Cast Your Ballots! Election Day Activities!

I can't believe the month of October is already coming to an end.   Halloween is tomorrow and Election day is right around the corner.  Election Day is a good opportunity to teach my kindergarteners about what to look for in a good leader and the voting process.  I introduce the topic of an election by reading the book:

It is about a duck who is tired of doing his chores on the farm and decides that Farmer John isn't cutting it as lead farmer.  So he holds an election with the other farm animals to choose a new leader.  Duck ends up winning the election and moves up the political ladder.  However, he finds that being a leader is really hard work.  We then talk about how leaders who want to be elected for president or any other office usually makes promises to the people in hope to gain their votes.  We make a list of characteristics students feel is important for a good president/leader.  

Here are some videos about the role of a president and current presidential nominees:

Click Here for Brain Pop Jr. Video about the role of a president.

Click here for videos about President Obama and Governor Romney (bios) & More on Scholastic

After watching these videos we will do a mock vote based on the biographies on the scholastic website.      We will graph the results to see who wins, then wait to see if we voted like the rest of the country.

Students will also do an art and writing project about what they would do if they became president.

Click here for my If I were president worksheet.

Click here for my vote for _______ worksheet.

I'm still looking for more activities.  If you have any election day ideas please leave me a comment!