And the Winner Is ...

It’s time to elect the next president! Hold a mock presidential election by dividing your class into four groups. As a class, review this article on the executive branch to develop a better understanding of the president of the United States’ job description. Then, assign one group as journalists, another as election officials, and the final two as brand-new political parties. Have students in the political party groups select two to three important issues for their platforms. Then have each party nominate a candidate from among the students. Explain that the other students will be campaign staff and will work with the presidential candidate to write a two-minute speech on their ideas for the nation and create a campaign slogan and advertisements. Instruct the journalist group to record a news story covering the campaigns. Have the election officials team set up a classroom polling location, create a ballot box and ballots, and supervise voting. Students may use voting process resources at National Geographic and USA.gov for help in understanding the election process and the roles they have been assigned to play. Finally, have the candidates present their speeches and the class view the media coverage of the campaign. Then, send them to the polls and have the election officials tally and announce the results.