I'm not sure why I was thinking that teaching about the election process would somehow be easier than following our regular lesson plans. But, I did, and I'm going to do it, darn it. And all of the information I've found is so cool that I'll feel guilty if I don't do something with it. Here are some links to election/government sites for kids:
National Mock Student Election: http://www.nationalmockelection.org/curriculum/elementary-school/introduction/. This site not only has a mock election, it's got a curriculum page with full lesson plans divided into three sections: Our Government, American Principles, and The Electoral Process. I think we're going to use this for our lesson outline.
Ben's Guide to US Government: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/k-2/. This is the link for the K-2 curriculum, but they have material for kids through high school. It's got all kinds of great information and additional online resources for teaching government to kids.
You Tube Schoolhouse Rocks video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30OyU4O80i4. We actually have the Schoolhouse Rocks DVD set, which I hate to admit we've never watched, so I'm excited to show the kids this video on The Preamble.
The Constitution for Kids: http://www.usconstitution.net/constkids4.html. This is another site that's divided into grade levels. It explains the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in a kid-friendly way.
I've got to go kill a spider and rescue a crying baby, but these should be enough to get you started on your own election unit study. Leave a comment if you find anything else that might be helpful!
Another good link on political parties: http://www.icivics.org/sites/default/files/One%20Big%20Party_0.pdf.
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