Have you talked about the crazy election in class?

I teach Language Arts and History, and this is certainly history in the making. My students are fifth graders, so the political opinions they have are generally those of their parents.

With this election being so contentious, I wrestled a bit with how to approach it in class. I decided to focus on the process of the election, not the candidates.

We watched a few videos from KidExplorer and Brainpop’s Election 2020. Then I opened up a Nearpod collaborative board for questions, with the rule of no opinions about who they think should win – focus on the process. They were so into it! One student said they had always wanted to know how elections worked. Another student wrote in the chat, “This is what teachers should be teaching!” (Yes, my heart melted a bit at that one. I may or may mot have taken a pic!) Today we checked the numbers, took a deeper look at Arizona and Pennsylvania, and had LOTS of discussion about the Electoral College. Kids clearly live in a world of ties – several questions about what happens in the case of a tie, both at the state level and the national level. I definitely learned a lot!

I’m so proud of my students and the way they showed their concern and curiosity at just 10 years old! Regardless of who is elected, my faith in the future is strong today.