Election 2020
Middle and High School Election Resources and Lesson Ideas
The 2020 Election serves as another teachable moment for all of us as educators. We encourage you to review and use any of the resources listed below. Additionally, as in the past, we will be implementing an Online Mock Vote through Kids Voting Broward. Online Voting will begin October 19th and will continue through November 3rd. Directions on how students can vote will be sent closer to October 19th.
We have listed a few suggested “election” activities below that you can implement in your classroom or school-wide (virtually), in addition to a list of resources related to the election.
Suggested Election Activities:
- Designate a School Election Coordinator to coordinate a plan to incorporate teaching strategies related to the election.
- Coordinate a school-wide online voting initiative. Students will be able to vote online by going to www.browardschools.com or to www.kidsvotingbroward.org beginning October 19th.
- Have students create flyers encouraging others to register to vote and to vote.
- Create a school-wide trivia game about the election process (implement through Canvas).
- Announce brief facts about the election process in your school-wide daily announcements and/or in your virtual classroom.
- View and utilize the Kids Voting Lessons available on the Secondary Social Studies SharePoint site: https://browardcountyschools.sharepoint.com/sites/Intranet/Academics/learning/SLD/SS/Pages/Broward-County-Supervisor-of-Elections-Office.aspx
- Have students create online-virtual posters encouraging their peers to vote online. (Or, they can draw a picture on paper, take a photo with their phone and upload it to Canvas).
- Notify parents and students that they may go to www.kidsvotingbroward.org or www.browardsoe.org (Supervisor of Elections Office Web site) to access information about the election. (Information can be put on your school web site or in your school newsletter).
Election Resources
| Name | Link | What can be found? |
| PBS Learning: Election Central | https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/election-collection/
|
· Election News
· Lesson Plans · Election Process · Elections in History · Inaugural Addresses |
| CSPAN: Campaign 2020 Resources | https://sites.google.com/view/c-span-classroom-campaign-2020/home?authuser=0
|
· Lesson Process
· Election Process · Debates |
| CNN10 | https://www.cnn.com/cnn10
|
· Election Coverage
*Preview first |
| Classroom Law Project | https://classroomlaw.org/resources/2020-election-resources/
|
· Lesson Plans |
| I-civics: Politics and Public Policy | https://www.icivics.org/news/new-tools-teaching-2020-election
|
· Lessons |
| Center for Civic Education | https://www.civiced.org/voting-lessons
|
· How to Vote
· Lesson Plans · Resource Bank |
| Constitutional Rights Foundation | https://www.crf-usa.org/election-central/election-central.html
|
· Electoral Process |
| Share My Lesson | https://sharemylesson.com/collections/election-lesson-plans
|
· Lesson Plans |
| Smithsonian Museum of American History | http://americanhistory.si.edu/vote/index.html
|
· Vote: The Machinery of American Democracy |
| Scholastic: Elections: Everything you need | http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/unit/elections-everything-you-need
|
· Articles
· Resources · Lesson Plans · Vocabulary · Mock Elections |
| National Archives | https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/
|
· Electoral College: FAQ |
| Education World | http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/election.shtml
|
· Class Activities
· Connections · Webquests · Templates |
| Northeastern University: U.S. Political Conventions and Campaigns | http://conventions.cps.neu.edu/history/1789-1832/
|
· History
· Policy and Platforms · Campaign Finance · Nomination and Conventions |
| Vote Smart | https://votesmart.org/education/classroom#.V6NLtZOAOkp
|
· Lesson Plans
· Search politicians · Speeches · Bio · Ratings · Votes |
| New York Times: Learning Network | https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/teach-the-2020-election
|
· Civil Conversation
· News Articles |
| New York Times: Learning Network | https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/learning/election-2020-11-ways-to-engage-students-from-now-until-november.html
|
· Ways to Engage Students |
| Student News Daily | https://www.studentnewsdaily.com/election-resources-for-teachers/
|
· Articles
· Links · Discussion Questions · Daily News · Lesson Ideas |
| Broward Supervisor of Elections Office | www.browardsoe.org
|
· Information and Resources for Voters |
| Joe Biden- Democratic Party Candidate | https://joebiden.com/
|
Official website for the Biden Campaign |
| Donald Trump- Republican Party Candidate | https://www.donaldjtrump.com/
|
Official website for the Trump Campaign |
| Howie Hawkins- Green Party Candidate | https://howiehawkins.us/
|
Official website for the Hawkins Campaign |
| Jo Jorgensen- Libertarian Party Candidate | https://jo20.com/
|
Official website for the Jorgensen Campaign |
| Democratic Party Platform | https://www.demconvention.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-07-31-Democratic-Party-Platform-For-Distribution.pdf
|
2020 Party Platform |
| Republican Party Platform | https://prod-cdn-static.gop.com/media/documents/DRAFT_12_FINAL%5B1%5D-ben_1468872234.pdf
https://prod-cdn-static.gop.com/docs/Resolution_Platform_2020.pdf |
2016 Party Platform
Resolution Supporting the 2016 Party Platform (in 2020) |
| Green Party Platform | https://www.gp.org/platform
|
2020 Party Platform |
| Libertarian Party Platform | https://www.lp.org/platform/
|
2020 Party Platform |
The School Board of Broward County, FL
Department of Secondary Learning: Social Studies
Curriculum
Go to KidsVoting.org for more activities
