This morning, our class had the amazing opportunity to walk up to the Time Warner Cable Arena to get a sneak preview of the Democratic National Convention. Our trip began at Trinity under the arches, where the 4th and 5th grade teachers taught a short lesson about important convention vocabulary. From there, we walked in the muggy heat up to the convention. Upon arrival, all students, teachers, and chaperones received podium tour credentials (which we get to keep!), and we got a quick look inside the arena. The convention hall is impressive; the students eyes were quickly drawn to the state delegation signs, the famous national monuments that adorn the backdrop, and the boxes reserved for newsrooms, among many other cool details. The tour was brief, and the DNC folks kept us moving, but we were all impressed with the intricate details in the convention hall.
We took many pictures, which we'll post to the blog shortly.
When you discuss the convention with your child, review with them the vocabulary that we discussed in our mini-lesson. They are big words for a 4th grader!
Political conventions are fun to watch and read about. It helps to know the vocabulary!
Convention
A political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.
Delegate
A person sent or authorized to represent others, in particular, an elected representative sent to a conference.
Bonus question: Did you know the word delegate is a verb and a noun? Can youdelegate to the delegate? What are some other words that work like this?
Democracy
A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
Election
A formal and organized process of electing or being elected to political office.
Keynote
A prevailing tone or central theme, typically one set or introduced at the start of a conference.
Nomination
The act or an instance of submitting a name for candidacy or appointment.
Platform
A party platform or platform is a list of the actions which a political party or candidate supports in order to appeal to voters. "Party planks" are individual topics that make up the platform, for example issues such as education or healthcare.
Political Party
A political party is an organization of people with similar views who seek to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office.
President
The elected head of the United States. The President serves in a 4-year term.
Vice President
The person selected by the presidential candidate as a running mate and as the person who could potentially take over if the candidate is elected President and is at any point unable to serve.
