Elections lapbooks

Alex did a thorough study of the election process and government this week, while Nicolas and I read Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books.  Along with this book, we touched on key points in the election process.  Here is what we did, starting with Nicolas's lapbook:

This is the Abe Lincoln side.  We talked about genres of books - biographies and autobiographies - and the differences between the two.  Alex heard us talking and I guess he had never learned these before and asked me why Nicolas was learning about that when he didn't even know the differences.  We talked about when to capitalize the word president and when not to.  He sorted sentences into pockets.

He colored in a map what states Abe Lincoln lived in.

Talked about honesty:

Made a book on the life of Abe Lincoln and talked about the different family relationships he had - with his dad, mom, step-mom, sister, step siblings.

Then in the other section we talked about politics and the election.

Some pages out of his book, If I Were President.

What are the requirements for being president?

We talked about the 3 branches of goverment.  Here is a book showing when he will be able to vote - 2020 for a presidential election.

And finally, who would he vote for if he could vote this year?

John McCain/Sarah Palin, Mitch Daniels, Dan Burton, Joe Pearson and for State Senator he wrote in his friend Aaron.

Now, Alex's book.  Some books are the same as Nicolas's, so unless there is something written in it differently, I will not show you a close up of those books.

We read about each candidate - McCain and Obama.  These were just basic biographies.  We talked a little about their platforms, but didn't go into too much detail.  We compared the Republican and Democratic parties.

Talked about the difference between Primary and General elections.  Discussed the Electoral college and how it works.

Talked about why it is important for Americans to vote and he got a chance to fill out a ballot also - he went straight Republican.

We talked about the qualifications needed to run for president, senator and representative,  and looked at the president's cabinet (all the secretaries of...)

What would Alex do if he were president?

Alex also will get his first chance to vote in 2020 for president.  Finally, we stapled in a map showing the electoral votes for each state and a blue or red dot to color in on election night depending on the candidate that wins that state.  We will fill this out on Tuesday and Wednesday.