1. Citizenship and Advocacy Contacting your elected representatives in Washington D.C.

2. “Why should I write my representative?” Express an opinion – About a current issue – About a former vote on legislation Ask a question – Why does your leader support a specific issue? – What is his or her opinion on an specific issue? – What are the challenges facing a representative in Congress? Propose legislation – Explain a problem you see in your community – Suggest a solution to a problem

3. Step 1 … Isolate the issue Identify 5 of the most pressing issues facing our country today. From the five you have already isolated choose one you are most passionate about and begin to brainstorm on that issue Make a map of all of the parts, opinions, or perspectives on your issue.

4. Step 2 … Find out who your representatives are Go to the following website and identify who your US Senators and Congressional district Representatives are http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml Choose the one you wish to correspond with

5. Step 3 … Learn something about your representative Go their personal website and find out what they believe about the issue you are choosing to write about Try to find out what their voting record is on the issue. Is your representative’s ideology more liberal or more conservative than your own?

6. Step 4 … Begin to research your issue What are the major sides of the debate on the issue you have chosen? Are there newspaper articles or research that you can cite in your letter to bolster your argument? Are there other organizations or elected officials that feel the same as you on this issue? How can that help your case in your letter? Go to this website: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/?userGroupNam e=stil88526 for more information and research http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/?userGroupNam e=stil88526

7. Step 5 … Write the letter Email or written mail is effective, but there is more weight put toward personal written correspondence because you took the time to write a letter. Your response will be given in the same form you sent it!

8. Writing the letter (see the example…) 1.Find your Representative or Senator’s office address in Washington D.C. (from previous website!) 2.Begin by identifying who you are and why you are writing 3.Explain why you think your issue is so important. 4.Offer a specific solution 5.Ask that they official write back with his/her opinion and thank him or her for reading your letter.

9. Get to work! Here’s what I need – “thinking map” on your issue by the end of the hour – Name and address of the person you wish to contact – Personal website of the Congressman or Senator you are writing to – A draft of your typed letter for Mr. Barikmo’s for me to look at before you send it out to the representative