Election Day Freebie

Election Day is sneaking up fast!  I always enjoyed election time in my classroom.  Students hear their parents talking about it, they can't escape from it being all over the television, so they are naturally curious about it.  What a better time to teach them how the democratic process works.  Whatever the grade level, you can adapt election type activities to fit the needs of your classroom.  Host a mock election, complete with registration cards.  Do some research on the candidates with your older students.  Tie in some quality literature to enhance your election studies. Check out some of my favorites: (Duck for President by Doreen Cronin, Election Day by Lynn Peppas, See How They Run by Susan E. Goodman, Vote! by Eileen Christelow, Letters from the Campaign Trail: LaRue for Mayor by Mark Teague, President of the Whole Fifth Grade by Sherri Winston, If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier)  If your school is a voting site, request one of the workers on their break to come speak to your class about the process.  They may even allow your class to come do a quick tour of the voting machines.  My class was invited to do this during a local election last year and my students were fascinated by the curtains more than anything else.  :-) During our mock classroom election we had to build a privacy area so they could vote in private!   Whatever you decide to do, have FUN and make it meaningful.  After all, we're blessed to live in a democratic society where we the people, have a voice!  Students need to learn this at an early age so they will not be afraid of the process as adults. 
 
Here's an Election Day Fun Freebie for you to get you started!  :-)  Click on the image to grab it!  

Bananas for my freedom and always thankful for those who serve to protect it,