Saturday, July 16, 2016

Journey to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: Election 2016 Resources

The White House
photo by Lance Mosier
Every four years presents an opportunity to help students in my 8th grade US History class learn about how the United States elects the President Of The United States. I hope to continue to add to this blog post with additional resources as I find them as we approach the election in November.








It's My Party.....I wrote an earlier blog about teaching students about the two major political parties in the United States. I will use this lesson again this fall to help students see where they stand on issues and to help them learn about the two political parties.

Election Central via PBS Learning Media: Is a very detailed website with lots of resources for teachers that have pre-made lesson plans ranging from elementary to high school.

Letters for the Next President 2.0 is a nation wide initiative to help students engage in the political process. As they state on their website "Letters to the Next President 2.0 (L2P 2.0) is an initiative that empowers young people (13-18) to voice their opinions and ideas on the issues that matter to them in the coming election."

Getting the Nomination via PBS Learning Media is a short video that describes the nomination process.

Meet The Candidates in 100 Words and 60 Seconds via NPR lest all of the Republican and Democratic candidates for presidents. This was designed for the primaries but does provide good quick information for both candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.


How Every State Voted via Business Insider: Is a quick overview video of all Presidential Elections in US History.



Hanging out at the White House
Photo by Lance Mosier
Appraising the Electoral College via The Bill of Rights Institute is an online lesson that looks at understanding how the Electoral College Works, as well of having students examine pros and cons to this election process.  Even if you do not plan on using this entire lesson there are some links to some great videos and resources worth checking out.

270 to Win is one of my favorite websites for students to use to explore the process of the Electoral College. Here students can look back at all past Presidential Elections as well as see how various state electoral vote combinations can get candidates to that magic 270 number.

Win the White House via iCivics is a great game for students to play to learn about how the process of running for President works and what it takes to Win The White House.

Scholastic News Election 2016 Resources has lots of information to help students learn about the issues and candidates running for President.

Newsela Election 2016 is a collection of articles on the 2016 Election from Newsela. If you haven't used this resource before I would definitely check it out. It is a great way to differentiate news article to different reading levels for students. There is a free account to give you some basic access or you can pay for a pro account that provides more interactive resources.

 Interactive Constitution Article II - The Executive Branch:  The National Constitution Center has a great new feature Called The Interactive Constitution where scholars discuss elements of the Constitution. Might be a good resource not only for understanding the Electoral College but also the role of the presidency.

American Democracy - Google Cultural Institute: A lot of great primary source documents about historical elections and voting throughout US History.

News Outlet Election Coverage:



YouTube Play List (Presidential Election): These are videos that help explain how the process for electing a president such as understanding primaries, caucuses, and the Electoral College. I will continue to add videos as I discover them and if you have great videos please share them in the comments section below and I'll be sure to add them.


***New Resources To Be Added***

#MyParty16 Resources - Great additional election resources.

The Election and the Educator via Edutopia

Step Inside the Voting Booth via PBS Kids (The Democracy Project)

How Tomorrow Votes sponsored by CSX

Blue Feed, Red Feed via WSJ would be a good way for students to compare media and bias.

 Get To Meet The Candidates (Lesson Plan 7-12) via PBS

Candidate Comparison via InsideGOV

Candidate Comparison via ISIDEWITH.COM

2016 Political Quiz (Which candidate matches you the most) via ISIDEWITHQUIZ

2016 Convention Speeches via C-SPAN


2016 Presidential (Vice-President) Debates

If you have some great resources to help students understand the 2016 Election please share them in the comments section below. I would love to hear about them to add them.
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