The 2008 election project was very
special to me. After spending two years
as a Title I teacher, I finally had my very first classroom. I was also appointed to a district team on
brain-friendly teaching to help increase
rigor & relevance in our schools.
The dialogue we had about how the brain learns significantly
impacted the way I approached teaching
the election. Once my gears started
turning, I asked a good friend
of mine to team up, and the rest is history!
special to me. After spending two years
as a Title I teacher, I finally had my very first classroom. I was also appointed to a district team on
brain-friendly teaching to help increase
rigor & relevance in our schools.
The dialogue we had about how the brain learns significantly
impacted the way I approached teaching
the election. Once my gears started
turning, I asked a good friend
of mine to team up, and the rest is history!
Depending on how deeply you want to dive in, you may decide to organize a school-wide mock election like we
did…or you could definitely pull this off at the classroom level! (That’s the plan this time around.) Although we never delved too deeply into political affiliations, we
did want to expose our kiddos to real issues and vote for real candidates, even
if it was slightly watered down.
did…or you could definitely pull this off at the classroom level! (That’s the plan this time around.) Although we never delved too deeply into political affiliations, we
did want to expose our kiddos to real issues and vote for real candidates, even
if it was slightly watered down.
As a result, our students conducted playground polls, ran polling centers,
campaigned, & listened to speakers who worked for both major political
parties. (We asked for both speakers to
focus on what it’s like to volunteer and what kind of work goes
into running a campaign at the local
level. We asked that they did not talk
about the actual platforms with our kiddos, and we asked parents to
talk with their children at home.) In some ways, we had to tread lightly.
campaigned, & listened to speakers who worked for both major political
parties. (We asked for both speakers to
focus on what it’s like to volunteer and what kind of work goes
into running a campaign at the local
level. We asked that they did not talk
about the actual platforms with our kiddos, and we asked parents to
talk with their children at home.) In some ways, we had to tread lightly.
Flash forward a few years! I jazzed up my old files and created “Shout All About America: Classroom Elections for Kiddos!” This updated & revamped packet outlines how we implemented
our mock election, but I do realize
that every school is different. What worked for us may require tweaking
in order to work for you. I hope you can
use the majority of the contents
without reinventing the wheel, but if you have to tweak something,
I hope this gives you a starting place. I did a lot of activities that are included in Cara Carroll’s PintSized Presidential Fun file…so rather than recreating my old documents, I’m
going to be using her super cute unit
as another supplement. You’ll definitely want to check it out!
It is also important to note that I pulled
resources from various places that I cannot share in this
download. I pulled resources from
Scholastic News, abcteach.com, old
Mailbox magazines, and edhelper.com. I am 100% positive that there are greater resources
out there this election year than I stumbled upon in 2008. (Thank you Blogger and TpT! Wooo Hooo!) I am sure that you will be able to find
other supplemental resources through
blogs, Pinterest, and
Google to make this unit your own. For starters, you may want to check out my
Social Studies board on Pinterest!
resources from various places that I cannot share in this
download. I pulled resources from
Scholastic News, abcteach.com, old
Mailbox magazines, and edhelper.com. I am 100% positive that there are greater resources
out there this election year than I stumbled upon in 2008. (Thank you Blogger and TpT! Wooo Hooo!) I am sure that you will be able to find
other supplemental resources through
blogs, Pinterest, and
Google to make this unit your own. For starters, you may want to check out my
Social Studies board on Pinterest!
Additionally, you should know that this file is a zip-file with a 99 page pdf and two editable PowerPoint files (with 8 more pages that can be customized to meet your own needs). I am so excited to be able to share it with all of you, so I am going to be putting it on sale today through tomorrow for 20% off HERE! I hope you can use it with your little peanuts! Happy Sunday!
Amanda, this is unbelievable! I absolutely LOVE it! Kids will ALWAYS remember this kind of unit.
Well done!
Kate
Second Grade Sparkle
Aww, thank you so much! 🙂
Wow, this looks great, Amanda. I already have Cara's little unit and this will be a great addition. Thank you for the sale!
Eileen
Thanks, Eileen! As always, you are the sweetest!
We have real student body elections at my school and the kids can't get enough of the buttons and candy the candidates pass out!!
BTW, I didn't reply on FB, but you can totally give you blog an update. Think of it like getting a haircut… it always makes you feel better and everyone will still recognize who you are!
Rebecca
First Grade Fascination
Thanks, Rebecca! I'm still on the fence about a blog update, but I'm sure I'll figure it out! 🙂
You are AMAZING Amanda. I don't pop over often enough but when I do I am always saying "WOWzers"!!!!
Since I teach little ones, you might not know about my give away. You have a chance to win a prize package that includes a $50 Target gift card, a $25 TpT gift card AND a $25 Lakeshore gift card! I would LOVE for you to check it out when you get the chance….you can get an extra entry for sharing about it with your FB friends. =)
Heather
Heather's Heart
Heather, you are too sweet! You always make me smile! Thanks for always being encouraging and inspiring!
I just stumbled onto this creation from Pinterest. Love it! I do have a random question, what fonts did you use for this?!
Casey
http://www.cuteclassroomcreations.blogspot.com