Presidential elections can be a stressful time in many households, as differences in opinions can cause tensions to be heightened. But through teaching children the election process, we can ease some of this stress and help them to understand everything that goes into electing our next president, from the differences between the popular vote and the electoral college and everything in between. Use the different videos, activities, games, and lesson plans targeted at elementary school students to teach them this important American process.
Presidential Election Process Videos
1. Why is Voting Important?
Start with this introductory video that discusses the importance of voting in general. It starts with giving children an analogy they can understand–their families voting on what to have for dinner–and applying this to electing different officials.
Learn More: Kids Academy
2. The Electoral College
The electoral college can be a confusing topic for children. Use this video to introduce them to the electoral college and how states get a certain number of electoral votes based on their state’s overall population.
Learn More: Kid Explorer
3. What is a Democrat?
Watch this video to introduce students to the Democratic Party. It begins with giving an introduction to what political parties are and then goes into more detail about what it means to be part of the Democratic Party. It is a good place to start when talking about the differences of opinion between the two parties.
Learn More: Learn Bright
4. What is a Republican?
This video begins the same as the last video, with a lot of background information. If you watched the other video first, you can fast forward to the section of the video that focuses on what it means to be a part of the Republican Party (about 4 minutes into the video) and some of the more conservative ideas they have.
Learn More: Learn Bright
5. Who can vote and how does it work?
This video teaches children about who can vote and how we vote. It explains that adult citizens are able to vote in the United States if they meet their state’s requirements. From here, you can talk to students about your state’s specific requirements.
Learn More: Kid Explorer
6. So You Want to be President
This video goes over the perks of being president of the United States, the responsibilities of the president, and the requirements for becoming the president. So if your student is a citizen from birth and likes the job description, they can start working toward their goal of becoming president!
Learn More: Scholastic
Presidential Election Process Books
7. ABC What an Informed Voter You’ll Be! by Modern Kid Press
Teach students about voting with this book that covers all aspects of the election process! Get young students excited about what it means to be American! They’ll learn all sorts of new terms, like C for Constitution and S for Supreme Court. Check our list of interesting president books for kids here.
Learn More: Amazon
8. If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier
Introduce students to what it means to run for president with this book of different views on running a presidential campaign from a multicultural cross-section of children. This book is a great conversation starter about presidential candidates and their campaigns. You could have them create their own campaign posters after!
Learn More: Amazon
9. The Night Before Election Day by Amy Wummer
Get kids excited about election day with this sweet, engaging book. They will be as glued to their TVs as their parents are on election night after they learn the election process.
Learn More: Amazon
Presidential Election Process Activities
10. Hold a Mock Election
If you are looking for activity ideas to get children engaged, look no further! This website offers free printables, including ballots for voting for your new class mascot. Hold a mock election and get students directly involved in the process!
Learn More: Mrs. Jones’ Creation Station
11. Write to the President
After having a classroom discussion on current issues facing our nation, encourage students to take a side and write letters to our president. This will get them directly involved in the political process! Give them examples like the one offered here.
Learn More: White House
12. If I Were President Poetry
Use the template in the link below to create a poem as a class. Then have students write their own individual poems about what they would do if they were president using the same format.
Learn More: Oak Dome
13. Electoral College Worksheet
This activity is more suited to your upper elementary or middle school students. Use this electoral map as a teaching aid when introducing your learners to the election process. This visual representation will help them to conceptualize the concept of electoral colleges and where they’re situated across the United States.
Learn More: Education World
14. Create a Class Party Through Voting
Create different ballots like the one pictured above to have students vote on different aspects of a classroom party. Children will feel empowered and be excited about voting, and they’ll be excited about their upcoming celebration with items they chose!
Learn More: Growing Kinders
15. Find a Buddy Who Worksheet
This free printable will have students up and moving around the classroom as they find the answers to these questions from their peers.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
Presidential Election Process Games
16. Election Vocabulary Bingo
Use the resources at the above link to both teach election vocabulary and then review these terms by playing bingo. Vocabulary words and bingo cards are provided!
Learn More: Teacher Vision
17. Win the White House
Created by iCivics, this fun game is suitable for upper elementary-aged students. It has them go through each step of the election process as they create their own presidential campaigns! One caveat is that it does require technology.
Learn More: iCivics
18. Election Vocabulary Game
This free downloadable game utilizes flashcards to teach and review election-related vocabulary. If they find an “elected President” card, they get an extra turn!
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
President Election Process Lesson Plans
19. Fairy Tales to Teach Debate
Using different characters from well-known fairy tales, this lesson introduces children to what a presidential debate is by staging a classroom debate. Teach students that it is okay to have differences of opinion and how to discuss these differences in a productive manner.
Learn More: Education World
20. Electoral College Lesson Plan
The attached lesson plan can be adapted for any age group of students. By having them vote on topics individually and then as groups, you teach them the difference between the popular vote and the electoral college. It will give students a different perspective and a new understanding of election outcomes.
Learn More: Study
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