Election Day: Resources for ELLs
If you are interested in bringing the local, state, or presidential election to your classroom, try some of these resources! We've included links to children's booklists, lesson plans and multimedia activities you can use in the classroom - including lots of resources targeted towards English language learners (ELLs).
For resources focusing on discussing the election results and addressing student questions and concerns, see After the Election: Ideas and Guidance for Teachers of ELLs.
2016 Campaign & Election: Resources for Students
Resources for ELLs
- Newsela: Bilingual news articles at different reading levels and Common Core-aligned quizzes
- Listenwise: Current Events & Election Podcasts
- Ideas for E.L.L.s: Immigration, Civics and Citizenship, and Presidential Debates
Talking About Tough Topics
- Share My Lesson Webinar & Lesson Plans (archived): Taming the Campaign Beast
- Teaching Tolerance: Election 2016 Resources on Countering Bias, Getting Along, and Promoting Respect for All Students
- Teaching Tolerance Magazine: Fall 2016 Election Special Edition
- Teaching Tolerance: Speak Up for Civility
- Anti-Defamation League: Teaching the 2016 Election
- Anti-Defamation League: Myths and Facts about Immigrants and Immigration
- Anti-Defamation League: Myths and Facts about Muslim People and Islam
- Bias in the Presidential Election (Table Talk parent/family discussion guide)
Resources for Teens
- PBS NewsHour Extra: Election Videos and Lessons for Grades 7-12
- The New York Times: Civil Conversation Challenge for Teenagers
- National Council of La Raza: High School Democracy Project & Lessons
Current Events for Kids
- PBS Learning Media: Election Central
- Edutopia: Election 2016
- Time for Kids: Election 2016
- Scholastic: Election 2016
- Weekly Reader: Current events for kids
- The New York Times Election 2016 Unit: An Overview
Elections: Resources for Kids
- iCivics: Politics and Public Policy Classroom Unit w/ Special Election 2016 Resources
- Kids.gov: Election Activities
- PBS Kids: The Democracy Project
- Education World: Primaries, Voting, and Elections
- ReadWriteThink: Election Lesson Plans
- National Student/Parent Mock Election: Voter Education Portal Teaching Materials
- Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out
Spanish-Language Election Information
Resources from Previous Elections
- Ideas for English Language Learners from Larry Ferlazzo | Election 2012
- Time for Kids: Election 2012
- Best Websites for Teaching the Presidential Election
- PBS teachers: Vote 2008 Curriculum Guide
Books & Authors
Featured Video: Janet Wong reads "Liberty"
Poet Janet Wong reads and discusses her poem "Liberty", which is featured in Poems to Learn by Heart.
Booklists
Reading Rockets offers the following two great booklists about elections and U.S. Presidents:
Hail to the Chief
It's election time! Read about the history of voting, presidential trivia, or a duck who thinks he should be in charge — and don't forget to vote!
Inside the White House
Next month our country will elect a new president. There will be new residents in the White House in Washington, DC. Why are there elections? What does the President do? Who were some of the young, unusual, or past residents of the presidential mansion? Read about the White House in fact and fiction — and meet a variety of presidents in the pages of these books!