How to Hold a Student Mock Election

Teaching the younger generation about voting, and the election process, is incredibly important. Being a citizen means that it is your duty to vote, and the sooner we can get young students to understand this, the better. A mock vote can teach your students a lot about the education process, and as a bonus, maybe they'll go home and convince their parents to register to vote, if they haven't already.

Things You'll Need

• Teacher-created voting ballot
• Large cardboard
• Internet access
• Computer
• Printer

Instructions

1. Get permission from your administrator. Politics can be a volatile subject, and you don't want to step on anyone's toes before you even start. Find out from your administrator what you can and cannot teach in the classroom regarding election issues.

2. Create a list of election terms for the students to learn. You may even want to choose some of them to be spelling words for the next few weeks. Make sure the students understand all the terms before you begin the mock election process.

3. 

   Involve the parents. Send home a note before the process starts, explaining that you will be teaching the students about each presidential candidate, along with the election process, and that the students will have the opportunity to participate in a mock election at the end of the unit. Reassure the parents that you will not touch on nor allow any discussion regarding volatile issues in the classroom, nor will you let your personal preference for a candidate affect your teaching.

4. Plan the curriculum. You could hold a presidential rally with two students representing the candidates and reading from speeches prepared by a group of students. You could hold a press conference much in the same vein, or have a speech-writing contest. Bring in some newspapers and have the students see if they can find out more about the candidates.

5. Hold the election. Create ballots on your computer, and a voting booth out of a large cardboard box. Remind the students to keep their votes secret, and let them vote one at a time. Tally the votes as soon as possible.

Tips & Warnings

• See if you can get the whole school to join in. It's more fun when everyone can participate.

• For a fun art activity, have the students create campaign posters.

Resources

• Newspapers in Education Mock Election Site
• Mock election lesson plans from Teachervision.com
• National Mock Election includes curriculum materials.