Election Mini-Unit

I chose to plan a mini-unit that would tie into a very prominent current events topic – The Presidential Election. This unit focuses on the GLCE’s and METS listed below and will provide an introduction to how different government officials are elected, what their jobs entail, and how their decisions affect our daily lives.

4th Grade Social Studies GLCEs:

4 – C1.0.1 Identify questions political scientists ask in examining the United States (e.g., What does government do? What are the basic values and principles of American democracy? What is the relationship of the United States to other nations? What are the roles of the citizen in American democracy?).

4 – C3.0.6 Describe how the President, members of the Congress, and justices of the Supreme Court come to power (e.g., elections versus appointments).

4 – P3.1.1 Identify public issues in the United States that influence the daily lives of its citizens.

Michigan’s Educational Technology Standards & Expectations
Technology Problem-Solving and Decision- Making Tools:

By the end of Grade 5 each student will use technology resources to access information that can assist in making informed decisions about everyday matters (e.g., which movie to see, which product to purchase)

By the end of Grade 5 each student will use information and communication technology tools to collect, organize, and evaluate information to assist with solving real-life problems (personal or community)

Day 1: How do you become he the president?

Brain Pop Movie and Quiz: This website will serve as introductory to our study of the election process. Tim and Moby’s animated short explains how elections work in a republic. Political parties, primaries, conventions, presidential tickets, political platforms and the like are discussed in this animated video. After the video, the students will complete an informal quiz about the information presented in the video. This website will help students gain a brief overview of the election process that will serve as a jumping off point for the rest of the week’s lessons.

Day 2: How does government affect me?

The Democracy Project: Using this website, students will explore how checks and balances are applied to our government. Skill level appropriate explanations of each government branch are provided. Students will then link into the “town” section of the website to investigate the impact that government has in the local community (e.g. on schools, transportation, media, etc.). This website will help students think about how the decisions government officials trickle down to affect all aspects of their own community.

Day 3: Road to the Capital:

Students will use this website to engage in their own mock campaign. After a congressman steps down, Roberta Glass decides to run for his position. She is running on the platform that “kids have too much freedom” and she proposes that more decisions should be made for them. As students run against Roberta Glass, they are “briefed on the issues” that involve our basic rights and freedoms. To win this election, students will need to prove that they are the most qualified candidate by drawing on their knowledge of key principles of democracy.

Day 4: If You Were President…

This game asks students to pick advisors, create a budget, and give interviews to the press. Students will have to justify the decisions they had made in regards to the budget which will result in a front page news story that can be printed and shared with the class. This website will encourage students to think critically about the ways which government funding is spent, who is benefiting and who is losing out.

Day 5: Get Out the Vote!

Students will register for The National Student/Parent Mock Election which we will partake in before the general elections on October 30th, 2008. Additionally, students will use the ZOOM website in order to “get out the grown up vote”. All the tools are provided to help students set up a community voting drive. These website will help students get involved in the voting process, draw on what they’ve learned throughout the week, and make a difference in their community.

All of the sites I used for this unit are tagged under "election" on my course del.icio.us account. My google calendar also outlines the election mini unit that I've planned.