Free Homeschool Election Unit Study
Learn about the process and talk about why each vote matters in this free homeschool election unit study. Perfect for November or any time of year.
Whether we agree with the candidates or not, learning about the electoral process is important. Talk about the candidates at home. Bring your children to the polling place with you. Hold your own mock Election Day and see who wins! There are so many ways to introduce your children to the concept of Election and what it means in the United States of America.
Before you get started on your Election Unit Study, you might want to read about the history of Presidential elections, and how the US government works. Just like with everything else homeschooling related, these resources can be adapted for lower or higher grades, and if your kiddos are super interested in a specific part of the election process, you can dig in even deeper! Just remember to make it fun, keep it interesting.
Election Unit Study
Read Write Think has an even for election day, including activities the kiddos will love.
9 Ways to Engage Kids in the Election Process is another must read.
Election Lesson Plans will get you started on your own lesson plans.
Scholastic has an amazing election resource, so if you get overwhelmed with this list of options, start there!
How does the election process work?
Learning about the electoral college is extremely important. Many adults don’t even know how it works! Why not create a brochure outlining facts about how the electoral college works, and some myths that you might have learned weren’t true once you did some studying? Don’t forget to watch the Schoolhouse Rock video about the Electoral College, too.
Congress for Kids teaches all about the election process, as does Gallopade. Learn fun facts, discuss the history of the election process with your kids, and have them create a lapbook to show what they’ve learned.
Ben’s Guide to Government for Kids talks about voting but also the government in general. It’s a helpful resource for this Unit Study as well as others. The Constitution for Kids is another educational website with resources that will work for several Unit Studies. When you find an awesome site, don’t forget to bookmark it for later use!
I downloaded this FREE Election Day Lapbook which covers the electoral college, election vocabulary, how laws get made, types of elections, and more.
The kids can learn firsthand how the voting process works by voting for breakfast and creating a voting box.
Learn about the candidates
This can be tough. Teaching about political candidates without including our personal opinions is difficult, so I like to use sites like FactCheck.org to learn about the candidates. Obviously this is for the older kids, but younger kids can easily learn about past presidents and even make a lapbook including their favorites! Compare presidents from 50 years ago to presidents in the past 20 years.
40,000 politicians and millions of facts can be found at VoteSmart. Search by state or politician.
Election & Government Resources
Election Vocabulary A to Z – very nice printable
Homeschooling Lessons on the Election Process – tons of resources here
Election 2016 Coverage from PBS
12 Week Government Unit Study
If I Were President… and other election freebies to download and print out.
Election Day Literacy Freebies
Book Resources
If I Were President by Catherine Stier
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin
The Berenstain Bears and Mama for Mayor! by Jan Berenstain
Election time can be stressful in the “real” world but it's important for our children to learn about the process and talk about why each vote matters!
Great post.