Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. narrow (something) down
    • ex. We need to narrow the list down to three ideas before the meeting.
  2. vote
    • ex. The club members are voting for a new president today.
  3. civics
    • ex. In school, we study civics to learn about our rights and responsibilities as citizens.
  4. a conflict
    • ex. The movie is about the conflict between two families.
  5. disappointment
    • ex. He hid his disappointment when the party was canceled.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Inside a preschool classroom at the ACCA Child Development Center in Virginia, three to four-year-olds chose their favorite character from the television show “PAW Patrol.” After an exciting election, the students narrowed their favorite characters down to two: Chase, a German shepherd in a police uniform, and Skye, a pink dog loved by the girls.

The kids wrote their names under the pictures of the two characters. Five children voted for Chase and five voted for Skye. Why did the preschool have this activity? ACCA did the election using “PAW Patrol” to encourage civics education to raise good citizens and make democracy stronger. The teachers help the children learn how to solve conflicts, deal with feelings like disappointment, and think about others.

According to ACCA teacher Mary Folks, the school wants the children to be better problem-solvers and to make a positive impact in the world. Dan Gartrell, an expert on early education, says the most important lesson is to appreciate every child’s thoughts. This helps kids learn to be kind, solve problems, and communicate well.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Education for Young Children

  • What do you think is the most important thing young children should learn in school? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, is it good to teach young children about civics and democracy? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • ACCA teachers help kids learn how to deal with feelings. Why do you think it’s important to teach young children how to deal with their feelings? Discuss.

Voting

  • In your opinion, how important is voting? Discuss.
  • At what age did you first start to vote in an election? Discuss.
  • Do you think everyone should have a chance to vote? Why or why not? Discuss.