How to Teach Kids About Communism

The world is home to a variety of political systems. Kids raised in democratic societies grow up understanding little about the differences between the society they live in and other more controlled societies. Teach kids the advantages and disadvantages of different political systems by comparing communism to democracy.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Explain what communism is by drawing a chart. Show the rules that govern communism on one chart and the rules that govern democracy on another chart.

2. Read about well-known communists throughout history. Let the kids pick a historical figure such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin or Joseph Stalin to write a report about. Have them include how they contributed to the communist movement.

3. Create a geography project for exploring and teaching about current communist countries. Have the kids find out how long the country has practiced communism, what communist leaders have run the country and how the country currently compares to other countries with different political systems. Tell them to research population, economics and political activism.

4. Watch a movie that discusses communism and communist societies. Have kids keep a movie journal while they watch. They should record their thoughts on what they're learning and not just notes about the movie.

5. Assign an advantages and disadvantages essay. Kids can write only about communism or compare the advantages and disadvantages of communism and democracy.

6. Hold a debate about the teachings of communism. Break the kids up into two teams. Assign one group the pros of communism and the other group the cons of communism. Invite other kids so the teams have an audience and let the audience decide which side is more persuasive.

Resources

• Learn about communism and China at ChinaToday.

[jhardesty0879]

on 5/1/2009 I think what you are actually saying in this article is, "Teach your kids the difference between a dictatorship and a democracy."

[jhardesty0879]

on 5/1/2009 Hmm...you seem to be confused. Communism is an economic system, not a political system, and in fact, by definition, has to exist in conjunction with democracy (according to Marx who wrote the rules of communism). Also, Lenin and Stalin were socialists, not communists, and technically a communist society has never existed in the history of the world (aside from possibly within indigenous cultures). Modern day China refers to themselves as communist, but because they have a dictator, this breaks the definition of communism. There are no leaders in a communist society. Thus, they are actually just a dictatorship posing as communist. So, please do teach your kids about communism, but also, please, get your facts straight first.