Teacher

Task

Process

Resources

Conclusion

Evaluation

Credits

What is the election process?

1. View the Brain Pop movie "Presidential Election" and the United Streaming video, "Our Federal Government: Electing A President: The Process."  Log onto to Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids to find out how our country's leaders are elected. Answer these questions:

What are the requirements to become President of the United States?

What happens at a primary or caucus?

How does the popular vote work?

How does the electoral vote work?

What are the duties of the President of the United States?

2. Go on an election treasure hunt.

3. Play "Be the Nominee." Take a presidential trivia quiz on your way to the White House.

4. Play "Electoral College Craze" to get enough electoral votes to win the election.

Who are the candidates?

1. Log onto Project Vote Smart or Politics1 to get a list of presidential candidates, vice presidential candidates, and their political parties.

2. Follow directions to create a spreadsheet on which you will organize the candidates and their parties.

3. Use the links on the Project Vote Smart page to find a biography of each candidate. Use the database to take notes on the life of one candidate.

4. Find out what issues are important to your candidate. Play a game on the issues.

5. Open a word processing application such as AppleWorks or Microsoft Word. Use your notes to write your own biography of a candidate. Follow these directions and see the sample biography.

Promote your candidate.

1. Use your notes on the biography database and your information on the requirements and powers of the president and vice president to write a persuasive essay. In your essay convince voters that your candidate is the best candidate for the Presidency or Vice Presidency of the United States. Be sure to include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Share your essay with the class as an oral presentation.

2. Create a campaign poster and campaign button using a drawing and painting application such as Kidpix. Include a slogan , an illustration, and a photograph of the candidate.

Vote

1. Vote online at Time For Kids or at PBS Kids. What percentage of the popular vote does your candidate have?

2. Hold a mock election in your class. Record the results on a spreadsheet. Create a bar graph from the spreadsheet.