Mock Election Day Kit Classroom Voting Activity

Classroom Mock Election Day Kit

This mock election resource includes everything you need to hold your own presidential election in your classroom and teach students about the voting and election process in the United States.

This activity will take several days from start to finish and is divided into 5 parts. You can spread it out over several weeks if you like, completing one part each week.

 

What is included?

• 5-Part Mock Election Cycle Simulation Activities
• Vocabulary Cards
• Elections and Voting Mini Lessons

 

 

✅ ELECTION CYCLE SIMULATION ACTIVITIES

During this activity, your students will participate in each aspect of a presidential election. Each part is described below:

 

PART 1 – The Candidates

Students work together to create profiles for a set of candidates. Each profile has the candidate’s name, age, state of residence, occupation, leadership experience, education, and picture. Students also write a campaign slogan and four laws the candidate thinks would improve the country.

Includes an anchor chart showing the Constitutional qualifications to run for president and 8 different candidate profile forms.

The completed candidate profiles will be displayed and voted on later.

Please Note: This is a mock election that uses made-up candidate names. Elementary students often passionately support the candidate their parents support with little understanding of the political process. This can lead to unproductive arguments in the classroom. The focus of this resource is how elections work and the voting process, not which real-life candidate is the most popular. That means you can use this resource any time, not just during a specific election year!

 

PART 2 – Register to Vote

In this step, students fill out pretend voter registrations and receive a voter ID cards. They will be assigned a party (orange, green, or independent) based on their answer to a silly question on the form. This lets you introduce the two-party system in a fun, lighthearted way.

Includes registration forms and Elections Office signs.

 

PART 3 – The Primary

Students vote along party lines in a mock primary to select their presidential nominee. Instructions are provided for either including the “independent” party voters in the primaries or assigning them tasks to run the election. This allows you to incorporate your own state’s rules into your election.

Includes primary ballots, voter registration lists, and election signs.

 

Part 4 – The Convention (optional)

During this optional step, students gather with their parties to discuss the remaining candidates and choose one to be the running mate.

You may skip this step and assign the running mates yourself to save time if needed.

 

Part 5 – The General Election

Election Day has arrived! Your students will study the candidate profiles and decide whom to vote for.

Includes ballots, election signs, registered voter list, ticket A and ticket B cards, “I voted” badges, and election result signs.

 

✅ ELECTION VOCABULARY

The file includes vocabulary word cards and definitions so you can explicitly teach important words related to elections and voting.

Includes:

ballot, campaign, candidate, concede, debate, delegates, electoral college, electoral votes, general election, primary election, national convention, nominate, political party, poll, inauguration

 

✅ ELECTION MINI LESSONS

There are also several worksheets that target specific election-related concepts that can be difficult for students to understand. These can be used as the basis of mini lessons throughout this activity. Includes:

The Electoral College – Students read about how it works and use a table to calculate electoral votes for each candidate in a small sample election.

Political Parties – Explains what a party is along with some fun facts about the two major parties in the U.S.

Who Can Vote? – Students learn how voting rights changed with 15th, 19th, and 26th amendments. They also read descriptions and determine if the person described is eligible to vote.

Election Days – Students learn when important events happen during a presidential election year and determine the date of Election Day using a calendar.

 

This resource is an exciting and comprehensive way to bring presidential elections to life for your students! They will experience voting in a way that is understandable and fun. Appropriate for 3rd-5th grade.