intermediate ESL

Hmong American Partnership / Minnesota Literacy Council

July 2004

The Curriculum was developed by an AmeriCorps VISTA in the Education and Training Department of Hmong American Partnership in St. Paul, Minnesota.  The project was made possible by an EL/Civics grant from the Minnesota Department of Education.

The Curriculum was designed to address the everyday challenges faced by English Language learners as they experience them.  It is guided by the pedagogy of educator and philosopher Paolo Freire, who understood teaching as an emergent and participatory dialogue between learners and teachers.  He believed that literacy was a tool for social change.   Within the classroom, knowledge must be co-created by the learners themselves as they identify important issues within their lives, discuss and describe these issues or "themes," and seek to address them through discussion, reflection, and action. 

Under these principles, the project developed through an ongoing dialogue with learners, instructors, volunteers, and outside "experts."  Each unit is based upon themes that were identified by the AmeriCorps VISTA through interviews, classroom discussions and brainstorms, informal conversation and feedback.  It is intended to serve as a resource and guide for other ELL programs, rather than a predetermined or "set" curriculum.  No two classes or ESL programs are alike; the project has and will continue to evolve as part of an ongoing process of revision, experimentation, and adaptation.  Enjoy!

Civics Lesson Plans