Curriculum
Where to Begin
How to do it - A Guide to the National Student Parent Mock Election – provides suggested activities to motivate all age groups.
Research shows that hands-on, interactive experiences are the best way to get students involved in their own learning process. The National Student/Parent Mock Election helps teachers motivate and reward students.
Students of all ages from kindergarten through college and their parents and grandparents are invited to participate. Students participate in debates, issue forums, press conferences, candidate forums and rallies as part of the Mock Election in their schools and communities.
New Materials for 2010
You may use any of the curriculum found on this page. But for quick reference, here are some of the materials that have been created for this year's election by National Student/Parent Mock Election and its 2010 partners and donors.
2010 Teachers Guide to the National Student/Parent Mock Election Issues Forum and Ballot:
2010 Issues Ballot - PDF / Word
Guide to the 2010 Election Issue: Economy - PDF / Word
Guide to the 2010 Election Issue: Energy - PDF / Word
Guide to the 2012 Election Issue: Student Energy Handout - Word
Guide to the 2010 Election Issue: Health Care - PDF / Word
Guide to the 2010 Election Issue: Immigration Reform Care - PDF / Word
Educators are not required to use the Mock Election curriculum in order to participate in the National Student/Parent Mock Election. But we would appreciate your feedback on the materials provided.
 PDF downloads require the Adobe Reader. Download it for free by clicking here.
"The Mock Election program has also developed a reputation based on the quality of resource materials available to teachers."
- Catherine McCall, student affairs specialist
> Play the game > Teacher-Parent Guide |
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| All grade levels: |
| Guide to the National Student/Parent Mock Election |
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| Lesson plans and activities for all grades to help make your Mock Election an exciting experience for all, articles on organizing Mock Elections at the school, school district, and state level, and more. This is a detailed, 16-chapter Guide on virtually every aspect of your Mock Election. (2000) |
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| Reports from the Real World |
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| Reports from award-winning elementary, middle and high schools about what they did in the Mock Election. Nearly 30 schools are profiled, along with their goals and highlights, strategies, quotes, resources, outcomes and much more. (1996) |
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| The New Election Board Game |
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| A fun, role-playing web-based game for students to connect to some of the current election issues! Designed for grades 5/6 and up and intended to engage students with humor, the game can be modified at will and is easily adaptable to other election years. (2008) |
| Elementary-Middle: |
| Election Matters |
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| Using the motivation and reward of the National Student/Parent Mock Election to teach reading skills. Written in 2002 with a grant from the Department of Education and revised in 2004, the material here is still entirely relevant, a testament to the enduring qualities of our democracy. (2002; revised2004) |
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| 2008 Teachers Guide to Presidential Election Issues |
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| Elementary School Level -- Many of the issues of the 2008 election are still relevant today. The 2010 Guide is scheduled for release in September 2010. |
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| Guide to the Electoral Process |
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| Everything you need to know about the electoral process (15 page elementary version, includes student handouts). Included: considerations in selecting a leader, conducting an interview, suggested class activities. (1996) |
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| Cuèntame |
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| Cuèntame: Tell me a story. For all students, but geared particularly toward Spanish-speaking students and families, interviewing parents and relatives about their dream of democracy. Cuèntame is a bilingual component to teach your students the skills and attitudes that prepare them for active citizenship. It is presented with a step-by-step description of what you can do to implement it. (2000) |
| Middle-Secondary: |
| Citizen's Guide to the Presidential Campaign |
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| Many of the issues of the 2008 election are still relevant today. This brief Guide contains specific information about the 2008 election and the issues of current concern to the citizens of a democracy. A basic overview of the election process in a concise form that will be easy for teachers to manage. Most importantly, it encourages the civic engagement of young Americans. Did you know that almost half of our presidents became involved in the political process before they were 30? (2008) |
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| 2002, 2004, 2006 Teachers Guide to the |
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Printer-friendly PDF version (2006 forum & ballot) |
| National Student/Parent Mock Election |
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Printer-friendly PDF version (2004 forum & ballot) |
| Issues Forum and Ballot |
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Printer-friendly PDF version (2002 forum) |
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Printer-friendly PDF version (2002 ballot) |
| Past issues such as the economy, healthcare, the environment and education have not lost their relevance today. |
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2008 Teachers Guide to the National Student/Parent Mock Election Issues Forum and Ballot
2008 Issues Ballot
2008 Issues Ballot - Teaching Version (to help develop critical thinking skills as part of the decision making process)
Guide to the 2008 Presidential Election Issue: Economy
Guide to the 2008 Presidential Election Issue: Energy
Guide to the 2008 Presidential Election Issue: War
Guide to the 2008 Presidential Election Issue: Health Care
Guide to the 2008 Presidential Election Issue: Education
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| Inspiring Citizens |
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| Using the motivation and reward of the National Student/Parent Mock Election to teach reading (and some math) skills. Written in 2002 with a grant from the Department of Education and revised in 2004, concepts in this reference are still timely. It includes the importance of voting, learning about the Mock Election, building comprehension, skills of scanning and prediction, semantic webbing, descriptive statistics, promoting a candidate, research, debate, and getting ready to vote. Each unit is paired with a companion Teachers Guide unit. (2002, revised 2004) |
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| Guide to the Electoral Process |
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| Everything you need to know about the electoral process (100 pages with student handouts). Lesson plans are linked to the 1994 National Standards for Civics and Government but are still relevant today. This incredibly comprehensive 99-page Guide includes six units on elections and political campaigns. These materials form the essential context within which mock election activities take place and therefore provide knowledge and information that allow participation to be meaningful. Units include functional elections in a democratic society, how the right to vote has been expanded in the United States, political parties, registering to vote, participating in the electoral process, resolving election issues, and more. The Guide provides student handouts for each unit, almost two dozen in all. Due to the size of this resource, it is recommended that you save it to your desktop before attempting to print or access information. (1994; referencing 1994 standards) |
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| Cuèntame |
HTML version |
Printer-friendly PDF version |
| Cuèntame: Tell me a story. For all students, but geared particularly toward Spanish-speaking students and families, interviewing parents and relatives about their dream of democracy. Cuèntame is a bilingual component to teach your students the skills and attitudes that prepare them for active citizenship. It is presented with a step-by-step description of what you can do to implement it. (2000) |
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| Civic Courage |
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| A middle-school curriculum developed to teach music and civic education together. "Civic Courage" profiles several past influential presidents and "ordinary" Americans along with the musical selections associated with the passions of their times. They had the courage to fight for the American dream. (1994) |
| Tool Kit for Educators: |
| Tool Kit (2008) |
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- How to use the free air time our partnership with the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation can make possible to provide motivation and reward for young learners.
- Ideas and suggestions for how to use local radio and television stations to increase parent involvement in the schools.
- To increase the civic engagement of students
- To broaden students' horizons
- Increase student understanding of the global world in which the children of the 21st century will live
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Teachers Guide to American Indian Voting History
Here you will find an outline to the development of Indian citizenship and voting rights in U.S. federal elections, with some comparisons with state and tribal elections. This 13-page Guide includes references to the structure of the U.S. political system and comparisons with Indian practices. Each sub-topic is further expanded in sections of history, discussion and other references. Suggested activities are included.
| Curricula written by school(s)/school districts participating in the National Student/Parent Mock Election (all grades) |
| The Virginia Student/Parent Mock Election School Handbook |
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| A guide to integrating VSPME into the classroom, participating in the election, attending Youth Policy Forums, entering contests, and more. Originally created in 2002, the Handbook still serves as a wonderful resource for grade-specific lesson plans: K-2, 2-5, 3-5, 4-8, 6-8, and 9-12. (2002) |
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| To Vote or Not To Vote |
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| Adapted from Township High School, Harvey, Ill., curricula for the National Student/Parent Mock Election. Written by Linda Knowles-Franklin and Stacey Jones. Created for the 2004 Mock Election, this was designed for grades 9-12 and encourages students to study the voting practices of their community prior to conducting a Mock Election. The resource incorporates essay and letter-writing skills, algebra, research, critical analysis, and more. (2004) |
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| Using the Mock Election to Teach Basic Skills |
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| Adapted from the Norfolk, VA Public Schools curricula for the National Student/Parent Mock Election by Leslie Freeman. Lesson plans include kindergarten level "The American Flag", K-3 "My Vote Counts", Grades 1-3 "Phonemic Awareness", Grades 4-5 "Comparing Information Sources" and "Vocabulary Chain", Grades 6-9 "Data Charts and Political Parties" and more. (2004) |
Utah's "Why Vote" Powerpoint document
"Casting Your First Vote" Word document
Dr. Leo J. Shapiro Reports Encouraging News for NSPME
Watch the CEO of 8Sages.com in this Momentous Video.
Tool Kit for Educators, Parents and Student Leaders
Information about how to use the free air time our partnership with the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation can make possible and ideas and suggestions for how to use local radio and television stations to increase parent involvement in the schools.
Additional Resources for 2008 Election and Civic Education
A. Internet Resources of Education Groups & NSPME partners:
Bill of Rights Foundation at: www.billofrightsinstitute.org/
CIVNET is a worldwide online civic education community composed of civic educators (teachers, teacher trainers, curriculum designers, etc.), as well as scholars, policymakers, civic-minded journalists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other individuals promoting civic education all over the world. CIVNET is administered by CIVITAS International. For access to free civic education resources or to submit your own, register at www.civnet.org
Debate Watch at: http://www.debates.org
Google Election Tools for Teachers at: www.google.com/educators/elections_tools.html and its related blog at: http://googleblog.blogspot.com. The Election Tools for Teachers has the following links:
a) Explaining the political process: The Electoral College Map and Google Trends
b) Teaching about issues and candidates: Journey Maps, YouTube YouChoose, Elections Video Search, Google Elections News, and Power Readers
c) Encouraging student expression: YouTube: Broadcast yourself, Letters to the Next President and Blogger
d) Sharing knowledge with others: Google Sites, Google Presentations and Google MyMaps
National Public Radio at: www.npr.org/politics
National Council for the Social Studies at: www.socialstudies.org/
National Constitution Center website at: www.constitutioncenter.org/
Surveys from around the U.S.A. at: www.surveyusa.com/
B. Educational Blogs for Sharing Political Viewpoints:
- Moodle is a course-management system that helps teachers create their own online learning communities. "It uses social-networking concepts in an interactive environment, in a way that's useful for both teachers and students." See article about educational blogs at: www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3749885
- iCue, created by NBC Learn (part of NBC News) provides a safe, educational social networking environment for students 13 and older at: www.icue.com. It also has many hours of current and historic video for student use and in the classroom. Click on Decision '08 for election news, daily quiz, historical information about U.S. elections and a blog by clicking on Forums link at top of webpage.
- National Public Radio has a political blog appropriate for high school students) at: www.npr.org/templates/topics/topic.php?topicId=1102&sc=gaw&gclid=CNCL2Zq18pQCFQKaFQodxAurqg/
What does the U.S. Constitution say about education?
Read about how the U.S. Constitution guarantees U.S. citizens the right to a free and equal education. This one-page reference includes recommended Web sites for further research about the topic.
Voting Simulation Links
A list of Web sites that simulate voting systems
Council of the Great City Schools "Urban Educator"
Google Elections Tools for Teachers
Here are some more free tools you can use to engage your students before they cast their votes in the Mock Election, including explaining the political process, teaching about issues and candidates, encouraging student expression, sharing knowledge with others, and more.
Past Presidents Links for Teachers and Students
Click here to find useful links for information on past U.S. presidents and more. This reference was especially useful for Mock Election participants who enthusiastically answered the question: "If miracles could happen, which of the following past presidents would you want to lead the country?" Over a dozen links are offered.
Mock Election PR Tool Kit
USA Today has provided this tool kit to help you spread the word about your students' participation in the 2008 National Student/Parent Mock Election.
National Association of Secretaries of State Widget
New Voter Outreach Tool Offers Simple, Portable Solution for Delivering Official, Nonpartisan Election Information to Millions. The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), in partnership with Tangent Media, LLC, has released a Can I Vote widget, a self-contained software application that allows users to access nonpartisan registration and voting information that is specific to where they live. The widget is believed to be the first Web 2.0 voting tool of its kind, allowing anyone to embed it onto a Web page or social media site. On the Web: www.canivote.org.
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