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ETE 335
Elementary Social Studies Lesson
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
ETE 335
Elementary Social Studies Lesson
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Chelsea Fouts
Social Studies-Civics/Government
4th Grade
Elections/Voting
ETE 335
Elementary Social Studies Lesson
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Goals:
There are two main goals of this unit:
1.) For students to gain a better understanding about the topic of
Elections/Voting.
2.) For students to learn how the Election/Voting process works.
Objectives:
Content/Knowledge:
1.) Students will be able to describe how the election/voting process works.
2.) Students will be able to recall and explain some of the most memorable
elections in U.S. history.
Process/Skills:
1.) Students will be able to work individually as well as collaboratively in
small groups.
2.) Students will be able to practice appropriate communication skills.
Values/Dispositions:
1.) Students will be able to analyze how they would go about winning an
election.
2.) Students will be able to express their opinions on the United States’
election process.
ETE 335
Elementary Social Studies Lesson
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Rationale:
I believe that it is very important for students to learn about the topic of elections
and voting in the United States, as they will one day be old enough to participate
in the voting process themselves. By learning about this topic at a young age,
students will be educated about their country’s past elections, and will therefore
be prepared for their country’s future elections.
Standards:
State – Illinois Common Core or Learning Standards
14.C.2 Describe and evaluate why rights and responsibilities are important to the individual,
family, community, workplace, state and nation (e.g., voting, protection under the law).
14.D.1 Identify the roles of civic leaders (e.g., elected leaders, public service leaders).
14.D.2 Explain ways that individuals and groups influence and shape public policy.
National – NCSS Themes
-Learning how to apply civic ideals as part of citizen action is essential to the exercise of
democratic freedoms and the pursuit of the common good.
-The development of civic competence requires an understanding of the foundations of political
thought, and the historical development of various structures of power, authority, and
governance. It also requires knowledge of the evolving functions of these structures in
contemporary U.S. society, as well as in other parts of the world.
Musical/Rhythmic
Musical/Rhythmic
•Activity:
•For this activity, the class will watch a short
YouTube clip of a School House Rock song about
the topic of the Electoral College. They will then be
split into groups of three or four and instructed to
create their own short song (about 5-10 lines)
describing their definition of the Electoral College.
Students will then present their songs to the class,
one group at a time. The teacher will encourage the
students to be creative and have fun with this
activity, as it is the introduction of the unit on
elections.
•Resources/Materials Needed.
•Link to Video:
•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaPlIcQw_
dg
Verbal/Linguistic
Verbal/Linguistic
•Activity:
•For this activity, students will work
individually to write their own voting
speeches. They will first be shown a short
video clip featuring the Charlie Brown
characters. The clip will provide students
with a simple example (studentfriendly/understandable) of what a voting
speech looks like. They will then write a
short speech, convincing voters of why they
would make a good class president, changes
they would make to improve the classroom,
etc. Students will then read their speeches
aloud to the class.
•Resources/Materials Needed.
•Link to Video Clip:
•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC8dEFq-KA&feature=fvsr
Logical/Mathematical
Logical/Mathematical
•Activity:
•The teacher will engage the class in a short
discussion about the concept of popular vs.
electoral votes. Students will then work in
groups of three to analyze a worksheet about
the concept of popular and electoral votes,
concerning the historic election of 1888
between Benjamin Harrison and Grover
Cleveland. They will work together to answer
the five questions on the worksheet, using
the data table at the top of the page.
•Resources/Materials Needed.
•Worksheet Link:
• http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/electi
on08/pdfs/AhistoricElection.pdf
Visual/Spatial
Visual/Spatial
•Activity:
•For this activity, students will work
independently to answer a series of six
questions and a bonus question on a
worksheet. They will answer these questions
by visually analyzing a map of the United
States, complete with numbers of electoral
votes for each state. After completing the
questions, the class will engage in group
discussion, comparing their answers.
•Resources/Materials Needed.
•
•
Worksheet Link:
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/electi
on08/pdfs/CounttheVotes.pdf
Body/Kinesthetic
Body/Kinesthetic
•Activity:
•For this activity, students will be assigned the
following roles by drawing them out of a hat:
Candidate #1, Candidate #2, Running Mate #1,
Running Mate #2, Electoral College Voter, Popular
Voter (citizen voter). The class will then conduct a
mock election in which the students will actively
present short election speeches, fulfill campaigning
processes, and conduct a voting ceremony of both
the popular and electoral voters. Students will make
full use of the classroom, taping up posters and
arranging desks for the speeches and voting
processes. The two candidates and their running
mates will be pretending to run for the position of
“Class President.”
•Resources/Materials Needed:
•Poster boards and decorating materials (colored
pencils, markers, construction paper, glue, tape, etc.)
•Voting Booths (optional)
Interpersonal
Interpersonal
•Activity:
•For this activity, students will write a short (one-page)
journal entry about their views and opinions of the
United States’ election/voting process. They will
answer the following three questions in their journal
responses:
• 1.) Do you believe that the United States has
an effective or “good” way of electing its
leaders and government officials? Why or why
not?
• 2.) Name one thing that you would change
about the voting/election process in the U.S. if
you had the chance.
• 3.) If you were to run for office in the United
States, how would you do it? (Who would you
choose to run with you? How would you
campaign? Who would you like to run against
and why?)
•Resources/Materials Needed.
•Questions for journal entries (listed above)
Intrapersonal
Intrapersonal
•Activity:
•For this activity, students will be split up into
groups of three and four. They will be instructed to
work collaboratively to research and answer the
following questions about famous elections in U.S.
History. Students will be given library time to
research the answers the questions on the teacherapproved websites.
• 1.) Name and discuss three of the closest
elections in U.S. history.
• 2.) Name and discuss an election in which
one candidate won by a landslide (a very
high number of votes).
• 3.) Research some of the oldest and
youngest candidates to run for the position
of President.
• 4.) Research some of the most historically
memorable candidates and their running
mates for the Presidential office.
•Resources/Materials Needed:
•Teacher-Approved Websites:
•http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-closest-presidentialelections.php
•http://www.history.com/topics/presidential-elections
Naturalistic
Naturalistic
•Activity:
•For this final activity, students will work in small
groups of three or four to discuss the following
question. Together, they will write a short paragraph
in response to the question to present to the class.
• Suppose you were running for the office of
Presidency and you needed to campaign
about environmental issues that were
important to you. Which issues would you
choose to campaign about and why? (In
other words, which environmental issues
do you feel are most important?)
•Resources/Materials Needed:
•Discussion Question listed above
ETE 335
Elementary Social Studies Lesson
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Visual Learning and Assessment:
I will assess how much my students have learned by
observing them during individual and small group work, by
engaging them in class discussions, and by observing their
mock election process and other class presentation
activities. I will also be able to assess how much they have
learned by reading their reflection journals and grading
their worksheets that they completed individually and with
small groups.
Online Resources:
http://www.delicious.com/cefouts/Government