Unit Study: American Government & Elections

I planned a unit study with a lapbook for elementary age kids on our government and the election process.  I used minibooks from Homeschool Share, researched quality books to cover the topics, and found videos, songs and websites to reinforce the information.

For the government portion I wanted to give an overview of the three branches of government and the specific duties of each branch.  I wanted them to understand our representation within government, how laws are made, and have a specific focus on the presidency.  For the elections I wanted to cover how people run for government offices, the different political parties, voting and the electoral college.  With my 10-year-old daughter I also wanted to discuss women’s suffrage with a book and lapbook components geared specifically for her age level.

Printable Resources:

• Homeschool Share Elections Lapbook: As usual, this site is a treasure trove.  I just love Homeschool Share!  This elections lapbook had minibooks for many of the topics I wanted to cover.  It did not have a book list so I compiled my own you’ll see below.
• Homeschool Share Ballot Box Battle Lapbook:  This looks like a great unit study, but I only wanted to cover women’s suffrage, not the other topics included.  I also already had a book I loved about Elizabeth Cady Stanton, so the only thing I used from this study is the copywork of the 19th Amendment (scroll down through the printables section to find it in both print and cursive and minibook or notebook size).
• Homeschool Share Presidents Lapbook:  This is a huge lapbook that you could spend a whole year on, but also did not have a library list.  I am focusing in a bit on the office of the presidency since we’re doing this in a presidential election year.  The only minibook used from this lapbook is “Responsibilities” (to list the president’s jobs) under the heading “General Minit Books.”
• Blank Minibooks:  I also filled in with two blank minibooks from Homeschool Share’s free lapbook resources page.  On page 15 of “Flap Books” I chose “Concept Map 3 Areas” for the branches of government.  On page 9 of “Simple Fold Basic Shapes” I found one for my daughter’s written narration about Elizabeth Cadie Stanton and women’s voting rights.
• C-Span Electoral College Map: I printed the electoral college map for the great visual of how many votes each state has in the Electoral College.

Books:

• Presidential Elections and Other Cool Facts by Syl Sobel: An in-depth look at the presidency, electoral college and campaigns.
• How the U.S. Governement Works by Syl Sobel: This book covers the branches of government and how a bill becomes law.
• You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? by Jean Fritz: A great biography of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, covering not just voting rights but women’s rights in general during the 1800’s.
• If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier: A fun overview of the process of running for elected office–the hard work and speeches, raising money and enlisting supporters.
• So You Want to Be President by Judith St. George:  I understand it’s not providing in-depth historical information, but it is a very comical look at the good and bad parts of being president.
• Amelia Bedelia’s First Vote by Herman Parish:  Another just-for-fun book since we’re big fans of the classic Amelia Bedelia books.  It does cover some election vocabulary in Amelia’s typical misunderstanding antics.
• Duck for President by Doreen Cronin:  Purely for fun!

Videos, Music & Websites:

• Schoolhouse Rock DVD: This includes several applicable songs:

• “Three Ring Government” covers the branches of government
• “I’m Gonna Send Your Vote to College” covers the Electoral College
• “I’m Just a Bill” covers making laws
• “Sufferin’ Till Suffrage” covers women’s voting rights

• You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown: A fun video about elections.
• Scholastic Magazine Website: For Election 2012 there is great information and videos geared for kids on the electoral college, the presidency, and the current presidential candidates (including clips about the candidates as children).
• Ken Burns’ America: Congress: a PBS video on Congress and the Capitol building.
• National Geographic: Inside the White House: A look at our most famous residence.

**Note on the PBS and National Geographic videos:  I realize these are not meant for young children, but we enjoy watching documentaries together.  My husband and I are there to explain things or skip over any inappropriate content.  The kids are welcome to build Legos or otherwise keep their hands busy, and though they can’t comprehend all the content they do pick up a lot of information.**

We’ll work on this lapbook early in October so they’ll have this information fresh in their minds as the campaigns really ramp up before election day.  We’ll continue watching CNN Student News each day, watching debates and speeches together, and take field trips to see any candidates that visit locally.  It should be an exciting, educational election season!