Mini-Lesson

Take a Vote

Grades K-1

Objective: Students will learn about the workings of democracy by taking class votes.

1. Give students this scenario: You are with a group of friends at the playground. Some of your friends want to play kickball. Some want to play basketball. Others want to play volleyball. How can you decide which game to play together? (One way to make the decision is by voting.) Discuss: Is this a fair way to decide?

2. Take class votes on different issues relevant to your students. You might have students vote on a game to play at recess, a snack to eat at snack time or a book that they want you to read aloud.

3. Before taking the first class vote, give students practice reading tally marks. Use the worksheet titled Take a Vote.

4. Provide students with a list of choices for each vote. Discuss the way an election works. Explain that you might not always find your favorite choice, so you have to pick among the choices on the ballot.

5. Model for students how to use tally marks to record the first class vote. Then invite students to come up to the board and record the tally marks for subsequent votes.

6. Discuss the results of each vote. If the vote was on a game to play at recess, ask: Which game won the vote? How do you know? How many votes did the game get? Which game got the fewest votes?

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

Have students create bar graphs and picture graphs to show the results of your class votes.

RESOURCES:

Vote! by Eileen Christelow (Albert Whitman, 2007) This picture book introduces readers to the voting process.

PBS Kids Visit this kid-friendly and interactive site to teach your students about voting.