Scholastic News(R) Announces New Election Games and Activities for Kids, Free Lesson Plans for Teachers at www.scholastic.com/election2008

Scholastic Presidential Election Poll for Students Launches Online August 19th

NEW YORK, NY–(EMWNews – August 19, 2008) – Scholastic News®, America’s

leading news source for kids, announces a host of new features on its

popular Election 2008 Web site, www.scholastic.com/election2008. The site

allows kids, parents and teachers to explore the electoral process, and

complements the robust election coverage of Scholastic News (for students in

grades 1-6) and Junior

Scholastic® (grades 6-8). Classroom Magazines have a combined reach

of more than 25 million students and teachers annually.

“With all eyes on this historic presidential election, and a vast array of

news and commentary available, students, parents and teachers need a

reliable place to go for information they trust,” said Rebecca Bondor,

Editor-in-Chief, Scholastic Classroom Magazines. “Scholastic is the

trusted source for 2008 election news for kids.”

The newly revamped Web site presents information about the presidential

elections in a fun and compelling way. Through new interactive election

games, students can campaign for the nation’s highest office, balance the

budget, design their own election posters, and decide how they would run

the country if they were President.

While students explore everything from campaigning to the inauguration,

teachers can use free lesson plans to expand their students’ “election

skills.” Free lesson plans include such topics as media literacy, how to

watch a debate, how to track the election results, and how to use blogs in

the classroom. Election games, like “Who am I?” based on the platforms of

each candidate, also come with lesson plans for teachers to use in the

classroom.

Kids Vote!

One special feature of the Web site is the famous Scholastic Presidential

Election Poll, an opportunity for students to cast their vote for President

of the United States. Since 1940, the outcome of the Scholastic Election

Poll mirrored the outcome of the general election, in every election but

two (in 1948 when students chose Thomas E. Dewey over Harry S. Truman and

in 1960 when more students voted for Richard M. Nixon than John F.

Kennedy). In 2004, more than half a million students in first through

eighth grades participated in the election poll both online and with paper

ballots that were issued in the fall editions of their Scholastic classroom

magazines.

Scholastic Kid Reporters Get the Scoop

Scholastic.com/election2008 will continue to feature election coverage from

the Scholastic Kids Press Corps, student reporters ages 10-14, who have

been covering campaign events from their hometowns across the country since

last spring. In the past 15 months, Scholastic Kid Reporters have

interviewed and written stories about John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary

Clinton, Mitt Romney, John Edwards, Mike Huckabee, Bill Richardson, Rudy

Giuliani, Joseph Biden, Fred Thompson, Dennis Kucinich, Ralph Nader,

Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, Elizabeth Edwards, Bridget McCain, Cate

Edwards, and Jason Rae the country’s youngest superdelegate, just to name a

few!

The Scholastic Kids Press Corps will be reporting from the Democratic and

Republican National Conventions and all along the campaign trail. Read

their stories and election blog at www.scholastic.com/election2008, or

follow them on Twitter (ScholasticNews)!

Scholastic’s award-winning editors teach the Kid Reporters how to research,

prepare questions, conduct interviews and write articles. In addition to

the election Web site, Kid Reporters’ articles appear at Scholastic News

Online (www.scholastic.com/news) and in Scholastic News and Junior

Scholastic magazines.

For more information about Scholastic News, Scholastic Kids Press Corps and

the Scholastic Presidential Election Poll, visit

www.scholastic.com/election2008.