We have been having so much fun learning about the election the past few days. BrainPop has several wonderful videos that are perfect for learning about the election and voting, which we have enjoyed watching and discussing.
Then today, since everyone else around the country was voting, we joined in too! We read about the candidates and their positions in Scholastic News, and we read Grace for President (which one of my sweet parents donated to our classroom!) to learn about the electoral college.
For our class election we kept with the red and blue, but we voted for candy instead of candidates!
First students drew 2-3 states. Then they had to figure out how many electoral college votes they got for each of their states. We had a poster in the back of the classroom that they could refer to. It was so sweet hearing them clap as each student drew their states, and hearing their excitement when they got states with a large number of electoral votes and states that they knew were “battleground” states!
After they figured out how many electoral votes they got, they went to the voting booth to cast their vote.
Then we used a fabulous Disney site with an interactive electoral college map to tally our votes. We started on the east coast (after a short discussion about the time difference), and then I called out the states one by one, and the student with each state called out their choice (either Kit Kat or Crunch). It was fun watching the electoral college votes go up!
And of course, after our election was over, each student got an “I voted” sticker and got to enjoy the winning candy, which was…. Kit Kat!
Also, I know it’s kind’ve blurry, but I just wanted to share this poster that one of my students and his mom made for the election. He did a whole presentation on elections and the electoral parties. It was wonderful! He also included a sample ballot on his poster, which I thought was such a wonderful idea for the students to actually see what it looks like!
Tomorrow we will be discussing the election results and how the electoral college votes turned out!
What a great idea to vote for red and blue candy. I love the I Voted stickers!
Liliris
Fourth Grade Garden
Great election activities, Molly! I love that you helped them understand the electoral vote-that's a tough but important concept!
Patti
primary practice
Awesome lesson bud:) Love it!!! We didn't have school that day and then today I was in training all day so didn't get to do much election stuff:/ Love your ideas though:)
4th Grade Frolics
I love the idea of having candy bar elections…so clever. I bet they had a lot of fun.
Vicky
Traditions, Laughter and Happily Ever After