Cast Your Vote (read-a-loud section)
(see the full lesson: Cast Your Vote)
Read-A-Loud
Making Connections: Text to Text, Self, and World
Group/Pair/Individual work
Time needed: 45 minutes
1. Tell the students that you are going to read the story "Election Day". They are to give a thumbs up if they hear their vocab words (vote and result).
2. Ask the class:
-How did Becky become the class president?
-How was this voting process similar to the one we did in class?(ans. they had a secret ballot vote)
-How was it different? (ans. they did a secret vote by raising their hands with their heads down)
3. Connect to Prior Knowledge; The Bigger Picture:
Using the Whole Class Charts (pg. 74) ask:
-How does someone become President of the United States?
-What does each picture have to do with elections?
***Inclusion accomodation: For students who cannot focus on a chart for this activity have a duplicate picture of the whole class chart that students can manipulate while using a graphic organizer. If necessary have this available the day before and go over the activity with the student so they are prepared for the next day.
***ELL student support: Explain to children that the coordinating conjunctions and and or will be in the selection your about to read. Hold up some pens and pencils and say, Hector will buy pens and pencils. then say , Maria will buy pens or pencils. Lead children to understand that and in the firest sentence means Hector will buy both, and or in the second sentence means Maria will buy one or the other.)
4. Set the purpose for listening: Say: now that we know how elections can work in our classroom, let's read to find out about how Election Day works in our country. You will need to listen for facts that tell us how voting in the United States is done, how it has changed and how it has stayed the same.
***Inclusion accomodation: Have a copy of what you are to read and give to the student prior to the lesson so they can review the material and become familiar with it.
***For ELL student support: Have them use the Modeled Reading Text Organizer as you read. Read the word bank words and guide them in using those words and write them beneath their pictures.
5. After reading the section "How do people vote?" tell students to do a 'turn and talk' by telling each other if you would want your votes to be private. Explain why or why not. Have children share what their partners said and visa versa.
6. After reading "Why is Election day in November?" do a 'Think Aloud' having the students help out. The think aloud should go something like: From this part of the text, I learned that if farmers didn't plant and gather at the right time (September or October), they might not have had enough crops to sell to people. Since many farmers probably did not have much help on their farms they most likely did not have time to leave their farms to vote during most of the year. During the school year how do you feel about time and doing the things you have to do?
7. Do a turn and talk: Tell students to turn to their partner and tell them about a time when they were too busy to so something they wanted to do.
8. Review what they've learned about an election (in class and presidential election) the similiarities and differences.
9. Discuss what it means to vote (voting is a chance for them to speak up, share their opinion, and have their opinion counted as one of a whole group).
