Mania and Some Deep Breathing
Greetings!!
Due to all the hubbub surrounding the election, I have not had the time to post. But it has been a good level of hubbub!
My social studies election unit started at the beginning of the year. For 2 months, I have been preparing my kiddos to be informed voters who understand the importance of our right to vote, what it means to be president (and other elected officials), and how their vote impacts our lives. My students were really into my lessons! We learned about voters rights throughout history, past presidency's, learned some trick election vocab, and of course, the different positions President Obama and Governor Romney held during their campaigning. We ended our unit with a mock election yesterday, and tallied to votes to announce at the end of the day Election Party! We analyzed the votes, graphed them, and celebrated the victory (our class voted overwhelmingly in favor of Obama) and our right to vote! It was an emotional and turbulent ride through the process, as well as this morning, as the students learned of the results of the nationwide election.
I created an Election Results worksheet, in which the students colored the states on a blank US map, according to the projected winner in each state. They then calculated the electoral college votes for each candidate according the number of votes per state. They were finally asked to analyze the results, and respond with their own emotion about the election. The students were so eager to complete this assignment so we could discuss it as a class. It is such a delight as a teacher to see my student's so involved and inspired by democracy and learning :)
But now that election mania is over, my classroom can finally relax, and I can get back to more mindfulness practice, eating at a normal hour (read: NOT staying up until 1 am creating election-related worksheets and lesson plans), and getting back to staying up until 1 am creating worksheets and lesson plans for OTHER subjects! :)
As soon as my SD card adapter arrives in the mail, I will upload some pics from this week!
Cheers,
R
PS - Here is some great advice from my most recent fortune cookie :). Words to live by! Enjoy!
Due to all the hubbub surrounding the election, I have not had the time to post. But it has been a good level of hubbub!
My social studies election unit started at the beginning of the year. For 2 months, I have been preparing my kiddos to be informed voters who understand the importance of our right to vote, what it means to be president (and other elected officials), and how their vote impacts our lives. My students were really into my lessons! We learned about voters rights throughout history, past presidency's, learned some trick election vocab, and of course, the different positions President Obama and Governor Romney held during their campaigning. We ended our unit with a mock election yesterday, and tallied to votes to announce at the end of the day Election Party! We analyzed the votes, graphed them, and celebrated the victory (our class voted overwhelmingly in favor of Obama) and our right to vote! It was an emotional and turbulent ride through the process, as well as this morning, as the students learned of the results of the nationwide election.
I created an Election Results worksheet, in which the students colored the states on a blank US map, according to the projected winner in each state. They then calculated the electoral college votes for each candidate according the number of votes per state. They were finally asked to analyze the results, and respond with their own emotion about the election. The students were so eager to complete this assignment so we could discuss it as a class. It is such a delight as a teacher to see my student's so involved and inspired by democracy and learning :)
But now that election mania is over, my classroom can finally relax, and I can get back to more mindfulness practice, eating at a normal hour (read: NOT staying up until 1 am creating election-related worksheets and lesson plans), and getting back to staying up until 1 am creating worksheets and lesson plans for OTHER subjects! :)
As soon as my SD card adapter arrives in the mail, I will upload some pics from this week!
Cheers,
R
PS - Here is some great advice from my most recent fortune cookie :). Words to live by! Enjoy!
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Thanks for the comments! I look forward to reading them :)