1. Understand that the electoral process includes many steps and presidential campaigns often take place over two full years
2. Identify with the character they have selected, lending him/her an appropriate voice throughout the campaign
3. Learn the qualifications necessary to vote in the United States

The students will:

1. Differentiate between positive and negative personal attributes
2. Select a fictional character for nomination who personifies the qualities of a good leader
3. Use the Internet to learn about the election process
4. Write an announcement speech that identifies their character’s platform
5. Correctly complete a form that registers them to vote in the classroom election

Directions

Day OneStep 1: Introduction: Ask students what they know about elections and if they have had any personal experiences making decisions with a popular vote.

Step 2: Prepare a KWL chart on a bulletin board or chart paper. Record what students Know and what they Want to learn about the presidential election. Remember to update the chart throughout the unit with information students have Learned. Save the chart so you may review it at the end of the unit with your students.

Step 3: Introduce the book, So You Want to Be President by Judith St. George. Distribute the So You Want to Be President Graphic Organizer to students. Tell your class that while you read they'll be taking notes on the advantages and disadvantages of being President, and listing the good qualities our best U.S. Presidents possessed. In the 3^rd grade, I always establish a minimum for note taking to help keep the students focused on the task at hand. For this particular activity, I would expect my students to come up with a minimum of 3 advantages, 3 disadvantages, and 5 good qualities.

Step 4: Read students the book. Afterwards, discuss the notes students have taken. Allow students to add onto their own notes during the discussion. Students should keep the notes for a writing activity on Day Two. Variation: Draw the graphic organizer on the board or on chart paper and fill it in together as a whole group after reading the book. Keep the graphic organizer posted.

Day Two:
Step 1: Morning Journal or Writing Warm-up Activity: Have students review the notes concerning qualities of a good leader that they took on Day One. Then ask them to write writing a list of fictional characters they think would make a good President. These characters can be from favorite books, television, comics, video games, etc. Next to each name, have students list one or more personal attributes of that character that would make him/her a good leader. Ask students to put a star next to the character who would be their first choice for President.

Step 2: Discuss the many different characters children chose along with their reasons. Allow students to bring up any positive or negative points a character may encounter as president. For example, The Invisible Man might not make a great president because no one would be able to find him during a national emergency.

Step 3: Have students choose one character they would like to help run for President. Variation: I prefer each student to choose a different character. However, you may vary this by having students work in pairs to promote the same character, or you may allow more than one person to campaign for the same person.

Day Three:
Step 1: Once students have decided on their character, ask them to write a short introductory paragraph about them. The paragraph should include biographical information, such as age, occupation, residence, along with a brief explanation of why their candidate would make an excellent president. Again, it is best to model a paragraph before giving the assignment and leave it up for reference as with the students create their own.

Days Four and Five:
Step 1: Either in your school computer lab or through small groups at centers, have students take part in the Scholastic Online Activity, Election: How to Run for President (PDF). Distribute the Election 2004 Online Activity Guide Printable for students to complete as they navigate the step-by-step tour. This comprehensive site provides information on all parts of the electoral process from start to finish.

Step 2: Revisit the class KWL chart at this point and add on anything students have learned from the online activity.

Step 3: While taking part in the online activity, students were taught that introducing yourself to the American public is a critical first step in the political process. Have students write their fictional character’s official brief announcement (less than one minute) to enter the race for President of the United States. Their announcement should tell who they are and tell what their platform will be if they are elected. Students may need to complete this activity at home for time's sake. Tell students that when they make their official announcement in front of an audience, they may dress up like their character, actually becoming that person if they like.

Step 4: Distribute the Anti-Stage Fright Checklist. Go over the listed points with students. Ask students to add any other tips they may have for public speaking.

Day Six
Step 1: All students should make their character’s official announcement of candidacy from the “special” podium. You can choose the order of presenters randomly or ask for volunteers.

Step 2: Now that everyone is beginning to get excited about the upcoming “Fictional Character” election, explain to students the wonderful thing about our democracy is that every U.S. citizen over 18 has the right to vote. For your classroom, you'll be lowering the legal age to 8. Ask students if they know what someone has to do before they are allowed to vote (register). Explain that the process is simple and tell them they'll have the chance to register for your classroom election.

Step 3: Distribute copies of the Voter Registration Form to each student. Collect the completed forms and tell students they're now officially registered to vote. You may even want to present them with a voting card.

Step 4: At this point, I inform students that there will be a voting restriction that does not exist in a real election. Every person who has registered is allowed to cast one vote. No one, however, may vote for their own character. Discuss why there might be problems with voting for oneself in a small group. (There's a good chance you would have a very large one-vote tie.)

Step 5: After they've completed registering, ask each student to randomly select a Regional Electoral College Tag from a box or bag. If you have not made these into necklaces yet, students can do so at this point. Tell students the tags identify which region their vote represents and how many electoral votes their one vote will be worth. Use your U.S. map to review how the Electoral College votes are determined. (This information was already covered during the Election 2004 Online Activity.)

Supporting All Learners

Much of this unit uses small groups which benefit many learners. In order to provide more support to some students, you may want to pair them with students interested in nominating a “duo” such as “Hansel and Gretel.” Students can then work cooperatively to create their announcements and speeches.

Lesson Extensions

Current Event Ideas
Both Lessons One and Two lend themselves very nicely to current event activities. Below are some ideas for current event activities you may want to add to your unit.

Headline News
During the lesson, ask students to bring in at least three headlines from articles written about the candidates. Discuss the headlines in class. Do they favor a candidate or attempt to show that person in a negative light? Students then post their headlines in the positive, neutral, or negative section of the bulletin board. At the end of the week, discuss the number of positive vs. negative headlines and what impact they may have on the candidates.

Follow that Candidate
Divide students into six groups. Assign one person in each group to follow a real presidential candidate on their campaign stops over the next two weeks. Students may use newspapers, television/radio news, or the Internet to track the campaign stops made by the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, their wives, and the two vice-presidential running mates. Have students mark each person’s public appearances with a color-coded pushpin (red for one party, blue for the other) into a map of the United States. Next to each pin, add a sticky note that tells who visited, the date, and their purpose or message at that stop.

News in a Nutshell
Step 1: Bring out a collection of relatively current newspapers, periodicals, and Internet news articles. Allow a few minutes for students to look through the pile for election related articles. Point out how many articles there are related to the election and the candidates.

Step 2: Assign students to find and read an appropriate news article related to the election, then write a short summary of what they learned about the candidate or election.

Their written summary should include:

• Name of the article
• Its origin
• Its main purpose

Other information to look for includes:

• Words or phrases that the author uses to let the reader know his/her opinion
• Questions they have after reading the article
• Whether or not the article helped you make a decision about how you would vote

Step 3: Never expect students to successfully summarize and share their articles the following day unless you have modeled how it is done. Choose one article from the pile and demonstrate what the children should do at home that evening. Read the article aloud to the class, and then highlight important information. Write your short summary with the class and keep it posted.

Note: Many students may not receive a newspaper at home or have access to an Internet-enabled computer outside of school. Allow students to take home articles out of the collection you brought to class or provide time for students to find an article on the computer before they leave for the day. You can find election information readily available in an easy-to-read format on Scholastic News.

Assignments

1. Complete the graphic organizer for So You Want to Be President?
2. Brainstorm a list of fictional characters and positive attributes they possess.
3. Write an introductory paragraph for the Presidential biography.

Evaluation

Did your students have enough information about the electoral process after the online activity and class discussion? Was enough time spent asking students to share what they were learning and what they still had questions about? What questions could you have asked to check for complete understanding? Did the graphic organizer help students take notes?Ã Are you addressing the “Want to Know” section of the KWL chart? Are you adding to the “What We Learned” section of the KWL chart? Did you generate enough excitement for students? Are you modeling enough?