Grace+for+President+Reinforcement Activity

__**Objective:**__ Students will be able to explain how the electoral college works by participating in a mock electoral college.

__**Materials:**__ // Grace For President // by Kelly DiPucchio 2 types of cookies Plates, one for each child One basket for each type of cookie One slip of paper for each student Names of a fake state and a correlating number of electoral votes Chart paper

__** Procedures: **__
 * 1) Read aloud the book Grace For President.
 * 2) Like in the book, we are going to have our own election today:
 * 3) Give each student a sample of the two cookies.
 * 4) Assign each student a fake state with a certain number of electoral votes. Be sure to have states with large number of electoral votes and small numbers of electoral votes just like in the real election.
 * 5) Give each student a blank slip of paper. They will put their "vote", or slip of paper, in the basket that matches the cookie they think is best.
 * 6) Count the votes and display the popular vote and the electoral vote.
 * 7) Compare the results using both the electoral vote and the popular vote.
 * 8) If one of the cookies does not win at least 270 electoral votes, discuss what happens when a presidential candidate does not receive at least 270 electoral votes. (The House of Representatives decides).
 * 9) In the US like in this activity each state is given a certain number of electoral votes. A president can still win the election even if they do not win the popular vote. Electoral votes are decided based on population. Each state is given one electoral vote for each member in the US Congress (one for each senator totaling two and one for each member of the US House of Representative).
 * 10) Have students explore the power that heavily populated states have on the election by removing them either out of the class activity or in the most recent presidential election.
 * 11) Discuss why we have an electoral college today-because it was a comprise that the founding fathers made between having Congress and the people to decide who the president would be. The way the electoral college has changed since it was founded as most of the time the elector votes the way the state votes.
 * 12) Have students reflect and write about the following questions: Do they think the electoral vote process is fair?Should a candidate win based on the Popular vote instead? Where would they campaign the most if they were running for president?

Grade 4: Government Strand, Civil Participation and Skills 15. Individuals have a variety of opportunities to participate in and influence their state and national government. Citizens have both rights and responsibilities in Ohio and the United States.
 * __ Other Ohio standards for this book: __**

Grade 8: History Stand, A New Nation 7. Problems arising under the Articles of Confederation led to debate over the adoption of the US Constitution.