Educators across the state have developed innovative ways to expand the Kid Governor® experience in their classrooms. If you’re looking for creative approaches to teaching the program, consider the following ideas!
Invite Guest Speakers to Your Classroom
Guest speakers are an excellent way to deepen your students’ engagement with the Kid Governor program. Inviting your mayor, selectperson, state representative, state senator, or another elected official to your school to answer questions about government can draw parallels between the Kid Governor lessons and your own community.
Engage the Entire School
Although only 5th graders can vote in Kid Governor school primaries and the Statewide Election, consider engaging your entire school community in the program to teach students about elections. You can hold a school-wide assembly to show all students their final candidates’ campaign videos. You can also hold school assemblies and show all students the campaign videos of the seven final Statewide Election candidates, inviting non-5th graders to hold mock elections in their classrooms. The lessons in the toolkits can be shared with and adapted by any teacher in your school.
Show Your Election Spirit!
Encourage you students to get excited about elections! When it comes time to vote in school primaries or the Statewide Election, some schools hang campaign and “Vote!” signs around their building and have students and teachers wear red, white, and blue clothing to school. Consider setting up a voting area in your classroom or school with a ballot box, balloons, voting stations, and more!
Recognize Your Candidate If He or She Does Not Win Kid Governor
Because the spirit of Kid Governor is students learning that they can have a positive impact on their communities, it is important to recognize the passion and courage you students have for running for office. If your candidate does not win the Statewide Election, consider making the student a leader in your school community and helping to implement his or her three-point platform.
Add Kid Governor® to Your School or District Curriculum
The Kid Governor program can be directly implemented into the 5th grade curriculum by connecting the program and lessons with other social studies units, which ensures district-wide participation and enthusiasm each fall.
For more information about these creative approaches or to share techniques that excite your students, email us at Joann.Robichaud@NH.KidGovernor.org.