“Bea Lumpkin is 102 years old and has never missed an election as long as she’s been eligible to vote. Not even a global pandemic could stop her from voting in this one.” S. Andrew, CNN
ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post with Answer Key
“Lumpkin, a former Chicago public school teacher, dressed in personal protective equipment from head to toe to drop off her ballot for the 2020 presidential election at the mailbox last week. The Chicago Teachers Union, of which she was a member, shared the image.” CNN
Excerpt: Not even a global pandemic could stop this 102-year-old from voting in this election, By Scottie Andrew, CNN
“At her age, Bea’s at high risk for becoming severely ill if she contracted coronavirus. But she would never have missed her chance to vote. She urges every registered voter in the US to exercise their right, too.
Credit: US News
Credit:Vox
‘The most important reason to vote in this election is that there’s so much at stake, more than any other vote I’ve cast, because of the great challenge to the survival of our democracy,’ Lumpkin told CNN… Many of the issues Bea cares about are especially relevant in 2020: health care, racism and climate change among them…She’s also very over living through the pandemic, and she disagrees with the ways in which science has been undermined by the current U.S. president and other federal officials charged with leading the pandemic response.
Credit: Vox
‘I’m sick and tired of this pandemic, and we’ll never get rid of it unless we follow the experience of so many other countries, of the advice of science,’she said…A lifelong feminist, Bea encourages women to vote not only to mark that anniversary but to protect their rights…’There’s a possibility of correcting so many of the wrongs if we have an overwhelming vote for our democratic rights,’ she said… ‘I want to see everybody who’s coming out to vote to stay involved in the process — that’s the way we can make huge advances for working people,’ she said. She’s especially proud of American youth, whom she believes will fight for a fair future.”
Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden has won the majority of elder voters. NYT
CNN Instant Poll: Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris Seen as Winner in a Debate that Matched Expectations
Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris waves as she arrives on stage for the vice presidential debate with Mike Pence on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Julio Cortez/AP.
“More Americans said Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris did the best job in the vice presidential debate tonight, according to a CNN Instant Poll of registered voters who watched.” J. Agiesta — CNN
*A state-by-state guide to voting in the age of COVID-19 By Nathaniel Rakich and Julia Wolfe NOTE: “This page will be updated on a regular basis with the latest developments.” October 8, 2020
ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post
NOTE: Lessons can also be used with native English speakers.
Level: Intermediate – Advanced
Language Skills: Reading, writing, and speaking. Vocabulary and grammar activities are included.
Time: Approximately 2 hours.
Materials: Student handout (from this lesson) and access to news article.
Objective: Students will read and discuss the article with a focus on improving reading comprehension and improving oral skills. At the end of the lesson students will express their personal views on the topic through group work and writing.
I. Pre-Reading Activities
Predictions: Analyzing headings and photos
Directions: Examine the titles of the post and the actual article. Examine any photos, then create a list of words and ideas that you and your group members think might be related to this article.
II. While Reading Activities
Word Inference
Directions: Try to infer the meanings of the words in bold taken from the article. You use a dictionary, thesaurus, and Word Chart for assistance.
- Lumpkin, a former Chicago public school teacher, dressed in personal protective equipment.
- She dropped off her ballot for the 2020 presidential election at the mailbox last week.
- She urges every registered voter in the US to exercise their right, too.
- The most important reason to vote in this election is that there’s so much at stake.
- The retired educator knows better than most the value of voting.
- She’s also very over living through the pandemic.
- Her ballot was received within 48 hours of submission.
- It’s essential to vote this year to determine what that future will look like, she says.
- We don’t want to just restore what we had before.
- Bea has great confidence in young people.
Grammar Focus: Word -Recognition
Directions: Students choose the correct word to complete the sentences taken from the article. They are to choose from the options presented.
Lumpkin, a form/former Chicago public school teach/teacher,dressed/dress in personal/personnel protective equip/equipment from head to toe to drop/dropped off her ballot/ballet for the 2020 presidential election at the mailbox last week….If she could voting/vote this year, so can anyone who’s/whose registered, she said. And the retired educate/educator knows/no better than/then most the value of voting.
Reading ComprehensionFill-ins
Directions: Place students in groups and after they have read the entire article, have them complete the following sentencestaken from the article. They can use the words and terms from the list provided, or provide their own terms. They are to find the meanings of any new vocabulary.
Women still have so many ___reasons to ___because in this___, all rights that___ have ___in the hundred-odd years I’ve been on earth — they’re all on the___, she said. But then, this fight for our is much older than we are — it’s even older than I am. ___by mail was___, she says.
WORD LIST: simple, Voting, line, won, women, rights, election, additional, vote,
III. Post Reading Activities
WH-How Questions
Directions: Have students use the WH-question format to discuss or to write the main points from the article.
Who or What is the article about?
Where does the action/event take place?
When does the action/event take place?
Why did the action/event occur?
How did the action/event occur?
Discussion Questions for Comprehension /Writing
Directions: Have students discuss the following questions/statements. Afterwards, students share their thoughts as a class. To reinforce the ideas, students can write an essay on one of the topics mentioned.
- Do you believe that it is very important to vote in every election in the United States? Why or why not?
- Is it important that older people have an interest in politics? Please explain why.
- Do you have older relatives or friends that is voting in this 2020 election?
- How does Bea feel about the way in which the current U.S. administration is handling the pandemic?
- Why is Ms. Lumpkin ‘a great respecter’ of the advances scientists have made since her birth?
- Why does Bea strongly encourage women to vote?
- Why does she encourage everyone to vote early?
- Ms. Lumpkin states, “It’s essential to vote this year to determine what that future will look like.” What does she mean by this?
- How does Bea feel about the future?
- How does Bea feel about American youth?
3-2-1-Writing
Directions: In 5 minutes to write down three new ideas you’ve learned about the topic from the reading, two things that you did not understand in the reading, and one thing you would like to know that the article did not mention. Review the responses as a class.