Fun Goverment Assignment.

As you know, I am a teacher.  I had a column all ready to go but I got called in to help out with the government class and that activity sparked a whole new entry so I am running late because of it.

The small government class is made up of mostly English Language Learners whose teacher believes in providing them a chance to practice their English.

She divided the students into three groups. Their assignment - They had to create a presentation designed to convince people of adopting a certain candy as the national candy.

The students chose Hershey's, Twix, and Skittles.  It was fun listening to the students as they provided a bit of history on each candy.  Apparently both Twix and Skittles originated in the United Kingdom before being introduced to the United States. 

Of course, Hershey's originated in the United States.  Most people know this, especially if they live in the area around Hershey, PA.  The town where Hershey's chocolate is made and has been made for a very long time.  One interesting fact students mentioned had to do with Hershey's being the chocolate sent overseas to the servicemen during World War II.

The group who favored Skittles, had the best presentation. They focused on the question of "Which candy should become the national candy?" best  They related as much as they could to the history of this country, its diversity, and the states.  They constantly reminded us of the correlations between the candy and our country.

The other two provided wonderful histories but they were not reminding us of the reason for the presentation so they never really told us why it should be adopted.  Still, they all tried.  Most students find making presentations difficult, I think this was a great way of easing them into practicing this skill.

I enjoyed myself.  I think if I'd been able to do an assignment like this when I took government in high school, I would have enjoyed it so much more.  I might have also learned a bit more because I had a chance to understand governmental processes more.

Let me know what you think.  Have a great day.