Books for Teaching About the Election

Part of me can't wait for this election to be over in November. Part of me is really worried about the outcome. I've been thinking about the election unit I will do to talk about this historic election.

Here are some books that I recommend:

It took me a long time to understand how our election process works-the two-parties and the differences in what they stand for, the electoral college. Bad Kitty for President breaks it down into a way that's pretty easy to understand. The best part for me was the way the book's issues related to current events. They are deciding whether or not to help the stray cats or to kick them out of the community. They also talk about things like SuperPacs and primaries. A great way to breakdown a very complicated subject.

I truly love this book-its one of my all-time favorites. Alice Roosevelt (Teddy's daughter) was a bit of a handful. Teddy once said he can run the country or take care of her-it was too hard to do both. As she grew up she gained a Princess Di-like status. Paparazzi (or the facsimile they had back then) followed her around just trying to capture a pic of her doing something unsavory. It's a very endearing portrait of a little girl who wants to ëat up the world".

I never knew this story. The story of Silvia Martinez and her family's fight to attend a school with other children and not to the Mexican school. It's a great story to show the process of fighting something in the courts that is unfair.

I love that Malala's name means Warrior With Words-does that sum her up or what. There is one illustration I skip when I share this book with students because it's pretty unsettling, but other than that this book breaks down the fight for girls to get an education-a fight that is still going on.

I like this book because it also illustrates how the electoral college process works. Grace's class actually competes with another class to have an election and the kids representing the different states give their votes to the candidate of their choice. It explains a complicated process pretty well.

This is a book about poems, one for each president we have ever had. It's a little more challenging text for the younger ones, but if you teach older kids or you want to challenge your kiddos this one is pretty perfect. I even learned some new things about presidents of the past.