LESSON PLAN OUTLINE

Kristen Davison

A. TITLE/TYPE OF LESSON: ​The Importance and Process of Voting

B. CONTEXT OF LESSON
Students will have begun their unit on citizenship this week. Before this lesson, they will
have received instruction on the qualities of a good citizen as well as the differences
between laws and rules. In my opinion, the sequence of learning the process of voting
makes sense following these lessons because they have already learned what a good citizen
is and does, and now they can gain more knowledge about rights and duties of a citizen.
Next week, students will be learning about helping in the community, respect, honesty, etc.
As many of the students’ parents voted in the election on Tuesday, it is a good time to
discuss what they were doing when they went to their precinct and why that is an
important right in our country.

C. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand​ – what are the
broad generalizations the
students should begin to
develop?
Know​ – what are the facts, Do​ – what are the specific
rules, specific data the thinking behaviors students
students will gain through will be able to do through this
this lesson? lesson?

Students will understand why Students will know that Students will participate in a
voting is an important right in voting is a right of citizens in discussion about their prior
our country. the United States. knowledge of voting.

Students will understand the
process of voting.
Students will know that
voting is used to choose
community leaders at the
local, state, and national
levels.
Students will vote and
participate in an “election” to
determine the best cookie.
Students will assist the
teacher in analyzing the
results from the election.

D. ASSESSING LEARNING
● I will assess students informally by observing behavior and contributions during
class discussions. I will make mental notes of who was able to provide background
information during the braindump, as well as who contributed to the analysis at the
end.
 ● I will use the “Let’s Vote” analysis sheet to determine whether or not students
followed instructions and followed along with the class during the discussion. I will
also make note of whether or not they were able to correct answer the
interpretation questions independently.

E. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING

2.11 The student will explain the responsibilities of a good citizen, with emphasis on
b) taking part in the voting process when making classroom decisions;
2.12 The student will understand that the people of the United States of America
b) vote in elections

F. MATERIALS NEEDED
● Book: ​Duck for President
● “Good Citizens Vote” sheet in citizenship booklet
● Chart paper
● Chocolate chip cookies (1 per student)
● Oreo cookies (1 per student)
● Napkins
● Cookie ballots
● Ballot box
● Bar Graph (Google Slides)
● “Let’s Vote!” analysis sheets

G. PROCEDURE

Preparation of the Learning Environment

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Before social studies begins, I will prepare the learning environment by setting up the
“polling place.” I will have a station with a desk, a privacy folder, cookie ballots, and the
ballot box. I will also have a piece of chart paper at the easel with the heading “Voting” at the
top.

Engage: Introduction of the Lesson

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I will have the students come to the carpet and begin by asking students about Tuesday.
What happened that day and why did we have off from school? I will direct their attention
to the chart paper. I will ask them to think about anything they know about voting and raise
their hands to tell me. This could be something they heard from their parents, on TV, from a
friend or other teacher, etc. We will fill out a “brain dump” with all of the words and phrases
the students offer. After we have exhausted everything, I will tell the students that, next
week, we will see if we can add anything to our brain dump about voting.

Implementation of the Lesson

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● While the students are still on the carpet, read ​Duck for President​. While reading,
discuss elements of the election process that appear in the book. Talk with students
about how Duck thought there needed to be a change and took the necessary steps
to make that change happen.
● Pass out students’ citizenship booklets while they are sitting on the carpet. Have
them turn to page 17: Good Citizens Vote. Have a student volunteer to read the page,
then discuss the information, how it relates to the book we just read, and how it
relates to real life. Discuss how we vote for community leaders on the local, state,
and national levels.
● Before students leave the rug, discuss more about the election process and what
occurred on Tuesday. Have students ask questions, if they have them. Discuss steps
(such as registering to vote, casting and submitting a ballot, etc.). Let them know
that we are going to be doing our own class election with cookies.
● Have students return to their seats and hand each student a napkin. Pass out a
chocolate chip cookie and an oreo to each student. Students are not required to eat
all of the cookies, but they should try them.
● Direct students’ attention to the “voting booth” in the corner of the room. Talk to
them about how voting should be a private experience, which is why we have the
privacy folder set up. Students will go to the voting booth one by one and fill out a
ballot. On the ballot, they will cast a vote for their favorite of the two cookies: either
chocolate chip or oreo. Once they have voted, they will place their ballot in the red,
white, and blue ballot box.
● Once all students have voted, pass out the “Let’s Vote!” analysis sheets. The first
thing on the sheet is for tally results. Read out each vote one by one and have
students make a tally mark in the appropriate box until all votes are counted.
● Then, have the students lead in making 2 bar graphs to represent the people who
votes for oreos and chocolate chip cookies. (Fill out the bar graph on the document
camera as students fill it out on their sheets.)
● Read the questions aloud for the “Interpret the Data” section of the analysis sheet.

Closure
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● Have students answer the questions in the “Interpret the Data” section of the sheet
and write down the cookie that they voted for in the box provided.
● Lastly, have students pack up, stack their chairs, and go to the carpet to get ready for
dismissal.

Clean-up
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When students are packing up and stacking their chairs, I will have students throw away
their napkins and any leftover cookies. After students are dismissed, I will clean up the
polling place.

H. DIFFERENTIATION
● I have made sure there are visuals on the handouts to support struggling readers.
● For the two students who require special education services, I will make sure the
aide is in the room and will be able to provide assistance to them during
independent work and will help the students stay on task during the read-aloud and
discussion parts of the lesson.

I. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON ​AND​ WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?
● Students are off task during the discussion/read-aloud
○ If numerous students are off task and/or talking, I will redirect the class as a
whole. If need be, I will take a “teacher point” for our teacher vs. students
scoreboard.
○ If a singular student continues to be off task and distract other students, I
will have them return to their seat for the rest of the carpet time.
● Students refuse to try the cookies
○ I will allow the students to vote based on prior experiences. This will not
become a problem.