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Get the Content You Need To Teach About U.S. Election Day
Christy Walters
October 4, 2025
When an election cycle occurs in our country, students often have questions and opinions about the voting process, candidates, or policy issues. We have all the content and activities you need to engage with them about U.S. Election Day:
[Give students the U.S. Election Day facts with social studies activities](id-ss)
Teach students about the election process and why their civic duty matters with these social studies activities:
Explore the voting process
Though most students are too young to vote in our country’s elections, they may have questions about how the voting process works. Use our Registering to Vote lesson to help them understand:
How to navigate the voter registration process in the United States.
What state-level measures may limit voter participation in elections.
How votes get counted in the Electoral College during presidential election years.
Discuss the importance of Super Tuesday in a presidential primary election.
Explore how political parties pick their presidential nominees, and if the process is similar for other offices.
Play a game using fictional candidates and different electoral processes to see how nominations can change based on the circumstances.
Learn about political parties
Two major political parties—the Democrats and the Republicans—select candidates for most local, state, and federal elections. Help students learn more about what being a member of a political party means and how they’ve evolved over time with resources like:
An explainer article about the two-party system in the U.S. and the values most commonly held by Democrats and Republicans.
An interactive video that explains what political parties are and why they exist.
An article that looks at why it’s so challenging for third-party candidates—like those from the Green Party or the Libertarian Party—to get on presidential ballots.
Define civic engagement
Civic engagement is the act of partaking in local or national events or supporting relevant causes. Voting is just one way people can engage with their local communities and their country. Help students understand the responsibilities of civic engagement with resources like:
An explainer article that defines civic engagement and activities associated with it.
A perspective article on why our country’s youngest voters often have low turnout at elections.
A news article about the March for Our Lives youth movement, which supports causes such as school safety and encouraging young people to vote.
Introduce students to media literacy
Most—if not all—of our campaign and election coverage filters through some form of media. Introduce students to the basics of media literacy to learn how to be smart, honest, and respectful when interacting with election content. Use resources like:
An interactive video that introduces students to media literacy and what it means to consume media.
A tips article that lists four ways to protect yourself from disinformation in the media.
An article about New Jersey’s information literacy education law that requires all K-12 students to receive information and media literacy education in schools.
Discover how to validate news sources and information
All news isn’t created equally. Certain publications or outlets may have a partisan perspective on the things they report. With so many individuals having access to social media, unvetted blogging platforms, and other tools, it is now easier than ever to encounter unverified news and information.
Read an article about the history of Yellow Journalism, or deceptive journalistic practices.
Share an article that teaches how using critical thinking and healthy skepticism when encountering media can help you determine what information is valid.
Explore an article that gives tips on how to spot unvalidated news, information, and publishers online.
[Discover and debate important U.S. election issues with ELA lessons](id-ela)
Debates and discussions are cornerstones of any electoral process. Help students dive into them with ELA lessons:
Research how state and local governments run
Although presidential elections get a lot of attention, they’re not the only ones that matter! Assign a research project about state and local government officials and elections that encourages students to explore:
The purposes of government and the various roles within a government.
The rights and responsibilities attached to citizenship in a specific country.
How state and local governments function in the United States.
Debate the voting age in the United States
The current voting age in the United States is 18, lowered from 21 in 1988. But some people think that even younger citizens should be able to weigh in on who runs their country. Have students debate the legal voting age by reviewing content like:
A video about who has the right to vote in the United States.
An explainer article that discusses the voting process and voter eligibility in our country.
An article that looks at the issues surrounding the debate over lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 in elections.
Debate the voting rights of incarcerated U.S. citizens
In most states, people who are currently incarcerated or who have previously been incarcerated are no longer eligible to vote in elections. Some people believe this isn’t a fair practice. Have students debate this issue by reviewing content like:
A pro/con article that looks at the benefits and drawbacks of allowing incarcerated people to vote.
An article that dissects the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
A 2016 news article that discussed restored voting rights for about 13,000 formerly incarcerated people in Virginia.
Teach “Election Day, November, 1884” by Walt Whitman
Election talk even makes its way into fiction and literary nonfiction. Show students how elections can be the topic of poems by doing the following lesson:
Then, assign Walt Whitman’s “Election Day, November, 1884.”
End with a whole-class discussion about the piece, and ask students to answer questions like, “What did Whitman say about the 1884 presidential election?” or “How was the 1884 election similar to or different from our current election cycle?”
Newsela is your go-to resource for educational election content
Answer all your students' questions about the election process, candidates, and top policy issues with Newsela’s election resources. We have everything you need to source content, start healthy discussions, and handle tricky situations that could arise during your lessons.
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