Election Day, USA

1. Election Day, USA Casey Watson ED 417-02

2. Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Grade Level: 6th grade Lesson: Election Day

3. Objectives of the Lesson List of Activities Materials Kids Voting USA Research Parties and Candidates Party Debates Color Map of USA Around-the-Room Websites and Resources Table of Contents

4. Objectives Click picture to return to contents • To have the students acknowledge the basic information about elections and the United States’ democracy system. • Having the students know the basics of voting in a political system.

5. Objectives con’d • Encourage students to voice their ideas and opinions according to the political parties and their platforms. • Demonstrate good researching skills to prepare for debates, reports, and for basic knowledge.

6. Activities Click picture to return to contents • Kids Vote USA • Research Parties and Candidates • Party Debates • Map of USA and Electoral Votes • Around-the-Room Questions about Democracy

7. Computers Worksheet-USA map Room Questions Podium Crayons/Markers/ Color Pencils Materials Click picture to return to contents

8. Kids Voting USAObjectives • Helps young students become educated and engaged voters as adults. • Students learn how to gather information, think critically, and make decisions. • Students learn important collaboration skills as well as respect for other’s viewpoints. Click picture to return to contents

9. Kids Vote USA Activity • Have the students fill out a registration paper. This paper registers the student as a legal voting citizen. They can turn this paper in and then participate in the election. • Set-up political signs throughout the room and then on election day, take them down and start the process.

10. Kids Voting Activities con’d • Set-up and area in the room as the precinct and have the students one at a time go over to the computer and vote as if they were voting in a real election as an adult. • Hand out stickers that say “I Voted Today” as a symbol of their political duty as well as promotion to others.

11. Kids Voting Activities con’d • This set up will get the students familiar with a real set up of a precinct and booth. • Suggest and encourage parents to take their children with them to vote that way they can see for themselves a real demonstration.

12. Research Political Parties and Candidates Activity Objectives • Students will gain a basic knowledge of the political parties that exists in the United States. • This requires the students to research and collaborate amongst their peers. • If used during and election year, the students can do some extended research on the current candidates that are running for office and know what their stance is and how it differs from the other candidates. Click picture to return to contents

13. Political Parties and Candidates con’d • Have the students do extensive research on the current political parties that are in existence in the United States. • Have the students go to several sources such as books, internet, etc… • Make a basic concept map of the similarities and differences between the political parties.

14. Political Parties and Candidates con’d • If the year is an election year, have the students use their research sources to look up information on the running candidates. • Have them research their background information, their stance on current issues, their plans and actions they have taken thus far.

15. Party Debates Objectives Click picture to return to contents • Students will gain a familiar background of the political parties that exist in the US today. • Students will use researching skills to gain information for their desired political party. • Students will have the knowledge of other political parties that might oppose their view points however, they will be able to rebuke their parties’ position.

16. Party Debates Activity • First, have the students look up information on the political parties. • Once they have been introduced to the political parties of the US, have them choose the one that most suits them. • Have the students do a further in-depth research on their political party to prepare for a classroom debate.

17. Debates con’d • Have the students elect a person to be their spokesperson for the debate. • Have several days to work with this idea and then have a debate with the entire class and their representatives as the spokesperson. • Have the students research topics that should be addressed in the debate and make sure that the spokesperson speaks from their political parties’ stance on the topic.

18. Color Map of Electoral Votes Objectives Click picture to return to contents • Depending if it is an election year, this will require the students to pay close attention as to what state votes which way. • Also, it requires the students to know where each state is located on a map of the USA.

19. Color Map of Electoral Votes con’d *Each State should be colored according to which way the electoral college outcome was.

20. Around-the-Room Questions Objectives Click picture to return to contents • The students are required to use whatever information that is available to answer a series of questions located around the classroom. • This will be a group project in which students are to divide the work up evenly and to acknowledge opposing opinions on questions that are debatable about democracy. • The students will be required to weigh opinions according to their importance and whether or not it’s a fact or opinion.

21. Around-the-Room Questions con’d • There will be a series of 10 questions placed randomly throughout the classroom. • Each group (2-3 students) will have an a certain time frame at each question station. • During that time frame, the students must locate the answer and record it on paper restating the question in the answer.

22. Around-the-Room Questions con’d • The students will have to debate amongst the group if that arrises but must answer to the best of their ability. • Students should finish by the end of class and have used all the information that is given to them for this activity.

23. Websites Click picture to return to contents • www.kidsvotingusa.org/ • http://pbskids.org/democracy/educators/tovote.html • www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/government.htm • www.congressforkids.net/Elections_politicalparties.htm • http://cybersleuth-kids.com/sleuth/Government/United_States/Parties/index.htm