Election Simulation Activity - Government/Civics

This week-long activity is something that I use with my 12th grade government students, but could easily be adjusted for any grade. At the beginning of the week students each get a role in a fake class election to be "class president". Each student is given a different role: political candidate, lobbyist, visual media expert, writer, and technological media expert work together to participate in a campaign and participate in the political process. In the end the group who wins the election gets a prize, such as a homework pass.

This is something that my students absolutely love because they each get to shine writing speeches, creating posters, making Tik Tok videos, or interviewing the principal or other school members to advocate for their candidate. This also helps students better understand what it takes to run a campaign and election.

Topics covered:

• Roles in election process (lobbyist, public relations, etc.)
• open vs closed primaries
• endorsements for candidates
• the power of media in elections
• fair campaign and election laws
• political debates