KQED, together with the National Writing Project and PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs, is launching the Let’s Talk About Election 2020 youth media challenge to empower youth voice and provide a real world audience for student voice.
The Let’s Talk About Election 2020 challenge aims to support students in developing the tools they need to participate in modern civic life. Research published in the Journal of Digital Media Literacy shows that students who participate in discussions of important local, national or global issues report that they are more engaged in school, more interested in politics, better communicators and critical thinkers, and have a greater likelihood of engaging in civic life as adults.
“Encouraging and elevating thoughtful commentaries from young people across communities on issues that matter to them creates new opportunities for soon-to be voters to be civically engaged in the 2020 election,” notes Robin Mencher, executive director of education at KQED. “We are proud to help young people throughout the United States be heard and to support educators to teach civic media literacy skills.”
Students already have a lot to say about Election 2020. Building on the Letters to the Next President program, this challenge expands the scope of students’ critical thinking and persuasive skills to include media production. Students will choose an election-related issue that matters to them and create an evidence-based audio or video commentary on the issue that incorporates their personal experience and authentic voice. These commentaries will be featured in the Election 2020 showcase, hosted on KQED Learn. Some pieces will also be selected for broadcast on PBS and NPR member stations.
The program includes everything teachers need to implement the challenge in their classrooms, including curricular support and professional development, and it is aligned with Common Core, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and Civically Engaged Writing Analysis Continuum (CEWAC) standards.