Yesterday I drove down to a park near my house to participate in early voting. As I waited in line before receiving my ballot, I reflected on how important voting is. Here in America we have the ability to vote for the people in leadership – not just our president! Not all countries have this privilege. People all over the world have died for the right to govern themselves. Growing up, I remember learning about the voting system and feeling like my one, individual vote couldn’t really make a difference in the grand scheme of things. Even when I voted in my first presidential election at 18, I didn’t feel like my vote really counted.
As I’ve gotten older and come to understand our rights as American citizens, I don’t feel that way anymore! I think as teachers it’s our job to instill the importance of voting in a democratic country to our students…it’s never too early to start talking about it!
I have the perfect resource to get this conversation started. These Election Voting activities not only help explain the process of voting and the different political parties, it also gives your students a chance to participate in a classroom election themselves! This unit will keep your students engaged and help them understand voting and its importance in a long-lasting way. Here are some of the activities included in this unit:
- A Basic Guide to Voting: Give each student a copy of the flip book (pages 4-8) and have them cut out each page. Line up the pages in order and staple across the top to create a booklet. Show the class the PowerPoint (included in the zip file) and have them fill out the information in their flip book. You can also assign the presentation in Google slides (using fill-in-the-blank and answer key).
- Show What You Know Quiz: After the students have filled out their Voting flip book give them the 10-question quiz (answer key included). You can also assign the quiz online via Google Forms (link included). Note: The questions on the Google form quiz are slightly different from the print version so that it can be self-grading for you.
- Voting Ballots: Give your students some real-world practice voting! Give them each a ballot and have them check off the item/activity they prefer in each section. You can also assign the ballots online through Google forms (link included). I’ve also included a blank ballot form you can print and write in.
- Exit Tickets: Give each student an exit ticket and have them write something they learned about voting on it. Use as an informal assessment and/or display on a bulletin board.
…and more! This unit comes in print and digital formats, depending on the needs of your classroom. Use it in whatever way best serves you!
What Other Teachers/Parents Are Saying:
Super cute slides. These slides make learning fun and exciting for my students. My students looked forward to doing them. Great graphics. – Leah D.
This was great! I loved the flip book! Thanks for including everything I needed for the unit! I will use it again next year! – Melanie R.
This was a wonderful resource to use as we talked about voting and elections in our 3rd grade classroom. We used this completely for distance learning and it worked really well. Thank you for this thoughtful work! – Roots and Reads
As Election Day approaches, gather your students together and show them the importance of voting through this unit. Now is the time to show your students that they have their own individual voice and opinions, and that as an American citizen, we have a way to demonstrate that for the common good!
Oh, and don’t forget to vote. 😉
