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LESSON PLAN

Name: Emily Epstein

Date: 09/7/16
Subject: Social Studies Election Day
Length of Lesson: 70 minutes
Grade Level: 2

Social Studies Core Curriculum Objectives:

Standard 2
(Citizenship): Students will recognize and practice civic responsibility in the community, state, and nation.
Objective 3
Investigate and show how communities, state, and nation are united by symbols that represent citizenship in our nation.

Common Core Objectives (ELA or Math):

Writing Standard 1
Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons
that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a
concluding statement or section.

Language Objective: Students will be able to explain the process of voting in an election and

identify key vocabulary words related to election day, in a written opinion piece and mock

election.

ELL Language Objective: Students will be able to explain the process of voting in an election

and identify election vocabulary words orally, and participate fully in a mock election.

Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to explain election day in a way that engages students in
their responsibilities as a citizen of their communities and the United States. Through read
alouds, writing pieces, and class discussions we will dive into the meaning of voting, what it
means to be president, and the general way it all works. This lesson is meant to be done on
election day, but could also be done in the week leading up to the election. The material builds
upon student knowledge of communities and community helpers.
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ELL Considerations: ELL students may be provided with a copy of the text to follow along

with during the read aloud. These students may also only have to write a few sentences on their

If I Were President sheet and explain the rest orally. During the assessment, which is a ballot,

students may have the instructions and ballot information read to them for better understanding.

Allow students to talk about their own experiences and cultures, as many students in our

class have family from different countries. This can create a unique opportunity for

students to discuss similarities and differences between cultures and have a valuable

teaching moment.

Vocabulary Development: Election vocabulary is very specific and will be introduced in the
book Duck for President by Doreen Cronin. Important vocabulary words include:

Vote
Ballot
Candidate
Election
Poll
Registration
Nominee
President

Preparation/Materials: To complete this lesson I will need a copy of the book Duck for
President by Doreen Cronin, butcher paper or the smart board to create a class KWL chart,
access to Youtube for a video from Kid President, sample ballots, and the If I Were President
handout. It is important to listen to the way students respond in this lesson and discover what
they understand about elections and/or their misconceptions about presidential elections. The
KWL chart allows ELL students to participate through oral or written communication and makes
it easier for the instructor to identify unknown vocabulary words. Their sample ballots will not
use our 2016 Presidential Candidates names, but will instead use nominees for best classroom
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job. This activity is meant to explore the idea of voting and ballots more than the candidates
themselves.
Markers
Ballots
Duck for President
If I Were President Handout
Computer/SmartBoard/Projector

Parent/Home Connection: Use this opportunity for students to have discussions with their
families, as this election has been a rollercoaster for many.

Technology: SmartBoard, Computer, Projector

Web Based Resources: Kid President Pep Talk: Kid President Is Over It! :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghk-nDJB3Tk

TIME LESSON MANAGEMENT

0-7 minutes Begin by asking students if they know Have students sit in the
why today is important (if doing carpet area ready to
lesson on election day) listen
Facilitate class discussion about the
Remind students of the
meaning of election day. two questions they ask
Explain that we will be exploring how themselves when they
we choose a new president of the sit on the carpet:
United States using our first
vocabulary word, election. Who should I sit by?
Introduce our book, Duck for
Is this a good
President. choice?
Students may ask
7-25 minutes Before reading, create a KWL Chart questions or respond
for election day. while seated in the
Ask students what they know and carpet area but they
want to know about elections; must raise their hand.
facilitate discussion. This leads into Remind them not to
our read aloud. yell out.
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Read Duck for President.
Allow ELL students to follow along Have dolphin dollars
with the text for students
While reading, stop on key vocabulary participating positively
and following
words such as vote, election, ballot,
directions.
etc.
25-50 minutes Introduce activity to students. They It helps them to have
will be completing the If I Were movement after
President writing activity, and be reading a book on the
voting in a classroom poll. carpet.
Explain that students should complete Model the activities for
their writing with their own thoughts, the students while also
and be descriptive about themselves having instructions
as President. They should use posted on the board.
complete sentences. (Potential As students complete
Barrier) their activities teachers
ELL students may complete this will walk around to
assignment using oral language observe and assist.
instead of written language. Use Macaroni and
Remind students about the Cheese to get student
components of a good sentence. attention when needed.
Explain that after the activity, we will
have students share their writing about
themselves as President.
Students will be given a ballot in
which they will vote on their favorite
classroom job from a selection of two.
Ballots will be submitted in a ballot
box to be counted later.
This gives feedback to teachers on
classroom management while also
allowing students to see how a simple
ballot works.

50-70 minutes Give some students the opportunity to Remind students to be

read their writing piece to the class. respectful while other
All of their pieces will be hung up on students are presenting.
the wall for other students to see at
some point. Use table points for
ELL students may explain their positive reinforcement.
thoughts to the class instead of
reading a writing piece.
Count the votes from the ballots and
reveal results to the students.
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Bring up the KWL chart and have

students list things they have learned
about elections.

If time permits, watch the Kid

President pep talk on Youtube, to
summarize the lesson and get students
motivated for the rest of the day.

Assessment: Understanding of the voting process: The assessment is the voter registration card

and ballot students will complete and submit into the ballot box. Filling out the information

appropriately and having election results will help me see if the students grasped the concept of

fair and free elections. ELL students will have the opportunity to have the ballots and

registration cards read to them and/or have pictures representing the new vocabulary on the

items. This depends on the level of the individual student.

Adaptations:

The language barriers in my classroom are not huge, but can make a difference when using

specific vocabulary such as elections, votes, and ballots. I could translate these vocabulary words

for students, and those who have a difficult time writing in a short amount of time may be able to

draw more and write less. These adaptations will depend on student progress over the next two

months as election day is not until then. Early finishers can draw themselves as president on the

back of their paper, or choose to write about someone they would like to have as their vice

president. This way they are still engaged with the content and investigating further. Students

who have trouble completing the task on time will be asked to complete three sentences about

themselves as president. All students should be able to complete their ballots.

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Integration:

This lesson integrates writing and life skills. The main activity involves students using

descriptive vocabulary and writing in complete sentences. They are also learning about the

process of voting which is an important component of citizenship/responsibility, and can be

considered a life skill. I would like to use technology to show students the Kid President Pep

Talk video as a summation of the lesson. Technology could also be integrated if we chose to do

an online vote instead of a paper ballot, or for students to investigate further.

Sample Handouts
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Ballot:

Classroom Jobs would be added to the options. Students will choose from two.
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