The PBS LearningMedia Election 2012 Collection is an aggregation of curated and contextualized election-related resources for K-12 classrooms with a primary focus on middle and high school. Available resources include both current events for the 2012 Presidential Election and in-depth learning opportunities that can be used in any study of the U.S. government and election processes.
Games and Interactives
Resources from The National Archives (Grades 7-13+)
Why Should Women Vote?: Examine primary source documents arguing for and against the right to vote for women. Analyze the statements that suffragists and anti-suffragists used to convince others to join their cause.
Documenting Key Presidential Decisions: Examine documents related to key decisions made by U.S. presidents while in office. Identify the president, locate the correct presidential libraries and museums, and create a time line of key events from 1928 to present. Reveal key similarities and differences among the significant accomplishments of each president.
Resource from PBS NewsHour (Grades 6-13+)
2012 Political Map Center: Factors such as unemployment, income, and ethnicity have a big impact on election outcomes. Analyze historical data and have your class attempt to predict the 2012 elections outcome.
Resources from The PBS KIDS Democracy Project (Grades 3-8)
Inside the Voting Booth: Introduce students to the history of suffrage in America. Step into the "Voting Time Machine." Then, fast forward to when your students will vote and discuss today's issues.
President for a Day: Place your class in the Oval Office. In meetings with Cabinet members, speeches to the public, and even bowling in the White House, your students will experience the responsibilities and privileges granted to the President of the United States.
How Does Government Affect Me?: Use a virtual town tour to demonstrate how federal, state, and local government decisions directly impact your students' community. Provide a basic understanding of the branches of government and the balance of power.
Sticker Race: Encourage students to create and share campaign stickers about the issues that are important to them and the candidates that they support. They can also cast their vote for their favorite stickers helping to highlight the creativity of the community as well as which issues matter the most.
Campaign Posters: Print colorful Barack Obama and Mitt Romney posters, or outlined versions that you can color yourself. In addition you can print a blank template for the opportunity to imagine and create a poster for any candidate of your choosing.
