Democracy in the Classroom Annie Dardis ED Dr. Ronald Helms

Democracy in the Classroom Unit: Government Grade level = 3 Lesson on Voting and Elections

Objectives Students will develop an appreciation for the power and influence of voting in a democracy Students will learn how to study the candidates and issues relevant to the elections Students will understand what is involved in the registration and voting process Students will learn how to stay involved with the civic affairs after an election

Objectives cont. Students will practice good handwriting and spelling skills Students will stay focused and on task during the assignment Students will use mathematical skills to interpret graph data Students will work cooperatively in pairs for one assignment Students will actively participate in all classroom discussions

Introductory Activities Writer’s Workshop Have students write what the word “democracy” means to them Select a few students to share Make a class list of some of the characteristics of a democracy Next have students write a response to 5 W’s of voting Why voting is important? Who is allowed to vote? What they vote on? Where they vote? When do we find out the results?

Activity 1 – Registering to Vote Materials Voter Registration Cards Pencils Markers

Activity 1 – Registering to Vote Explain the importance of registering to vote Choose two students with the same name and acknowledge how some people could vote for others or multiple times if we did not have registration cards Students will complete registration cards and teacher will display them in classroom

Activity 2 – Meet the Candidates Materials Meet the Candidates Handouts Pencils Scissors Campaign literature

Activity 2 – Meet the Candidates Have students bring in campaign literature to class (newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, etc.) Divide students into pairs to work together Have them look through campaign literature and select three candidates and their promises VS

Activity 2 – Meet the Candidates cont. Students will cut out pictures of the candidates and glue them on their papers Students will write down three of each candidate’s promises and be prepared to share with the class Have a follow up discussion and ask the students who they would consider voting for based on their promises

Activity 3 – Voter Apathy Materials Ballots handouts Please Vote Today Handouts Cardboard box Construction paper Pencils

Activity 3 – Voter Apathy Discussion to introduce the ballot and its format Have students create issues for the ballots When students come in each morning, they will pick up a ballot and vote on a different issue each day

Activity 3 – Voter Apathy cont. As the teacher, do not remind students to vote every morning because everyone does not always vote Follow up at the end of the week by tallying votes, discussion questions, and voter apathy

Activity 4 – Voting Graphs Materials Construction paper Scissors Shower curtain with rod Markers

Activity 4 – Voting Graphs Cut out construction paper into two inch squares pass them out to the class Create the graph with appropriate labels Children will vote on 3 issues relevant to current election issues that are appropriate for the classroom by placing their square up on the shower curtain graph The class will then tally or count votes to compare and contrast the 3 graphs

Activity 5 – Watching the Returns Materials Map of United States Colored pencils – red, white, and blue Television or internet source

Activity 5 – Watching the Returns Discuss as a class what resources provide update information about the voter turnout/returns Students will complete the map at home with parents Students will return to class with map and we will tally the votes to determine which party won the presidential election Class disscussion on thoughts, emotions, or concerns regarding the election

Website Resources Kids Voting USA Kids Voting Ohio The Democracy Project Kids for Democracy Democracy for Kids epth/democracy_plaza/