Voting! What’s It All About?

(October 28, 2010 – November 1, 2010)

Standards:

ELAKR6 d, g, h

The student gains meaning from orally presented text.

ELA1-5 R2,

The student consistently reads at least twenty-five books or book equivalents (approximately 1,000,000 words) each year.

ELA1R6 (e, f), ELA2R4 (f, h), ELA3R3 (d, I), ELA4R1 (g, h) ELA5R1-2 (g, h): For informational texts, the student reads and comprehends in order to develop understanding and expertise and produces evidence of reading.

ELA4W2 (d), ELA1W2 (b, c), ELA2W2 (d), ELA3W2 (d), ELA5W2 (d) ELAKW2 (b): The student produces informational writing.

SS5CG1 (a): Explain the responsibilities of a citizen

SS2CG2 (b): Identify the roles of the following elected official – Governors (leader of our state)

SSKCG1 (a): Explain how rules are made and why.

STUDENT OBJECTIVES

Students will

  • share prior knowledge about elections.
  • actively listen to books about the voting process, both fiction and nonfiction.
  • discuss information about the voting process, as presented by a variety of text sources.
  • use the Internet to gather information about voting.
  • write about their favorite candidate.

Vocabulary:

voting election Governoramendmentcitizenrights referendum rules City Council Senator

responsibilities

Lesson Plan Activities

Thursday: Introduction---What is Voting?

  1. Before introducing the lesson, have students respond in writing to the prompt, "What I Know about Voting." Allow students to write in any form they prefer: paragraphs, lists, or graphic representations. This information will be a guide to the discussion, so it's important to do this writing before any reading or discussion about the voting process.
  2. After students have finished writing, collect their papers and ask the following questions to generate discussion:
  3. What is voting?
  4. Why do people vote?
  5. What are some things we vote about in the classroom?
  6. What different kinds of elections are there?
  7. What do you know about the upcoming election?
  8. Give all students the opportunity to respond to these questions, and any others, that may come up in discussion. If desired, some key points or questions for further exploration can be written on chart paper.
  9. Read aloud the book Duck for President by Doreen Cronin.
  10. Use the following questions to generate discussion about the story:
  11. How did this story begin?
  12. What did Duck want to do?
  13. What happened next?
  14. What did the other animals think about Duck?
  15. How do you think this story is like elections in real life?

Friday: Read-Aloud and Exploration of Voting.

Suggestions: (My Teacher for President by Kate Winters, Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio, If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier, So You Want to Be Preident by Judith St. George, or Max for President by Jarrett Kirosoczka)

  1. Read aloud another book from your library or media center to introduce the students to the basics of the election process. Generate questions for discussion of the book and make connections to the book on yesterday.
  2. Ask students to respond to the information according to what they already knew and/or what is new information for them.
  3. Explain that students will be learning about voting and elections in the next few days. While they are learning about elections and voting, they will also be recording facts on sticky notes or written on chart tablets about voting.
  4. Show or read a couple of short newspaper articles, then store them in the basket or pin them on a voting chart.
  5. Invite students to bring in newspaper or magazine articles about the current election. Explain that articles brought in by students will be shared aloud with the class then kept in the basket for browsing or posted on the bulletin board. (grades 3-5)
  6. Then gather students together and have them share information about what they may have discovered. If desired, write some key points or especially interesting findings on chart paper.

Monday: What About THIS Election?

  1. Post a large sheet of butcher paper horizontally. Divide it into three columns, labeled FACT, OPINION, and NOT SURE.
  2. Introduce the chart to the students. Ask them to define and clarify the difference between facts and opinions.
  3. Make sure students understand that facts are verifiable as true or not true, while opinions are not verifiable.
  4. Ask students the following questions, allowing for as many responses as there is time:
  5. What do you know about this election?
  6. How do you know?
  7. What do you know about the candidates?
  8. How do you know?
  9. As each response is given, ask the group to evaluate whether the statement is a fact (provable) or simply someone's opinion. Write the statement in the corresponding column. If consensus is not reached for any statement, write it in the "NOT SURE" column.
  10. When all responses are given and posted, review the items in each column. Discuss whether any of the items in the "NOT SURE" column are verifiable.
  11. When reviewing the "OPINION" column, be sure to address the idea that opinions are not invalid, and talk about what makes them valid (different ideas, goals, perspectives, and understandings).
  12. You can also examine the newspaper/magazine articles that the students bring in. Some might bring in editorials, political cartoons, or news articles.

Monday: Tomorrow Is the Election!

  1. Read aloud another book from your library or media center to introduce the students to the basics of the election process. Generate questions for discussion of the book and make connections to either one of the books previously read.
  2. Review information discussed on last week and remind students that Election Day will be held on tomorrow in the United States and at our school.
  3. Using your 21st Century Cart, introduce students to the voting ballot they will be using on tomorrow.
  4. Review the "Facts/Opinions" chart with students. Tell them they will be doing some writing and can use the chart for reference.

Give directions for writing to the prompt: "Why I Would Vote For ______."

  1. Ask students to choose their own candidate.
  2. Explain that there should be more facts than opinions in their response and that they will be adding up the facts and opinions when they are finished.