Elections Lesson Plan: Teaching Elementary Kids the Voting Process

It does not need to be an election year to teach your students about the electoral process, although it is a nice distraction during the pre-election barrage of television and radio advertising campaigns. Any election period will create an opportunity to walk your students through the election campaigning, and voting processes.

Election Campaigning

With the barrage of campaign ads interrupting most of your students' favorite after-school television programs, you will be able to explain many of the campaign tactics used, before having your students campaign themselves. Begin by making a list of government-type classroom positions your students will be voting to fill, such as class president, treasurer, secretary, hall monitor, etc.

Have your class come up with ads and slogans of their own. Ad campaigns can be as complex as filming an ad, or creating a power-point presentation, highlighting the strengths of the candidate; or as simple as a flyer, delivered with a smile and a handshake. Classroom and hallway posters and slogans can promote campaign promises, and proposed solutions for a better school environment.

Campaign Speeches

Along with campaign slogans and advertising, have your candidates give a short campaign speech in front of the class, to convince others to vote for them. Warn them first that any promises made, must be fulfilled, should they win, so keep campaign promises realistic, and cost effective. A free puppy for every classmate won't work, but popcorn might be a more realistic campaign promise, much easier to fulfill.

Voting Ballots

Print up voting ballots listing each child and party affiliation, such as Chuck E. Cheese Party, for those students who really like to party and earn toys, or the Skateboarder Party, for those who like to get around faster. Your students will also have creative ideas, once you find out the values important to them, and want to include in their party's ticket.

You may also want to include some ballot measures, such as more fruit in the school cafeteria, or more science lessons in class. Ask your kids for ballot-measure suggestions, as they know what they want to vote for, or against. Then place dots next to all candidates, and ballot measures, which can be punched out using a pencil.

Voting and Announcing Winners

Each child needs to go to a voting station, set up in a dedicated part of the classroom, possibly the computer stations, and punch out selections. A student-staffed committee then tallies the votes, and announces the winners.

The winners should be required to give acceptance speeches, outlining plans for fulfilling campaign promises. Then conclude the voting-process lesson plan by having students grade each other on their candidacies.