Town Meeting Simulation Using a Modern Day Topic Cell Phones in the Classrooms

Do your students struggle with the idea of town meetings being a form of self government. I came up with the idea of having them participate in a town meeting simulation using a modern day topic - cell phones in the classroom.

• In this lesson, students will assume the roll of a parent, student or teacher who has a specific perspective on cell phones. As they play this role, they will discuss this topic in a town meeting format, with the teacher as the moderator.

• After the town meeting, the power point included walks students through a debrief where they connect the simulation back to New England in the 1600's and also connects forward to modern day.

• Students will then vote on the topic. I've given several suggestions for how your students can vote, including the website www.polleverywhere.com.

• Finally, students will complete a reflection page on town meetings to show their understanding of the lesson. I used this as an exit ticket.

Included in purchase:

• power point with teacher instructions (I've hidden the slides with instructions)
• roll cards for students (16 total - for my bigger classes, I just paired up students)
• numbered cards to hold up (16 total - when students want to speak)
• suggestions for voting
• exit ticket "reflection" page

Why do students love it?

• They are debating the use of cell phones, which they are passionate about!
• It's a modern day topic, which allows for stronger connections to the past
• They love to debate!

Why do teachers love it?

• It takes an otherwise "dry" topic (which is hard to connect to student lives" and makes it connect to their day to day world.
• Giving students a perspective to take, forces them to practice debate skills.
• The conversations students have will make New England Town Meetings something they won't forget!

What are teachers saying about this activity?

✅✅✅✅✅ Raney S. says, "Such a fun and well-made resource. Highly recommend. Highly structured and easy to use."

✅✅✅✅✅ Crystal L says, "This went over very well with all my classes. We had interesting discussions and were able to make connections to the content we were covering.