Lots Of Election Ideas For Election Week

Although this Election packet includes specific items for the 2012 election between Romney and Obama, I have also included BLANK templates for EVERYTHING, so that I can continue to use this packet for FUTURE elections.

There are a lot of different ways to use the items in the Election Packet, the picture shows only a sampling of the 56-pages of fun!

Use them as independent centers for reading and writing, choose worksheets that are appropriate for your grade level, run off individual worksheets like the maze, dot-to-dot, pattern page etc. and make them into an Election Booklet to use for a Table Top Morning lesson.

Use them as a whole group “Speed” activity and have students do them together.  Set a timer.  The 1^st one who completes a skill sheet correctly gets a patriotic sticker.

Make bulletin boards and hallway displays with completed work. Hang the posters and other patriotic election items as decorations on your door and in your room.

Many of the activities will help jumpstart interesting discussions and build your students’ vocabulary.

One of my favorite “craftivities” is the elephant and donkey party “I voted for…” writing prompts.

If your students are as inquisitive as mine, they might want to know why politicians would pick a donkey to represent them!

I’ve included some background information of how these animals came to be.

Don’t be surprised if a lot of your students want to make the elephant, so make sure you discuss which candidate is represented by which animal, as this sometimes helps students choose differently.

I’ve found that my little ones were voting for donkeys and elephants, instead of people, or they were voting for the person that their parents were voting for, so I tried to keep things ultra simple and just explained briefly what each party stood for.

To make this “craftivity” run the templates off on red, blue and white construction paper.

I used a hole punch for the white stars, but you could have a room helper pre-cut these to expedite this step.

To add pizzazz I used red and blue flat-backed rhinestones as well as wiggle eyes.  Glitter would also add zip.

To make it more of a keepsake and add that special touch to your bulletin board, have students glue their school picture to the leg of their party animal.

The vote word strips, help students practice their fine motor skills and strengthen finger muscles, by putting reinforcement holes around the letter O.  This can then be a reminder bookmark, that can be given to the family.

I’ve included pages of a variety of election symbols: vote badges, flags, stars and ballot boxes.  These are circles, rectangles, and cubes, so they offer an opportunity to review shapes.

You can use them to make ABAB, ABCABC, etc. pattern strips and then turn the strips into a headband crown, for students to wear on Election Day.

Snip up red, white and blue straws, add the vote badge or any of the “I voted” badges to the center and have students create pattern election necklaces.  If you have them, you can also add pony beads.  Students can practice patterning and counting too.

Bring in a shoebox from home, cover with patriotic paper, cut a slit in the top and you’ve got a ballot box.  I’ve provided signage for your ballot box, as well as all sorts of voting and political party signs.

There are several graphing extensions and an election writing prompt as well.

To make sure your little ones know who the President and Vice President are, I made up songs to the familiar tune of BINGO.

Print, laminate, and cut out the cards.  I attached a magnet to the back, so that I could attach to my whiteboard.

As my students aing the song, I took a letter away.  It’s a terrific way to practice subtraction skills.

I also made word art pictures for Romney and Obama.  You can use these as an introduction and then ask students to design their own.  I did this on the Tagexedo website. Click on the link to check it out. I LOVE this site.

I hope you enjoy this Election packet and that it helps give you even more ideas.  I’d enjoy hearing how you’re using the packet. diane@teachwithme.com or you can post a comment here.

Click on the link to view/download the Election Packet.

I also have an Election Dictionary and Election Word Wall header card and 61 word flashcards for your word wall.  Click on the links to check those out.

Stop by tomorrow for Election Writing Prompts.

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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” -Aristotle

Election Writing Prompts

Election Writing Prompts is another packet of Election Activities you can do with your students.

The picture only shows a few writing prompt header cards and class book covers. There are 14 in all, and several ways you can use them.

Run off the header sheets and have students color the pictures. Children trace the initial sentence and then complete the thought.

Younger students can simply complete sentences on the one page; older students can expand their thoughts and write more, by attaching another sheet of lined paper to the bottom.

So that you are covering the various Common Core State Standards, remind students that the first word is capitalized, that there are spaces between words, that they are reading from left to right and from the top down, and that sentences should end with proper punctuation.

These writing prompts are terrific for a writing center or Daily 5 activity and when completed, make a great Election bulletin board.

For a quick and easy election bulletin bulletin board, have students glue their work to red or blue construction paper. Add a white cut out star to the corner. Trim your bulletin board or wall with patriotic border.

The header prompts also look nice suspended back-to-back from the ceiling.

I’ve also included the various writing prompts in a class book form, where students trace the beginning portion of the sentence and then complete the thought, but illustrate their own page.

Instead of a header for the student page, I've used the art word as covers for each class book.

You collect completed student writing, collate the book, and then share the finished copy with your class.  Children can read their own contributions.

Class books are great to share at Parent-Teacher Conferences.

There's also a Democratic and Republican party writing prompt, as well as posters and a graphing extension. 

I think it's important that students have some background information on the parties, what they stand for, their platforms, how the symbols came about etc. You can find this info out by having students do a bit of research on the Internet, as well as on my trivia page in my election stuff. 

You don't want little ones voting for a Republican candidate simply because they like elephants better than donkeys, which I have actually found to be the case with some of my Y5's, when I asked why they voted the way they did! (They wanted their name in the elephant column, or they wanted to wear an elephant badge, or do an elephant, rather than a donkey craftivity.)

Click on the link to view/download Election Writing Prompts

Here are some other websites you might find helpful when planning election activities:

Ben's Guide To the US (Government for Kids)  Is geared K-12 and includes online lessons, games, helpful links and a variety of topics that range from the branches of government and elections, to the legislative process and citizenship.

Scholastic's Election 2012 features updates on all the election news from the Kids Press Corps, + an "election central" with a kid-friendly resource section, election maps, games, videos etc.

One of my favorite sections was seeing the results of their nationwide vote. They posted who won the "Scholastic Presidential" election. They even show the break down by states and include percentages! Some are quite startling.  This information, makes for great discussion, as well as an opportunity to compare your class and school's results with theirs. 

Finally, Kids Voting USA organizes authentic mock elections.  They also have a resource page for the 2012 election and FREE K-12 classroom activities, that cover 4 themes: Elections and Voting, Democracy and the People, Informed Citizens and Civic Engagement. 

If you haven't read my previous election-themed articles that I've blogged about, be sure and scroll down. Click on the link to view/download the other election stuff available on teachwithme.

I plan on designing some math-related election activities, as well as "It's Election Time" dealing with digital and analog time. + an easy reader about elections, so be sure and check back all this week and next for new things!

This link will take you to a list of election stuff in the shopping cart. Simply scroll down 'til you find things you want. Just a reminder, everything on TeachWithMe.com is FREE.

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“Those who can,do.  Those who can do more, teach!” –Unknown”

It's Election Time. Look It Up!

Are you looking for some quick and easy lessons that you can plug into your day that have an election theme? 

You've come to the right place! You can run the Election Dictionary off now and have students work on a letter or page a day for "word work" for their Daily 5 activities, or during your reading or writing block time. 

Use my templates, or make up your own with other words,  as your students come across them, when you discuss the election, watch it, or read about it.

The Election Dictionary will help you teach the Common Core State Standards: RF.K1d, L.1.1a, L.1.4a, L.1.5b, L.1.5c, L.1.6

Students trace the alphabet letters and election words and then write them. Teachers can have older students define them as well.

Keeping a dictionary is a wonderful way to build vocabulary and categorize specific words that go with a large theme, that students will be reading, and studying about, like the election.

Encourage students to use these words in their writing. Add these words to a separate election portion of your word wall.

I've made word wall word flashcards for all of these words + a patriotic election header card for your word wall, if you'd like to post them. Click on the link to view/download Election Word Wall Word Flashcards.

I've included a certificate of praise when students have completed their Election Dictionary. What a nice booklet your students will have at the end of November to take home and share with their families.

Click on the link to view/download the Election Dictionary.

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"Until you try, you don't know what you can't do." -Henry James