The Nuts and Bolts of the United States Presidential Election

Many Americans don't understand the process of electing a president. This lesson is designed to give students an understanding of how a president is elected from primaries and caucuses to the electoral vote and everything in between. It includes an engaging reading, a note-taker, and a key. It has been updated to reflect the 2020 Presidential election and its aftermath on January 6th and 7th during the Electoral College certification and the attack on the Capitol.

This 20-page lesson, Lesson 6,  is part of my unit: Every Four Years...The Presidential Election Unit and is designed using the Into, Through, and Beyond model of lesson planning. This lesson can be taught independently, but it does set the foundation for future lessons in the unit. Here is a summary of what is in the unit:

• Into Lessons: Creating Schema

The following lessons: Lesson 1: Anticipation Guide: Essential Statements about the Election; Lesson 2: Understanding Essential Election Terms; and Lesson 3: What Are Your Political Viewpoints Survey?

• Through Lessons: Learning the Content

• The following lessons: Lesson 4: Major and Minor Political Parties; Lesson 5: A Brief History of Who Can Vote; Lesson 6: The Nuts and Bolts of the United States Presidential Election; Lesson 7: Propaganda and Political Campaigns; and Lesson 8: Where Do the Candidates Stand on the Issues.

• Beyond Lessons: Summative Assessments

Finally, the culminating projects, Lesson 9: Argumentative Letter to the Editor on a Candidate or on Mandatory Voting, and Lesson 10: Election Group Project.

The lessons can be used independently as a supplement to what you already teach or as a whole. During non-election years, most of these lessons are appropriate for a unit on the Constitution. Every lesson includes the following: an Introduction, Objectives, Learning Targets, Standards (California Common Core Standards), detailed Directions, and when applicable, charts, readings, questions, answer keys. Some lessons include summative assessments and rubrics. Opportunities for students to reflect on what they know are built into this unit and those can be used as formative and/or summative assessments.