No-Prep Election Activities & Resources for Grades 4-12

With the elections nearing, how do you easily teach your teens how the election process works & why? These no-prep ideas will get you started.

My fifth-grade year was the election between George H.W. Bush & Michael Dukakis.

My class, full of kids with too much knowledge and not enough self-awareness, was fully into the election (and aghast that other classes weren’t). So much so that not one, not two, but three kids dressed up as the candidates for Halloween that year. (This was long before dressing up as your favorite celebrity would earn you “ohhhhh, isn’t that cute!” remarks.)

A love affair with politics & elections had already started for me, but that year solidified it.

Fast forward to the 2000 election season, and I realized how little I knew about the election process. And how little others knew. Homeschooling, though, gives me an opportunity to understand the electoral process even more as I give my kiddos the civics education I didn’t have. I can teach my kiddos about the parties & campaigning, about voting rights history in America, and the importance of being active participants in the voting process.

What’s ahead?

Maybe you’re looking to pause most of your homeschool, so that you can dig into all aspects of the elections.

Or maybe your time is short & you just want a few things you can easily add to your homeschool days.

Maybe you have no idea what to add, and you’re wondering why you’re even reading this.

Whatever brought you here, the resources ahead are all a great way to help your homeschool learn more than you were taught. They’ll help build a solid understanding of the entire voting process in the United States. And, just maybe, ignite a love for it, too, this election season.

You’ll find a variety of resources in this post, primarily books, videos, and a few websites. Time is too precious to spend printing out & cutting a thousand things!

While most of these resources are aimed at older kids (middle school & high school), there are some resources for elementary students, too. If you bring your younger kids along with your older kiddos, none of these resources are inappropriate. Instead, they are just aimed at older kids.

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How do the elections even work?

What’s the difference between electoral votes and the popular vote? How does the voting process work? What goes on inside a voting booth? Why are some races announced on election night, but others take days to finalize?

It’s no wonder there’s so much confusion and, sometimes, skepticism about the voting process. There is so much to understand, and most of it isn’t directly taught to us. So, these resources are all designed to answer some of those questions about the election process directly.

All politics is local.

The national elections consume the airwaves. But election season is a great time to emphasize the importance of civic engagement in local elections.

  • Have your kids find your voting location. They can practice mapping skills by finding the best route.
  • Download a voter registration form & let them fill it out. Read what the requirements actually are.
  • Create campaign posters for local candidates. You could play around with AI image creators, computer graphic programs, or your other favorite medium.

A new country is born.

Reviewing the founding of our country is a great way to remind us what the ‘American experiment’ is all about. It can also inspire our kiddos to think bigger than just the impact politics has on their own lives, just as those (mostly) men dreamed about a country for future generations.

What does the Constitution actually say?

As elementary students, we’re introduced to the basics of the Constitution. In high school, we learn more. But after that? When was the last time you actually studied the Constitution? I certainly haven’t studied it as an adult, outside of what I’ve taught in our homeschool!

It’s all too easy to forget what we learned, mix it up with the claims we hear on social media, and end up with incorrect/lacking knowledge.

  • Constitution Center (high school)
  • iCivics (founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor)
  • Ben’s Guide to the Constitution (elementary)
  • Constitution USA (video series exploring how the Constitution fits into modern America; middle & high school)
  • Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights & the Flaws That Affect Us Today (website, book)

You’ve gotta fight for your right.

(Who else was ready to sing the next line?)

I firmly believe that the importance of voting today and the struggles to get the right to vote are intertwined. Each vote we cast isn’t just about shaping a country for ourselves but for our fellow citizens and for all those who will someday live in the United States.

So, learning about the struggles women & African Americans had even to get that right is an essential part of a civics education.

  • Eyes on the Prize
  • The Vote by PBS
  • Whose Vote Counts by PBS
  • The Barber of Birmingham
  • iCivics (founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor)

Be skeptical.

Did you grow up hearing “You can’t believe everything you see on T.V.?”  Little did we know then that we’d live in a day where Photoshop & A.I. would make us even more cautious of believing what we see.   There have been a few instances this election season where candidates have actually used photo manipulation against their candidates.

But HOW do we do that? What are the critical thinking skills we need to evaluate what we see & what we read? And what skills do kids need to understand why & how they should be aware of biases and all the ways they show up?

Elections 2024

While the foundation of the election studies in our homeschool isn’t about any particular candidate or race, it’s hard to ignore that it’s almost time to vote in the next presidential election.

  • iSideWith (an online test to help your students see where their views line up; middle & high school)
  • On Our Minds (a podcast series by teens about teens & their thoughts around the election)
  • The 2024 Presidential Elections print & go lesson plans mini-unit by Mint & Bloom (K-12)

And assorted other resources

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