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Readworks article

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News ELA article

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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News ELA article

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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News ELA article

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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NewsELA article

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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PBS Kids

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PBS KIDS You Choose is a kid-friendly website introducing children ages 6-8 to relevant, non-partisan democracy-related topics through interactive exploration and video.

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Wonderopolis article

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Before we talk about the mascots of the political parties, let's learn a little about political parties first.

A political party is a group of organized voters who support certain for their communities, states and nation.

The goal of a political party is to public officials, such as mayors, governors, senators and the president, who will support and carry out their goals. These goals may include on war, taxes and education.

When people in a disagree about what the government should do, registered voters express their opinion by voting for the candidate who most closely reflects their political views and opinions. Political candidates are usually members of political parties.

This makes it easier for voters to know what the candidate believes in, his or her goals and what changes he or she will make if elected.

Political parties range in size, and large political parties have millions of members and supporters. Two of the largest political parties in the United States are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

In 1828, critics of Democratic President Andrew Jackson labeled him a "jackass." President Jackson, however, made the most of this new label by focusing on the positive. He commented on the donkey's admirable qualities such as stubbornness and strength.

In 1870, Thomas Nast, the best-known political cartoonist of his time, drew a donkey to represent the Democratic Party in an illustration for the publication Harper's Weekly. Nast continued to use the donkey in other political cartoons. By 1880, it had become the unofficial of the Democratic Party.

Much like the donkey, we can thank Thomas Nast for the Republican - the elephant.

In a cartoon published in November 1874, Nast drew the Democratic donkey wearing a lion's skin. In the cartoon, the donkey-lion is scaring all the other animals, including the elephant, which Nast used to represent the Republican .

Eventually Republicans began to view the elephant as a symbol of strength and intelligence, and it has since been adopted as the party's symbol.

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Before we talk about the mascots of the political parties, let's learn a little about political parties first. A political party is a group of organized voters who support certain for their communities, states and nation. The goal of a political party is to public officials, such as mayors, governors, senators and the president, who will support and carry out their goals.

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Wonderopolis article. (Video on the electoral college process

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If it's the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, that can only mean one thing: it's time to ! The day we head to the to our votes for the candidates of our choice is known as Day. But why Tuesday?

Why not Monday? Or Saturday? Or the Thursday after the second Wednesday of April? Is there any reason why we on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November? To find out, we need to take a trip back in time.

Set your time machine to 1845. That's a long time ago. Back then, some of the most states of today - California, Texas and Florida - weren't even states yet. The U.S. Civil War was still almost 20 years away, too.

At that time, Congress needed to settle on a day for the country to in presidential and congressional elections. Back then, most Americans were farmers. The large cities of today were still many years away.

Farmers were during the spring and summer months. By November, however, most crops had been harvested. Also, the weather was still usually nice enough in November to allow farmers to to town to . Since today's highways didn't exist back then, the winter months could make difficult for most people.

Given these very considerations, Congress thought November would be the best month for people to . But why Tuesday? Was there a reason for that, too?

As a matter of fact, there was! Keeping in mind issues, Congress realized that many people lived at least an overnight trip away from the cities where people could . Remember: people often traveled back then on horseback or by .

To allow people to go to church on Sunday, Congress figured holding elections on Tuesdays would allow people to on Monday, on Tuesday and return home by Wednesday. The decision was as simple as that!

Congress further designated Day as the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November. Why? They wanted to make sure that voting never took place on November 1, since November 1 is a Holy Day of Obligation ( All Saints Day) in the Roman Catholic Church.

So we've voted on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November since Congress' decision in 1845. Of course, most people are not farmers today. It's also much easier to get to the . To change Day, though, Congress would have to decide that there's a better day during the year to . To date, Congress hasn't decided Day needs to be changed, so we keep up with the longstanding tradition started way back in 1845!

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If it's the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, that can only mean one thing: it's time to ! The day we head to the to our votes for the candidates of our choice is known as Day. But why Tuesday? Why not Monday? Or Saturday?

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by Catherine Stier

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Flocabulary video

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Teach Toddlers Colors Numbers Preschool Race Cars & Magnet Truck

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The Presidential Election Process - An Educational Rap Video by Flocabulary

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See more educational rap videos like this at http://flocabulary.com The presidential election song covers the whole process, from the primaries to inauguration day. And it includes historical campaign footage and advertisements from the last 60 years.