Rocking the Vote

Happy Election Day!

One of my most vivid memories from elementary school is a mock election in 1988 between George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis.  All students got to cast a vote for the candidate of their choice.  It was a wonderful and memorable experience.

Every year I have my class vote for a "Class President" to celebrate Presidents Day and learn about the electoral process.  This year I took advantage of the FANTASTIC Pick a President FREEBIES from Teacher to the Core!  I can't praise her Pick a President pack enough, my students throughly enjoyed using the resources she created to hold a mock election today!

We kicked our election off by watching a Nick News video called The Candidates.

Nick News: "Kids Pick The President: The Candidates"
Get More: Nick News Episodes,Nick News,Nick News Games

I thought Nick News did a great job presenting each candidate in a kid friendly manner.  Children and teens were taped asking some fun questions and some very relevant/important questions.

After learning about each candidate I encouraged students to think about who they believe would be the best person to lead our country for the next 4 years.  We discussed the meaning of a secret ballot and students prepared to cast their vote!

Each student cut off their ballot and lined up to vote behind the curtain in our voting booths!

After waiting in long lines to cast their votes they were rewarded with an "I Voted" sticker!

When all the votes were in we compiled our data!  We used the bar graph tracking sheet and colored a block in for each vote.  In the end we had Obama-11 and Romney-6.

We ended our electoral process with a discussion about respect.  Respect for our next President, regardless of who we voted for.  Respect for other peoples opinions even when they are different from our own and respect for each other always.

We had a great time with our mock election and I hope that this experience is as memorable for them as it was for me when I was a kid!