Lesson Plan

Name: Heidi Sistad

Subject: Social Studies
Unit: Elections
Lesson: Introduction to Voting

Materials Needed (1d)

Knowledge of Resources
Pencils (students have), pre-assessment, PowerPoint Presentation, classroom party ballots, whiteboard & marker, ballot
box, “I Voted” stickers, and post assessment

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

Consider goals, content standards, and curriculum expectations

Objective & Standards

Learning Goals/Standards SS 4.3 Build an understanding that all people in the United States have rights and assume responsibilities
4.SS.4.3.1 Name elected state officials
Learning Targets: Content
What do you want your students to know and do in content
areas? I can dramatize the voting process and identify Idaho’s state elected officials from a list of given names.

Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence

How will you know if students have achieved your desired results?

Pre-Assessment
How will you know what prior knowledge your students have
in relation to these learning targets?
Check for Understanding
Ask students to name the Governor, Senators, and Representatives for the state of Idaho. Ask them if they know what
each of these figures do. Ask them if they know how these people are chosen for these positions.

On-going assessment As we talk about the voting process, we will fill out our ballots with three (guided) classroom party ideas, hold an election,
What might you do during the lesson to monitor student
understanding? and talk about who our elected state officials are in Idaho. Posters of our state officials will be hung on the bulletin board
for students to reference throughout the unit.
Post Assessment Student will complete an exit ticket asking them to identify the state officials by way of selecting their name(s) from a list
How will you know that your students have achieved the
learning targets? of given names.

Stage 3: Planning Learning Experiences and Instruction

With identified desired results and appropriate evidence of understanding in mind, fully think through the most effective instructional activities

Instruction and Learning Activity

Include students in knowing what they will be doing and why
it is important (e.g. statements/questions/other)
In today’s lesson on who five of Idaho’s elected officials are, I will be introducing the election/voting process to start off our Elections
Unit. Some questions to ask would be: Who can tell me who the Governor of Idaho is? Does anyone know the names of our
Representatives? Can anyone name our Senators? Does anyone know why it is important to vote in a state or national election?
Besides voting for our President, what or who else can people vote for? How do we vote? Discuss. By the end of this lesson you will
be able to say “I can dramatize the voting process and identify Idaho’s state elected officials from a list of given names.” 10 minutes.

Timeline and Delivery

Teacher Student
Our classroom is mainly 4th graders who are on target with their learning
Before beginning, I will check my microphone and ask A.B. if they can hear me clearly. outcomes.

Open PowerPoint and read through first 2 slides.
3rd Slide: Governor Brad Little. Talk about how just the people of Idaho voted for him to
be our governor. Discuss some roles our Governor has. Next Slide: Idaho’s Senators,
Senator Mike Crapo and Senator James E Risch. They were also chosen by the people
of Idaho. Talk about what they do as Senators. Next Slide: Representative Mike
Simpson and Representative Russ Fulcher. Take questions. Tell the class that at the
end of the day I will be hanging these posters on the bulletin board for them to look at
these next couple weeks. 10-15 minutes.
Transition to talking about how the election process works. Next Slide: Briefly touch on
the voting history to give a little preview of a future lesson. Ask if anyone has ever been
to the polls with their parents while they voted. Define “polls”. Tell the class that when
voting for state officials, the candidates campaign for months, even years, ahead of
A.B. has cochlear implants, I will need to make sure that student has them turned
on and I am wearing the clip-on microphone that goes with them.
C.D. is newly integrated into our classroom, Autistic with a one on one. They will
have help writing and being engaged. Goal for this student is inclusion right now
as they are brand new to the general education setting and is only in here a
couple times throughout the day. I expect that C.D. will be excited about this
activity.
E.F. and G.H. will need very clear, concise instructions and a little more time to
answer questions and complete their work. E.F. will also need some help staying
on task.
time. Next Slide: Define “candidates” and “campaign”. Next Slide: Voting Process.
Official voting is supposed to be secretive; they even give you a folder called a
‘Secrecy Sleeve’ for your ballot so that no one can look at who you voted for. Why
would it matter if someone saw who you voted for? What if you saw that someone
voted for someone you didn’t? Discuss. 10 minutes.

Instruct the class “I don’t want you to take your pencils out quite yet, I want you to listen
to the directions for this first,” while starting to pass out Classroom Party Ballots.
Remind the class that they earned a class party due to their good behavior. Tell the
class that they will be voting today on what they would like to do for their party. Some
suggestions I might offer while distributing the ballots include: Pajama day, movie and
popcorn, an extra recess, etc. I will ask for three suggestions from students who can
raise their hand. Once everyone has a ballot, students may take out their pencils. At
this point, I will move to stand next to E.F. to keep them on task and from distracting
peers. Call on the first student for suggestion number one, students write it in the first
spot on the ballot and I will write it on the whiteboard. Call on second and third students
for the next two suggestions, students add them to their ballot, and I write them on the
whiteboard along with the first one. Once three choices have been suggested, I will ask
for a show of hands: Raise your hand if you think we should do [number one]. Why?
Call on students and discuss. Raise your hand if you think we should do [number two].
Why? Call on students and discuss. Raise your hand if you think we should do [number
three]. Why? Call on students and discuss. Talk about how giving reasons and trying to
persuade your friends to vote a certain way is exactly what candidates do when they
campaign. “Sometimes voters think they want to vote for a certain person or thing, but
after thinking about it and hearing reasons from other people they might change their
mind. Trying your best to make a smart choice is very important.” Ask for examples of
times they changed their mind in picking something to do or somewhere to go. Why did
they change their mind? Did someone talk them into changing it? Did they do it for their
friend? Discuss. During this time, I will look to the one on one for C.D. for a “thumbs up”
or “thumbs down” to gauge how they are doing be a part of the class. I will now move
back to the front of the class. “Now that everyone has had a chance to think about what
party they would like, I want you to pick ONE. Mark it on your ballot. Do not show your
neighbor! This is secretive! No talking. When you are done, fold your ballot in half and
walk it up to the front, “cast your vote” in this ballot box, and get your “I Voted” sticker.”
As students cast their vote and receive their sticker, I announce “[Student] has voted!”
for each student. 20-25 minutes

Count the votes by tally marks next to the choices on the whiteboard. Celebrate the
winning choice! Mention the names and roles of the five Idaho elected officials we are
learning about and once again discuss how they won by having the most votes just like
our class party has been decided! 5 minutes
 Next Slide: Summary

Next Slide: Check for Understanding.

Final Slide: References.

Closure/Refocusing Students on Learning Targets

Who can name the 5 Idaho state officials we talked about today? Who is our governor? What does he do? Who are our
What to ask or say to students?
Senators? What do they do? Who are our Representatives? What do they do? Pass out post assessment (exit ticket) to
be completed and turned in.

References
Sources cited in APA Brad Little. (2020, March 7). Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Little

Jim Risch. (2020, March 30). Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Risch

Mike Crapo. (2020, March 29). Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Crapo

Mike Simpson. (2020, March 14). Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_

Simpson

Russ Fulcher. (2020, March 26). Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Fulcher

The Official Website of the State of Idaho. (2019, January 7). Elected Officials. Retrieved March 27, 2020,

from https://www.idaho.gov/government/elected-officials/