The Election:
Classroom Activities

Elections offer a unique opportunity for students to learn about the political process and to witness the wheels of democracy in motion. Computer-savvy teachers and students can follow all the goings-on -- thanks to the Internet! Many online news sites will provide in-depth coverage. Among the potential classroom resources are the following online resources:

• Election Center (CNN)
• Americas Election HQ (Fox News)
• Election Coverage (USA Today)
• Election Coverage (Politico.com)

  Lesson Plans Too! Throughout this campaign season, Education World will bring you election-related lesson plans! The lessons will help teachers bring alive in classrooms the upcoming elections and the election process. Find additional lesson plans in our Elections & Voting theme page. The lessons inclued an Election WebQuest, which involves students in preparing weekly press conferences to update their peers on the candidates and the issues.

• Politics (USA Today)
• Election Guide (C-SPAN)
• America's Election HQ (Fox News)
  

  In addition, click on each of the lesson headlines below to access a complete teaching resource! (Notations in parentheses indicate approximate grade levels for each activity.)

  Election Scavenger Hunt
  Students hunt through newspapers and other news sources for election-related "treasures." (K-12)

  Getting Out the Vote: An Election Day Classroom Experiment
  An experiment drives home to students the importance of voting! (3-12)

  Election Results Map
  Students create color-keyed maps showing election night returns. (K-12)

  Campaign Ad Critique
  Students learn a lesson in media literacy! (6-12)

  Take a Stand!
  Students take a unique approach to a classroom discussion/debate of the election process! (3-12)

  What Are the Important Issues?
  Students determine the most important issue of the current campaign. (3-12)

  Terms of Office
  Students create a classroom dictionary of election terms. (3-12)

  The Electoral College
  When has the Electoral College been a deciding factor in an election? (3-12)

  Presidents at Inauguration Graph: How Old Were They?
  Students graph the presidents' ages at inauguration. Who was the youngest president? the oldest? (K-8)

  If I Were President
  Students think critically about issues in the current election campaign. (K-12)

  Related Articles from Education World

  • Use Editorial Cartoons to Teach About Elections Past and Present
  • Why Teach Current Events?
  • America's Freedom Documents!

  Education World®
  Copyright © Education World

   

  
  Last updated 02/15/2012