Electing Your Representatives

What qualities are important in an elected representative? 

Our government is a representative democracy, rather than a direct democracy. This means that instead of voting directly on policies we primarily elect people who represent us in the government and make polices for us. One of the most important roles of a citizen is to choose the person who will represent them in this decision making process. At the state level each citizen is represented by one person in the State Assembly and another person in the State Senate. This lesson encourages students to consider the important qualities of a representative, and to learn about the candidates who are currently running for office using the WisEye candidate interviews, as well as other available sources.
As an extension students could also produce an issue based advocacy ad, video, letter, or other piece of campaign materials from the perspective of an interest group likely to support the candidate. 

Download the Electing Your Representatives lesson plan
PowerPoint Presentation: Representation in Wisconsin