Michelle Loomis

EDU 379

Social Studies Lesson Write-up

With the election approaching the fourth grade class I am in has been spending a great deal of time learning about the candidates and the election process. For this particular lesson the students were wrapping up what they have learned, and voting for the presidential candidate in which they feel is best.

The lesson started off by collecting a homework assignment was due. For the homework assignment the students had to fill in a graphic organizer about the biographies of the two presidential candidates. After, the students were split into four groups, according to the clusters of desks they were sitting at. A few students were moved to make equal groups of five. Each student in each group was given a sheet with two columns, one for John McCain and one for Barack Obama. Each group had a different issue to research. The possibilities were energy and the environment, the economy, the Iraq war, or education. The groups were instructed to fill out a graphic organizer based on the information on their sheets. The students were very interested in this activity. It was great to see how much they knew about politics and how much they had a passion for the candidate they were supporting.

I kept hearing, as I was walking around, that they wish their vote counted, or that children should predict the election. My first reaction was that maybe it would be a good idea to let younger people vote because the children knew so much (maybe at age 14). However, after I talked to the students a bit I found out that most of their beliefs were based on what their parents thought.

After each group was finished with their graphic organizer, the class was brought back together to go over what they had learned. This was done by completing a class graphic organizer. Each group had an opportunity to talk about what they learned. As this was occurring the other groups were told to fill in their graphic organizers with new information.

The lesson ended with an activity that the students have been excited for all week. This was their time to vote. The teacher had a curtain hung up that said, “Your vote counts”, and ballots for the students to fill out. Each student had their own chance and they were ecstatic about it. The atmosphere was great! It provided excitement for the students and also provided a great visual representation of an actually voting booth. The best part was that the children’s votes were actually being sent to a national children’s poll that has predicted the past few presidential elections.

Throughout the lesson the students were being assessed, informally. Both the teacher and I walked around talking to the students about the topic their group had, seeing if they were understanding the issue. Most students had a lot to say and seemed to understand how the candidates felt on the issues. However, there were a few students that needed some guidance. I believe the reason they needed guidance was because their reading and comprehension skills needed some assistance.

One alternative form of assessment would be for the students to interview one of their parents about the election. The students would be instructed to talk to their parents or any adult about their feelings on the issue they had researched in class. The students would then fill out a sheet with categories such as who they interviewed, the issue they talked about, and what their interviewee felt about that issue.

Another form of assessment would be to have the students write why they voted for the candidate they did. This would be in the form of a reflection. I believe this would be a great way to show that the students understood the information talked about in class and that the students were able to make informed decisions. However, the only flaw to this assessment is that it takes away from the confidentiality of a vote. One way to make it more confidential would be for the students not to write their names on the papers.

Overall, I loved this lesson, and I believe the students did too. I thought they learned a lot, and it showed their maturity level in making decisions. I also found that the students were more cooperative in this lesson then they have been in the past. I believe this was the case because they were truly interested in the topic.