Second Grade Students Explore Democracy

Students in Brittney Washington’s 2nd grade class conducted a mock election and made some special decisions based on the ballots.

Leading up to this experience, 2nd grade teachers Washington and Anna Bonoma led the class in reading Grace for President by Kelly Dipucchio. This book gives students a fun introduction to the American electoral system while teaching the values of hard work, courage and independent thought. The book also offers an inspiring example of how to choose our leaders.

As 2nd graders read the story, they discussed the new vocabulary terms they encountered, including:

Washington then announced to her students that they would have a special mock election in their class to determine the following:

Students were super-excited to exercise their right to vote. They filled out their Voter Registration Cards and waited in a long, long, long line (5–10 minutes) to vote privately on these items. Following the election, students reviewed the results in pie charts with percentages and bar graphs. In the end, 2BW students were thrilled to add meteorologist to the classroom jobs, look forward to building Gus a house and will watch The Secret Life of Pets for Pajama and Movie Day!

The next day, students had a conversation about the election, expressing their thoughts, feelings and concerns about the outcomes. Overall, they left the conversation understanding their feelings were valid, and they should continue to be kind, seek support from trusted grownups and remember that when people vote, everyone processes the results in their own way.

Enjoy photos of 2BW exploring emergent democracy here.