Election Unit Ideas for All Ages
Election season is right around the corner. Whatever your feelings might be about the election, it is a great opportunity to explore government and elections with your kids. Below are a range of ideas for elementary schoolers of all ages. We used many of these for our fourth grade Election Unit – you can find that unit here.
affiliate links are included below.
Election Math Ideas
- Printable Election Math Game from Royal Baloo
- Electoral College Map with a math activity you can do beforehand to see how different states can be combined to get the total number of votes needed. This also includes some geography as you find states on the USA map.
Election ELA Ideas
- Children’s Books about Voting, Elections, Presidents and More from My Storytime Corner and another election booklist on Babies to Bookworms and this Election and President booklist on Growing Book by Book.
- Election Day Storytime plan
- Read DUCK FOR PRESIDENT and do this writing activity from TpT
- If I Were President and other writing prompts in this printable mini-election unit.
- An Election Emergent Reader from A Dab of Glue with Do
- Design your own campaign posters.
- Presidential Qualities and Writing Printable on TpT
- Election Poem and Bookmarks also on TpT
- Play Election Vocabulary Bingo from Growing Book by Book
- Read one (or more!) of these books about the President and create these little booklets about being President.
- Presidential Election Voting Lesson for kids with free printables on Teach Beside Me.
Election Social Studies Ideas
Elections in general are a social studies topic so I would argue that any of the above, while it includes skills in other academic areas, fits under the social studies umbrella because you are discussing and learning about the election. That being said, here are a few other ideas.
- This is a fairly comprehension Elections Unit by Sonlight that covers a lot of information about the election process.
- Watch the Debates together. Encourage questions and discussions about what the candidates talk about during the debate.
- Learn about Disability Voting and Election resources from A Day in Our Shoes.
- This post on Year Round Homeschool has some great ideas on learning about the President, the Constitution, and Government and this one also helps explain the Electoral Votes and the Voting Process.
- Pay more attention to the news with your children leading up to the debate.
- Share any of the flyers you get in the mail with them. Compare and contrast ones you get from different parties. What do they like? What makes sense to them? How do they relate to advertising in other areas of their life?
- When you do vote either via mail in or in person, take your kids with you. Show them how it works. Again encourage questions.
- Play the Race to the White House Printable Game from Teach Beside Me.
Election Night
- Decorate with Red, White, and Blue and this adorable election night kit from Barley and Birch.
- Make some Election Day Cookies – recipe on Finding Debra
- Electoral College Map to track the race as votes come in. This is the same one I included in the election math area.
- Year Round Homeschooling also has an Election Night Pack with activities to do as you watch the results.
