The Presidential Election will be here before we know it. Since this is an event that only happens every four years, it is so important to introduce the concept to even the littlest of learners. This can easily be done by having a mock election in the classroom. My students always loved when we did this on election day and it helps teach the importance of voting a young age. Are you looking for more election ideas, activities, and printables to do at home or in the classroom? If so click here.
The concept of elections can be abstract and difficult to understand so I always start by reading my favorite election books. For many of the younger students, this will be their first time ever hearing about an election so it will be critical to set the stage for the rest of the lesson(s). This free Election Day emergent reader is also a perfect way to introduce this topic to your students. It is something that they can easily take home for reference too. After introducing and discussing elections, I always did a mock election in my classroom.
Depending on the age of your students, you can have them vote for the actual candidates or you can have them vote for something entirely different. Since many of my students had very little knowledge about the candidates running for President, I always found it beneficial to have them vote for something that was important to them. This allowed my students to better understand how an election worked since it was meaningful to them.
There are six different voting ballots for you to choose from, along with two different blank (and editable) templates. This allows you to customize your ballots for your own students, thus providing them with a chance to fully understand how a President is elected.
For purposes of this blog post, I will be showing you the ballot that has students voting for their favorite food. Each student will get their own ballot to fill out in their semi-private room. Students will check which food is their favorite.
After they vote, they will place their ballot into the ballot box.
After each student votes, they will get a “sticker” to wear, showing their friends that they voted in the election.
After all of the votes are in, you and your students will count all of the votes. There is a vote tracker that students can fill out at their desks. Students will be required to color in a square for each vote counted. For example, if pizza had 14 votes, there should be 14 squares colored. Then students will write the final number in the square at the right. Whichever one has the highest number, wins the election.
Do you want to have a mock election in your classroom or at home?
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Jennifer
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