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Have students review the origin, purpose and function of the Electoral College. Ask students: What is the "winner take all" system? Are there any states that do not follow this system? If so, how do they determine their electoral vote allocation? How many electoral votes are needed to win the presidency? Next, divide students into small groups and assign each group a current swing state in the 2008 presidential race. Consult the CNN Electoral Map Calculator for a list of swing states. Then, refer groups to online resources, including CNN's Election Center 2008 on the CNN Politics site, to identify the following for their assigned swing state: * the number of electoral votes that are up for grabs * the state's key political issues * the U.S. presidential candidates' stances on these key issues * the state's demographic composition * the state's voting record in past presidential elections

Nice basic lesson plan for K-2 students to help them understand the concept of voting on a ballot and having a reason for voting the way they did.

Lesson plan for K-2 students from HotChalk lesson plans page. Uses 3 little pics and asks kids to vote on which version of the story they believe. Helps kids understand what happens when you vote on a ballot.

The number of voters under 30 in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections remained stagnant at just 17 percent. Teens become apathetic because politicians are unresponsive, politicians become indifferent to teens because they are apathetic and don't vote.
The way to break this cycle is to make teens feel like they have a voice that politicians will listen to. Politicians have been reaching out to youth by holding events on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. CNN even held the YouTube debates, allowing users to submit questions directly to candidates. Making politicians answerable to young people forces their interests to be considered.\n\n

Great compilation of lessons and resources for elections (all grade levels). The resources continue to grow and you can contribute your own lessons to this site.

Entire collection of lesson plans and teacher resources for elections, government, voting, constitution, electoral college, teen voting and civic engagement, etc. from HotChalk.com

For the first time since 1964, Democrats actually have a chance of winning Virginia's 13 electoral votes. Barack Obama is up 4.8% according to the Real Clear Politics average, and according to Nate Silver, Virginia could be one of this election's decisive swing states. And, in a state with 161 colleges and 483,159 students, the predominantly Democratic youth vote could play a huge role in tipping the election Obama's way. But there's a hold-up: Virginia's local laws make it exceedingly difficult for students to register in their college towns. Indeed, though other states like Idaho and Tennessee also make student registration so difficult as to border on disenfranchisement, the barriers to student voter registration in Virginia are, some experts say, some of the most problematic in the country.

Excellent lesson plan for gr. 9-12 where students take on role of political analyst. Designed for 2004 election but could easily be modified for 2008. Another great lesson plan from HotChalk.

comprehensive lesson plan for gr. 9-12 including assessment, discussion questions, etc. Overview Students take on the role of a political analyst, forecasting the electoral vote count for the 2004 presidential election. In order to make a prediction, students are introduced to campaign issues, the Electoral College, the role of swing states, and the importance of political participation. The lesson plan includes a fun, interactive classroom competition where students make electoral predictions and compare with the actual results following the November 2nd voting deadline.

The Elections channel includes information on 18 topics related to elections, voting or running for political office. Learn more about presidential debates, the electoral college or the voting system.

No controversy looms larger than that about "likely" voters. Polls that count them, rather than registered voters, are usually more accurate, but maybe not this year. Pollsters determine who is likely to cast a ballot by asking questions such as whether they voted in 2004, are following the campaign and plan to vote. Respondents get a point for each "right" answer.

This looks like a great online project for the 2008 election for K-6 students. They vote for president and the data is available for them to use in many projects. Site includes resource links, indeas and books.

Info shared by Nancy Golubic, Project Coordinator, Boardman, Ohio. I've just posted my Election 2008 Online project. Four years ago, I ended up with almost 5,000 kids across the country voting. This year I hope to get more votes. Take a look. It says that registration opens on August 18th, but the registration link already works.

Looks like this starts August 18 recommended by Jen Wagner

Obama Works is an independent grassroots organization that helps Obama supporters in neighborhoods across the country to organize community service events. The group was founded in early 2008 by a group of Yale students who were inspired by Barack Obama and felt that the energy surrounding his campaign could be channeled to do more than generate votes.

Vote in this survey and books will be donated to kids!

PBS Election Resources

Another great lesson plan from the Dirksen Congressional Center's Congress in the Classroom workshop. Designed for students in grades 8-12.

During The Dirksen Congressional Center's annual Congress in the Classroom® workshop participants are asked to introduce the lesson plans, resources, and techniques that have proven successful in teaching about Congress in their classrooms.A 2008 participant, Jan Loyd, Cabot Junior High South, Cabot, AR, presented a lesson entitled, "Elect Me! Creating a Campaign Platform and Advertisement." Students will be a candidate for an election as a United States Representative or Senator in the upcoming election. They will need to decide which party fits their political views best. Next, they will plan and present a 3-5 minute campaign commercial about them as a candidate, their platform, and why the voters should vote for them.

He leads nationally in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll by 53 percent to 43 percent. He leads, too, by a wide margin in estimates of the Electoral College. Virtually all of the closest states left at this point voted for President Bush four years ago. The presidential race is not over, but at this point, Obama has a better chance of becoming president than McCain, and as a result, the questions ought to be going toward him as much or more than McCain -- questions not of tactics but of substance.

The latest breakdown by The New York Times of which states are considered to be in play in the presidential election, along with how all the states voted in the past five elections.