Lesson Ideas for the 2024 Presidential Election

 An election year offers a fantastic opportunity to bring current events and civics lessons into the classroom. As teachers, it’s our job to present an unbiased look at the election process as we aim to facilitate healthy discussion, when appropriate, and guide students in becoming responsible citizens capable of making their own informed decisions. 

Whether you plan to cover the events of the 2024 election in a day or in an entire unit, these activities, videos and websites will help bring the topic to life in your classroom!

Note: Please preview all websites, videos and resources before your students use them to ensure that the content is age-appropriate and relevant to your curriculum. 

Engaging Activities

The Presidential Elections Web Quest from The Teacher's Prep 😃 is perfect for the teacher who wants to give students an overview of the election process - from the primary elections and the national conventions to the general election and the role of the Electoral College. Students will watch two brief YouTube videos and visit student-friendly websites to learn about the process of electing a President of the United States while completing the four-page web quest. It includes a printable version, Google Slides version and Easel by TPT version to fit the needs of your own classroom and students.

P.S. If you've never tried a web quest, you can download the Historical Thinking Skills Web Quest for free here! 

FREEBIE ALERT: The 2024 Electoral College Map is ready to hit your inbox today! While watching the results of the Presidential election or analyzing it afterwards, students will color in the states red (Republican) or blue (Democrat) based on which candidate wins the popular vote in each state. It's a fun and engaging way to teach students about the importance of the Electoral College to the U.S. Presidential election.

I love interactive notebooks. They’re engaging and keep students interested in the content as they organize their notes. The Voting and Elections Interactive Notebook covers voting rights, the voting process, types of elections, the Electoral College, the Presidential campaign process and campaign finance. Each time it’s used, student notes are organized and can be referred back to often during lessons on the election cycle. The kids love to get out the scissors and glue sticks and customize their notes. If you’re interested in learning more, it’s available on Teachers Pay Teachers right now. There’s even a digital version for teachers using Google Drive in their classroom. J

Exciting Videos

I love finding engaging, educational and age-appropriate videos to show students! Here are some of my favorites when teaching about Election Day! 

What Happens on Election Day? by Pursuit of History

Does Your Vote Count? by Ted Ed

Looking for more videos? Check out my Political Parties and Elections Playlist on YouTube to find relevant videos for your lessons!

Educational Websites

I’m so thankful that iCivics exists. My students love it! The site includes an Election Headquarters with short lessons on the Electoral Process, Candidate Evaluation and Voting. One of my students’ favorite parts of the site is the games section. Two games specifically reinforce concepts related to the election process: Cast Your Vote and Win the White House. These games are a fantastic resource for early finishers or as supplemental activities to your lessons on the election process.

Britannica ProCon.Org - 2024 U.S. Presidential Election    

Procon.org's site for the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election offers a selection of valuable resources like the recent results from primary elections, profiles on the current presidential candidates and information about issues that are relevant to the election along with candidate viewpoints. Some of the topics may be more suited for older students.  

The Living Room Candidate   

Can’t get enough of those campaign commercials? While we might be tired of seeing candidates in our living rooms by the end of the season, the commercials offer a great learning experience for our students. The Living Room Candidate is a website that has archived commercials that date back to 1952 and recent elections! I appreciate that there are so many options available for teaching students the process of evaluating presidential campaigns.  The website also includes a selection of lessons geared towards teaching students about evaluating campaign ads.

Election Central Collection by PBS            

The Election Central Collection by PBS has a collection of helpful video resources that relate to the election process. You can search for resources related to topics like: Elections and Campaigns, the Political Party System, How Voting Works and more! 

 What resources do you use to teach about the presidential election? I'd love to hear about them so share in the comments!