With the upcoming Presidential Election, below you will find some featured websites that can help you and your students get up to speed on the candidates and the election process before the big election day in November.
BrainPOP Spotlight: Election ‘08
URL: http://www.brainpop.com/election/
Description:
BrainPOP! instructional video with links to the following related resources: a quiz, experiment, printable activities, graphic organizer, timeline, and FYI area.
BrainPOP Election Topics:
* Presidential Election – How does America choose its leader?
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/presidentialelection
* Voting – Stand And Be Counted!
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/voting/
* Primaries & Caucuses – Choosing a Presidential Nominee
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/primariesandcaucuses/
* Presidential Power – What does the U.S. President do?
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/presidentialpower/
* Political Beliefs – Where do you stand on the issues?
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/politicalbeliefs/
* Political Parties – Learn the differences between democrats and republicans!
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/politicalparties/
BrainPOP jr.: Election ’08 – K-3 Election Resources
URL: http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/government/
Description:
BrainPOP jr. instructional video with links to the following related resources: game, printable activity, Belly Up comic, Pop-a-Joke, word wall, hard quiz, easy quiz, draw about it, write about it, read about it, talk about it, and ideas for grown-ups – teacher resources.
BrainPOP jr. Election Topics:
http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/government/president/
* Rights and Responsibilities
http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/government/rightsandresponsibilities/
http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/government/ussymbols/
http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/government/localandstategovernments/
Nickelodeon: Kids Pick the President
Description:
Interactive website for kids to explore the 2008 US Presidential Elections. This site is hosted by the journalist, Linda Elerbee. It includes: polls, meet the candidates, how we eect a President, a message board and much more!
Related Information:
* For full details on the Kids Pick the President campaign and to view Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Election Issues 08 visit www.nick.com/kpp! Click here for the Election Issues 08 lesson plan!
* Go to TurboNick.com to view Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: The Kids’ Primary. Click here for the Kids’ Primary lesson plan!
* Cable in the Classroom’s eLECTIONS game: Inspired by the classic board game The Game of Life, players will role-play their own virtual candidates running for President. The one or two-player game is both genuinely entertaining and genuinely educational-with emphasis on delivering a fun learning experience. Play here à Cable in the Classrooms eLECTIONS game!
Scholastic News Countdown to Election 2008
URL: http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/election2008.htm
Description:
Loads of information and activities, including: lesson plans, web hunts, meet the candidates, news boards, blogs by Scholastic Kid Reporters, podcasts, games and quizzes.
Games & Quizzes:
* Create a Campaign Poster – How would you get your message to the voters? Design (and then print) your ideas here.
* You’re the Candidate – You’re running for President. Do you have what it takes to win? Find out!
* You’re the President – You make the decisions and talk to the press. Print out the resulting news story to see how you fared as President of the United States.
* Guess Where the Candidates Stand – Can you guess who the candidate is based on where they stand on important issues?
Time Magazine for Kids: Election Connection 2008
Kid’s Site URL: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/election08/
Teacher’s Site URL: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers
Description:
Kids Site Activities:
* Path to the Presidency – This short activities shows the 8 steps to the presidency in a nice graphical timeline.
* Electionary – A great dictionary of election and political terms that they can reference and learn.
* Campaign Games – This section of Time for Kids offers to games for students to explore the presidential election. The first game is called
* “Be the Nominee” – Students answer presidential trivia questions on their way to the White House.
* “Electoral College Craze” – Students can use the interactive whiteboard and roll over the map of the US to see which states have how many electoral college votes. Then if they select that state, they must answer a question correctly to win that state.
* Meet the Candidates – See who’s who in the race for President!
* Inside the Issues – Where do the candidates stand on the issues? Find out here!
* Kid Reporters – What did our Kid Reporters observe at the conventions? Read about it here.
* Congress Connection – Find and contact your representative in Washington, D.C.!
The Teacher’s Site provides worksheets, mini-lessons and graphic organizers for Kindergarten through sixth grades.
Ben’s Guide to the US Government: Election Process
URL: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/election/index.html
Description:
These pages explain the election process for Federal officials. Information about specific candidates and their campaigns, party or party platforms, or political races will not be found here.
PBS Kids: The Democracy Project
URL: http://pbskids.org/democracy/
Description:
The online activities are designed for students in grades three to six, with accompanying lesson plans for language arts (LA), social studies (SS), and math (M) teachers.
Online Activities:
* How Does Government Affect Me?: A virtual tour of a town’s buildings, roads, and parks teaches kids how federal, state, and local government decisions directly impact their community. This activity also provides a basic understanding of the branches of the federal government and balance of power.
* President For A Day: This activity provides a job description for the presidency, so students understand what kinds of skills and competencies are necessary in that office. Students have the opportunity to role play the president for a day, making decisions about different events that a president might actually experience (meetings with Cabinet members, speeches to the public, bowling in the White House).
* Inside The Voting Booth: This activity introduces students to the history of suffrage in America, through the “Voting Time Machine,” which presents case studies from different decades. Students also anticipate the time when they will be able to vote, through a customized, printable voter registration card, which also asks them to identify the issues they think are most important today.
Find more information about the educational goals for each online activity; lesson plans for each activity; curriculum standards related to this content; and the teachers who wrote the lesson plans at: http://pbskids.org/democracy/educators/index.html
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