Presidential Election Teaching Resources

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Putting together first-class resources for the upcomingpresidential election promises to be a time-consuming endeavor. Yet, preparingstudents to be engaged in the event will make it significant and memorable.  The election is approaching fast, so nowis a great time to get started. To make it easier for you, I came up with a fewideas using resources from my website and added terrific strategies submittedby other teachers.

Startwith an Engaging IntroductionI recommend that you first show your students thisshort BrainPOP video called “How do people get to be President of the United States?” It’s an informational yet fun cartoon about five minuteslong and appropriate for upper elementary students. This cartoon features Timand a robot, Moby.  It covers allthe presidential election basics in a clear, concise and entertaining way. Inaddition, the rest of this BrainPOP page is loaded with free resources that teachstudents about various important aspects of the election.

Understandthe CandidatesTeaching students about the Presidential electioncan be tricky because kids come to school with pre-conceived ideas based onwhat they are hearing at home. At the elementary level, instead of debating theissues, you may want to focus on analyzing the character traits of thecandidates. I like this approach because it’s personal, educational, and sidesteps the sometimes controversial and advanced political questions. It helpsstudents understand who these candidates really are, which is factual and centralto the election outcome.

Dig intoBiographical Details
For upper elementary and middle school students, Irecommend a terrific Frontline episode, called “The Choice 2012,” which aired on October 9. It’s two hours long, but well worth it. You mightbreak it into segments and watch it with your students over a few days.  

The program details and contrasts the backgrounds of MittRomney and Barack Obama. It lays out in relatively simple terms who these men areand how they’re different. I recommend that you preview it first to make surethat it’s right for your class. If you find it’s too advanced, you may be ableto find similar biographical materials for younger students in written or videoform.
Analyze CharacterTraitsFollowing the Frontline program or after reading articlesabout the candidates, your students will be ready to study these people in detail.Try these activities:

• Presidential Candidate Bio Poems– Download the Free Bio Poems Made Easy packet frommy TeachersPayTeachers store and follow the directions to have your studentscreate bio poems about the two men. 

• Character Trait Maps – Beforethe lesson, download this character trait map and a character trait list frommy Literature Circles printables page on Teaching Resources. After studentswatch the PBS movie or read articles about the candidates, have them brainstormcharacter traits that describe the men. Be sure to have them focus on thepositive character traits of each candidate and remind them to jot down supportingdetails. Then demonstrate how to complete the graphic organizer by adding fourcharacter traits their supporting details. Finally, either assign each studentone candidate or allow them to choose a candidate and provide class time forstudents to complete their graphic organizers.

• Character Bio Reports – Have students write a short biography for one ofthe candidates based on an analysis of that candidate’s character traits. Usingthis format ensures that students can’t blindly copy and paste from an onlinesource to create their reports. This structured writing activity is a perfectfollow-up to the character trait analysis activity above. You can purchase theCharacter Bio Report Mini Pack from my Mini Pack Page on Teaching Resources. 

MoreFantastic Election Resources!The following wonderful recommendations are by my Facebookfans and blog followers. Thank you to everyone who took time to share ideaswith other teachers!
Read “First Pets, Presidential Best Friends” 
by Nell FuquaSubmitted by Donna Young, Grottoes,VA
http://hokieteach.blogspot.com Recommended for 3^rd to 5^th Grades
This paperback picture bookis a great springboard for discussing presidents and their pets from any periodof history! The fun facts grab students' attention.

Run aClassroom CampaignSubmitted by Kathy Paul, Murfreesboro,TN
Recommended for 6th Gradeand Up
During the last election, Iassigned children to be a member of the Democratic or Republican campaign teams.Each team had to create a platform, speeches, posters, jingles, and even a mealwith their candidate's favorite foods. Budgets were set and teams earned moneywith good acts or lost money with inappropriate actions. On our "electionday" we ate breakfast, heard campaign speeches, debates, and jingles.Later, we ate lunch, and voted.
Hold a Mock ElectionSubmitted by Mandy Neal, Strafford, Missourihttp://www.cooperativelearning365.comRecommended for 4^ththrough 6^th Grades
Students hold a mockelection.  They are assigned to aparty in which they will hold a primary election.  Students will then create campaign materials for theirnominee.  They will hold a mockelection to vote a candidate into office and reflect on the process.
Explore the Youth Leadership Initiative WebsiteSubmitted By Karyn Lewis, Houston, TXRecommended for K-12 Grades
Another resource you can use forholding mock elections is the Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI) website. Allyou need to do is register, select an election to participate in, and downloadresources or lesson plans. This website has it all for all levels! YLI providespaper or online voting options. 

I hope that these materialsgive you some good ideas on how to lead your students through the process andget excited about getting involved and voting one day. Thank you again to all of thosewho contributed to this effort! If you have any ideas for teaching about the election, please share them in a comment below. I would love for this blog post to become a growing resource for educators who are seeking ideas to teach their students about the election!