Mayor of Our Classroom

Who would you vote for?

Background Information

We have been learning about the function of government, the role of various elected officials (mayor, governor, and president), and how government leaders are elected. Our class recently had the opportunity to visit with Mayor Matthew Marchant, mayor of Carrollton, TX. You can learn more about his visit here.

Learning about the voting process

To learn more about how government leaders are elected into office, we decided to hold an election for mayor of our classroom. First, students had the opportunity to register to vote. Just like in real elections, those citizens who did not register could not vote.

Next we discussed the importance of learning about the candidates and/or issues up for election. We did a wonderful simulation of what happens when voters do not understand what they are voting for.

Then, we discussed the characteristics that we felt would be important in a leader for our classroom. Each group selected a candidate that they would like to nominate for mayor of our classroom. Students collaborated to learn more about their candidates and the traits and experience they would bring to our classroom.

Student groups collaborated to create a product to share with the citizens of our classroom so they could become informed about the candidates. Below are their products.

Finally, we held elections and Mrs. Wilkin's class helped us tabulate the results. Results are below. However, before you view our results, would you view our products and vote for who you feel would make a good mayor of our classroom?

Check out our tweets about this project